Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're compiling a college list now with our junior. Some colleges we've come across and researched have significant budget deficits. We are trying to figure out which ones to worry about.

We know that a college budget deficit can be a significant red flag, particularly if the uni is a small, private, or regional college with a low endowment. And a structural, long-term deficit often leads to reduced academic quality, fewer student services, etc.

Here are the colleges with budget deficits that we are aware of (see below). Are we missing any others we should know about? Which ones to truly worry about (I'm assuming some big ones will figure it out with its endowment but not sure if that's smart thinking)?

Colleges with Budget Deficits (rough amounts reported from the past year):

USC: $200 million
UChicago: $160 million
Stanford $140 million
Penn State: $140 million
Harvard: $113 million
American U: $80 million
GW: $76 million
NYU: $71 million
Boston U: $30 million
Middlebury: $14 million
WashU (St. Louis): $7 million
Brandeis: $2 million
Pitzer: $1.3 million

I have appended the 2024 Forbes Financial Health Rankings next to the school. Most of these schools are very wealthy and will adjust tie spending if the nonsense form the administration continues. None of these schools are in long term danger though the experience at R1s will change if they have to start funding more of their own infrastructure costs. Of the 2 SLACs on this list Middlebury will have no issues at all, it is extremely wealthy and the main source of the budget drag has been addressed and the deficit is already down. Pitzer has a relatively small endowment and is tuition dependent. But with an under 25% acceptance rate they should not have any issues sourcing the students needed to keep budget intact and this is reflected in their Forbes grade. Penn State is not graded by Forbes since it is a public institution.

USC: $200 million A+
UChicago: $160 million A+
Stanford $140 million A+
Penn State: $140 million
Harvard: $113 million A+
American U: $80 million B
GW: $76 million B+
NYU: $71 million B
Boston U: $30 million B
Middlebury: $14 million A+
WashU (St. Louis): $7 million A+
Brandeis: $2 million A-
Pitzer: $1.3 million A

I don’t think long-term health is the concern here.

For example, Middlebury had to cut benefits (including 401k contributions) for staff and wind down the Monterey institute (which undergrads had the opportunity to attend) to get their issues under control. That has a real impact on the experience even if the financial situation never spirals.

Here you go again.

Middlebury didn't have to do anything and didn't do anything that negatively affected student experience. They have been very open about the struggles of MIIS and are now winding it down. The cuts to benefits were insignificant though any cut is significant to those impacted.

Their debt load is smaller than that of Colby which is smaller and has a considerably smaller endowment (both total and per student) and it spends more money on student instruction than any of the NESCAC schools except Amherst, Bowdoin, and Williams.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're compiling a college list now with our junior. Some colleges we've come across and researched have significant budget deficits. We are trying to figure out which ones to worry about.

We know that a college budget deficit can be a significant red flag, particularly if the uni is a small, private, or regional college with a low endowment. And a structural, long-term deficit often leads to reduced academic quality, fewer student services, etc.

Here are the colleges with budget deficits that we are aware of (see below). Are we missing any others we should know about? Which ones to truly worry about (I'm assuming some big ones will figure it out with its endowment but not sure if that's smart thinking)?

Colleges with Budget Deficits (rough amounts reported from the past year):

USC: $200 million
UChicago: $160 million
Stanford $140 million
Penn State: $140 million
Harvard: $113 million
American U: $80 million
GW: $76 million
NYU: $71 million
Boston U: $30 million
Middlebury: $14 million
WashU (St. Louis): $7 million
Brandeis: $2 million
Pitzer: $1.3 million

I have appended the 2024 Forbes Financial Health Rankings next to the school. Most of these schools are very wealthy and will adjust tie spending if the nonsense form the administration continues. None of these schools are in long term danger though the experience at R1s will change if they have to start funding more of their own infrastructure costs. Of the 2 SLACs on this list Middlebury will have no issues at all, it is extremely wealthy and the main source of the budget drag has been addressed and the deficit is already down. Pitzer has a relatively small endowment and is tuition dependent. But with an under 25% acceptance rate they should not have any issues sourcing the students needed to keep budget intact and this is reflected in their Forbes grade. Penn State is not graded by Forbes since it is a public institution.

USC: $200 million A+
UChicago: $160 million A+
Stanford $140 million A+
Penn State: $140 million
Harvard: $113 million A+
American U: $80 million B
GW: $76 million B+
NYU: $71 million B
Boston U: $30 million B
Middlebury: $14 million A+
WashU (St. Louis): $7 million A+
Brandeis: $2 million A-
Pitzer: $1.3 million A

I don’t think long-term health is the concern here.

For example, Middlebury had to cut benefits (including 401k contributions) for staff and wind down the Monterey institute (which undergrads had the opportunity to attend) to get their issues under control. That has a real impact on the experience even if the financial situation never spirals.

