Anonymous
05/11/2026 16:34
Subject: Princeton spared from endowment tax
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:this is why they fought for the number 3000.
Right, not an accident. They lobbied McCormick to get it done.
Ok, but not “brilliant and well-played” as OP claims. Standard lobbying ploy
Anonymous
05/11/2026 16:29
Subject: Princeton spared from endowment tax
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Only a school like Princeton could do this. Universities that don't pay as much attention to exclusivity and inaccessibility can't replicate this model.
Only very very rich schools are subject to this tax in the first place. It's probably the only Trump initiative I'm happy with.
Can I assume that they’re also taxing the churches with large endowments?
And billionaires on unrealized gains?
Tread lightly, comrade. The commies are next.
Anonymous
05/11/2026 13:27
Subject: Princeton spared from endowment tax
Anonymous wrote:UMC is screwed but we pay a shit ton of taxes which subsidizes research universities like Princeton. Im sorry but pay your endowment taxes Princeton and have some semblance of a meritocracy in your admissionadmissions, not a cynical combination of politics and tax optimization. This level of game playing is gross.
They don't meet the requirement to pay taxes, so why should they pay taxes? Same for all the other rich liberal arts schools out there. Follow the law but also be smart about it.
Anonymous
05/11/2026 13:01
Subject: Princeton spared from endowment tax
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It’s very clever, but when my child was looking at Princeton, I did think about what it would be like to pay full tuition at a place where the majority of classmates are paying little or nothing. I’m glad for them but schools with less generous policies (Yale) do feel fairer to payers like me who aren’t rich. Which is not something I’d thought about before.
This is an interesting and weird take. Princeton is still a quarter full pay students. That is a lot. How is it not fair if you can afford the full pay and others who can’t receive aid? (We are a full pay family)
A quarter isn’t that many! Especially considering how rich the richest are. My family income is under 200,000 a year and we live modestly. We have retirement savings and an inheritance that are not inside a retirement vehicle and therefore are not excluded from calculations. We would pay $95,000 a year and someone in a similar financial situation with their money in retirement funds would pay much less. Obviously we are lucky we can pay at all.
When we toured Princeton, our tour guide made a point of saying that people with income under $300,000 will get financial aid and that only extremely wealthy families have to pay full tuition. I understand she was making a general point but wondered whether that was what students think.
You would NOT be full pay at Princeton. Princeton is far and away the most generous school in the country with aid.
PP said, "We have retirement savings and an inheritance that are not inside a retirement vehicle . . . " She conveniently left out the amount of both the savings and the inheritance. Just another case of a rich person trying to plead that is isn't "fair" that others get aid that they don't.
Anonymous
05/11/2026 13:00
Subject: Princeton spared from endowment tax
UMC is screwed but we pay a shit ton of taxes which subsidizes research universities like Princeton. Im sorry but pay your endowment taxes Princeton and have some semblance of a meritocracy in your admissionadmissions, not a cynical combination of politics and tax optimization. This level of game playing is gross.
Anonymous
05/11/2026 12:20
Subject: Princeton spared from endowment tax
for the DCUM crowd this is bad news. these schools are moving more kids to the free tuition model and moving donut hole kids who may have gotten 20k knocked off their tuition in the past into the full pay bucket.
Anonymous
05/11/2026 12:18
Subject: Princeton spared from endowment tax
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Princeton lobbied for the loophole and got it. Now it's working just as they intended. Hopefully, though, the loophole is closed by a future Congress. Princeton is an absurdly rich school that should pay its fair share.
Princeton didn’t lobby for the loophole, they were just able to take advantage of it. The loophole exists to protect Hillsdale.
there was no loophole. then Princeton lobbied for it. they got 1000 number. Princeton went back and lobbied more. got the 3000 numbers. said, okay, we can work with that
Anonymous
05/11/2026 12:14
Subject: Princeton spared from endowment tax
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Only a school like Princeton could do this. Universities that don't pay as much attention to exclusivity and inaccessibility can't replicate this model.
Only very very rich schools are subject to this tax in the first place. It's probably the only Trump initiative I'm happy with.
Can I assume that they’re also taxing the churches with large endowments?
And billionaires on unrealized gains?
They should! But this is a great start.
Anonymous
05/11/2026 12:04
Subject: Princeton spared from endowment tax
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Only a school like Princeton could do this. Universities that don't pay as much attention to exclusivity and inaccessibility can't replicate this model.
Only very very rich schools are subject to this tax in the first place. It's probably the only Trump initiative I'm happy with.
Can I assume that they’re also taxing the churches with large endowments?
And billionaires on unrealized gains?
Anonymous
05/11/2026 11:50
Subject: Princeton spared from endowment tax
Anonymous wrote:From chatting with other parents during the Princeton admitted day, I was surprised how every parent we talked to had students who got at least half financial coverage.
We are full paying so this did not play into DC's decision to decline Princeton, and there really wasn't a care as to whether others paid out of pocket or got aid. Good for Princeton to find a loophole. It is a great school with a beautiful/safe suburban campus.
Congratulations! And good for you to have a healthy mindset and not resent those who get aid. Where did your kid choose over Princeton?
Anonymous
05/11/2026 11:20
Subject: Princeton spared from endowment tax
Anonymous wrote:Doesn’t seem fair to exempt Princeton, Schools like Holy Cross and Colgate both SLACs with 3300 kids will have to pay.
They’d be exempt regardless because they don’t have more than $500,000 per student in endowment. Even Columbia isn’t rich enough to qualify for the tax.
Anonymous
05/11/2026 11:16
Subject: Princeton spared from endowment tax
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Doesn’t seem fair to exempt Princeton, Schools like Holy Cross and Colgate both SLACs with 3300 kids will have to pay.
They’re exempt if at least 300 students have full tuition scholarships.
+1 Smart universities were planning based on the loopholes. Surely Holy Cross and Colgate have more than 300 kids on full tuition scholarships...
Anonymous
05/11/2026 11:16
Subject: Princeton spared from endowment tax
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Princeton lobbied for the loophole and got it. Now it's working just as they intended. Hopefully, though, the loophole is closed by a future Congress. Princeton is an absurdly rich school that should pay its fair share.
Princeton didn’t lobby for the loophole, they were just able to take advantage of it. The loophole exists to protect Hillsdale.
The article cited by OP specifically says that Princeton spent a record amount on lobbying for the loophole. I guess you can't read.
Anonymous
05/11/2026 11:15
Subject: Princeton spared from endowment tax
Anonymous wrote:Doesn’t seem fair to exempt Princeton, Schools like Holy Cross and Colgate both SLACs with 3300 kids will have to pay.
They’re exempt if at least 300 students have full tuition scholarships.
Anonymous
05/11/2026 11:12
Subject: Re:Princeton spared from endowment tax
Explains why full pay was down this cycle at my kid’s Ivy. They took so many that needed aid.