Student Loan Blog

An anonymous donor is playing secret Santa with at least a dozen colleges and universities nationwide, but instead of giving $5 trinkets this Santa has left schools with $1 million to $10 million gifts, The New York Times reports (“Anonymous Donor Gives Millions to Colleges,” April 24, 2009). Over the past two months the donor has given away ...

In economic downturns, colleges and universities become flooded with students of all ages looking to better prepare themselves for an increasingly competitive job market. But these schools haven’t been immune to the effects of today’s recession. Fortunately, for every recent economic downturn in higher education — tuition hikes, state budget ...

For the six-month period ending in December, college endowments nationwide lost an average of 24 percent, according to the nonprofit Commonfund Institute of Connecticut, forcing a handful of small regional universities to make significant cutbacks to their scholarship funds for the upcoming fall semester (“More Bad News on ...

With more families applying for financial aid — applications are already up 10 percent above last year’s record — and lending for private student loans drying up, families’ ability to find available financial aid is becoming more difficult, reports the Associated Press (“College Financial Aid System Facing Stiff Test,” Jan. 25, ...

Harvard University’s whopping $34 billion endowment is declining in the current economic crisis, and the hits could keep coming, wrote university president, Drew Gilpin Faust, in a recent e-mail sent to students and employees (“A Sober Message From Harvard’s President,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 10, 2008). While it is not known ...

After years of ranking among the nation’s top five most expensive schools, Sarah Lawrence College — a private, liberal arts school in Bronxville, New York with a tuition price tag of more than $53,000 a year — is now the priciest school in America, beating out George Washington University and New York University, according to a new College ...

In addition to categories like tuition and fees, and campus life, colleges and universities are now being rated on just how green they are, according to an article in The Christian Science Monitor (“Now, ‘Green’ Report Cards for U.S. Colleges,” July 8, 2008). Sustainability has become such an important issue for college students that six out ...

In a recent letter to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means, Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, proposed restricting IRA rollover contributions to colleges that don’t use their endowments to help low and middle-income students pay for college, according to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (“Proposal Would ...

The student government at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, has established an endowment that it hopes will eventually eliminate the $270 activity fee required of all students, writes Charles Proctor of The Hartford Courant (“Wesleyan Students Pioneer Endowment Fund,” April 27, 2008). This endowment may be the first in the ...

Recently, Harvard University alumnus David Rockefeller, announced that he will be giving his alma mater the single largest gift from a former student ever, writes Stephanie Strom of The New York Times, (“Rockefeller Gives Harvard $100 Million,” April 25, 2008).The $100 million gift will be added to the school’s $35 million endowment, the largest ...