Anonymous wrote:To invert the question, these are the 51 schools to which Forbes assigned a financial grade of A+ in 2025:

Carleton
JHU
Hillsdale
UPenn
Dartmouth
Amherst
Pomona
Brown
Swarthmore
Stanford
Colorado College
Berea
Claremont McKenna
Cornell
Haverford
Carnegie Mellon
Columbia
Vassar
Harvard
Caltech
Grinnell
Notre Dame
Mount Holyoke
Yale
Williams
Harvey Mudd
Wellesley
Lafayette
Smith
New England Conservatory of Music
Hampden–Sydney
McPherson
Hamilton
Reed
Whitman
Cooper Union
Washington and Lee
Wake Forest
St. John’s (MD)
Holy Cross
DePauw
Grove City
Wheaton (IL)
Duke
WashU
Northwestern
Kenyon
MIT
Davis & Elkins
Rice
Lehigh

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're compiling a college list now with our junior. Some colleges we've come across and researched have significant budget deficits. We are trying to figure out which ones to worry about.

We know that a college budget deficit can be a significant red flag, particularly if the uni is a small, private, or regional college with a low endowment. And a structural, long-term deficit often leads to reduced academic quality, fewer student services, etc.

Here are the colleges with budget deficits that we are aware of (see below). Are we missing any others we should know about? Which ones to truly worry about (I'm assuming some big ones will figure it out with its endowment but not sure if that's smart thinking)?

Colleges with Budget Deficits (rough amounts reported from the past year):

USC: $200 million
UChicago: $160 million
Stanford $140 million
Penn State: $140 million
Harvard: $113 million
American U: $80 million
GW: $76 million
NYU: $71 million
Boston U: $30 million
Middlebury: $14 million
WashU (St. Louis): $7 million
Brandeis: $2 million
Pitzer: $1.3 million

It’s reported Chicago is $6 billion in debt

I don't have the time or energy to look it up but I wouldn't be surprised if Chicago has $6BN of debt outstanding between the university and the medical center. The headline figure might be scary and that could be on the high side but in isolation that number is absolutely meaningless. How much annual revenue do they have across those two? How much do they have in the endowment and other reserves? Comparing schools with academic medical centers baked into their financials with schools that don't is not apples to apples. Their finances are far from perfect but all of the alarmist posts are off base, and the numbers people are throwing out are pointless.

This is why you leave it to the professionals.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're compiling a college list now with our junior. Some colleges we've come across and researched have significant budget deficits. We are trying to figure out which ones to worry about.

We know that a college budget deficit can be a significant red flag, particularly if the uni is a small, private, or regional college with a low endowment. And a structural, long-term deficit often leads to reduced academic quality, fewer student services, etc.

Here are the colleges with budget deficits that we are aware of (see below). Are we missing any others we should know about? Which ones to truly worry about (I'm assuming some big ones will figure it out with its endowment but not sure if that's smart thinking)?

Colleges with Budget Deficits (rough amounts reported from the past year):

USC: $200 million
UChicago: $160 million
Stanford $140 million
Penn State: $140 million
Harvard: $113 million
American U: $80 million
GW: $76 million
NYU: $71 million
Boston U: $30 million
Middlebury: $14 million
WashU (St. Louis): $7 million
Brandeis: $2 million
Pitzer: $1.3 million

It’s reported Chicago is $6 billion in debt

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're compiling a college list now with our junior. Some colleges we've come across and researched have significant budget deficits. We are trying to figure out which ones to worry about.

We know that a college budget deficit can be a significant red flag, particularly if the uni is a small, private, or regional college with a low endowment. And a structural, long-term deficit often leads to reduced academic quality, fewer student services, etc.

Here are the colleges with budget deficits that we are aware of (see below). Are we missing any others we should know about? Which ones to truly worry about (I'm assuming some big ones will figure it out with its endowment but not sure if that's smart thinking)?

Colleges with Budget Deficits (rough amounts reported from the past year):

USC: $200 million
UChicago: $160 million
Stanford $140 million
Penn State: $140 million
Harvard: $113 million
American U: $80 million
GW: $76 million
NYU: $71 million
Boston U: $30 million
Middlebury: $14 million
WashU (St. Louis): $7 million
Brandeis: $2 million
Pitzer: $1.3 million

I have appended the 2024 Forbes Financial Health Rankings next to the school. Most of these schools are very wealthy and will adjust tie spending if the nonsense form the administration continues. None of these schools are in long term danger though the experience at R1s will change if they have to start funding more of their own infrastructure costs. Of the 2 SLACs on this list Middlebury will have no issues at all, it is extremely wealthy and the main source of the budget drag has been addressed and the deficit is already down. Pitzer has a relatively small endowment and is tuition dependent. But with an under 25% acceptance rate they should not have any issues sourcing the students needed to keep budget intact and this is reflected in their Forbes grade. Penn State is not graded by Forbes since it is a public institution.

USC: $200 million A+
UChicago: $160 million A+
Stanford $140 million A+
Penn State: $140 million
Harvard: $113 million A+
American U: $80 million B
GW: $76 million B+
NYU: $71 million B
Boston U: $30 million B
Middlebury: $14 million A+
WashU (St. Louis): $7 million A+
Brandeis: $2 million A-
Pitzer: $1.3 million A

I don’t think long-term health is the concern here.

For example, Middlebury had to cut benefits (including 401k contributions) for staff and wind down the Monterey institute (which undergrads had the opportunity to attend) to get their issues under control. That has a real impact on the experience even if the financial situation never spirals.

Anonymous wrote:We're compiling a college list now with our junior. Some colleges we've come across and researched have significant budget deficits. We are trying to figure out which ones to worry about.

We know that a college budget deficit can be a significant red flag, particularly if the uni is a small, private, or regional college with a low endowment. And a structural, long-term deficit often leads to reduced academic quality, fewer student services, etc.

Here are the colleges with budget deficits that we are aware of (see below). Are we missing any others we should know about? Which ones to truly worry about (I'm assuming some big ones will figure it out with its endowment but not sure if that's smart thinking)?

Colleges with Budget Deficits (rough amounts reported from the past year):

USC: $200 million
UChicago: $160 million
Stanford $140 million
Penn State: $140 million
Harvard: $113 million
American U: $80 million
GW: $76 million
NYU: $71 million
Boston U: $30 million
Middlebury: $14 million
WashU (St. Louis): $7 million
Brandeis: $2 million
Pitzer: $1.3 million

Anonymous wrote:We're compiling a college list now with our junior. Some colleges we've come across and researched have significant budget deficits. We are trying to figure out which ones to worry about.

We know that a college budget deficit can be a significant red flag, particularly if the uni is a small, private, or regional college with a low endowment. And a structural, long-term deficit often leads to reduced academic quality, fewer student services, etc.

Here are the colleges with budget deficits that we are aware of (see below). Are we missing any others we should know about? Which ones to truly worry about (I'm assuming some big ones will figure it out with its endowment but not sure if that's smart thinking)?

Colleges with Budget Deficits (rough amounts reported from the past year):

USC: $200 million
UChicago: $160 million
Stanford $140 million
Penn State: $140 million
Harvard: $113 million
American U: $80 million
GW: $76 million
NYU: $71 million
Boston U: $30 million
Middlebury: $14 million
WashU (St. Louis): $7 million
Brandeis: $2 million
Pitzer: $1.3 million

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:USC was very stingy with aid this year, I 100% think it was due to budget deficit.

USC took a bunch of wealthy mediocre kids this year. I know a handful who got in with GPAs under 3.0 but from extremely wealthy families.

Anonymous wrote:Non-Profit Explorer has 990s where you can see deficits.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're compiling a college list now with our junior. Some colleges we've come across and researched have significant budget deficits. We are trying to figure out which ones to worry about.

We know that a college budget deficit can be a significant red flag, particularly if the uni is a small, private, or regional college with a low endowment. And a structural, long-term deficit often leads to reduced academic quality, fewer student services, etc.

Here are the colleges with budget deficits that we are aware of (see below). Are we missing any others we should know about? Which ones to truly worry about (I'm assuming some big ones will figure it out with its endowment but not sure if that's smart thinking)?

Colleges with Budget Deficits (rough amounts reported from the past year):

USC: $200 million
UChicago: $160 million
Stanford $140 million
Penn State: $140 million
Harvard: $113 million
American U: $80 million
GW: $76 million
NYU: $71 million
Boston U: $30 million
Middlebury: $14 million
WashU (St. Louis): $7 million
Brandeis: $2 million
Pitzer: $1.3 million

I have appended the 2024 Forbes Financial Health Rankings next to the school. Most of these schools are very wealthy and will adjust tie spending if the nonsense form the administration continues. None of these schools are in long term danger though the experience at R1s will change if they have to start funding more of their own infrastructure costs. Of the 2 SLACs on this list Middlebury will have no issues at all, it is extremely wealthy and the main source of the budget drag has been addressed and the deficit is already down. Pitzer has a relatively small endowment and is tuition dependent. But with an under 25% acceptance rate they should not have any issues sourcing the students needed to keep budget intact and this is reflected in their Forbes grade. Penn State is not graded by Forbes since it is a public institution.

USC: $200 million A+
UChicago: $160 million A+
Stanford $140 million A+
Penn State: $140 million
Harvard: $113 million A+
American U: $80 million B
GW: $76 million B+
NYU: $71 million B
Boston U: $30 million B
Middlebury: $14 million A+
WashU (St. Louis): $7 million A+
Brandeis: $2 million A-
Pitzer: $1.3 million A