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Since we're in a recession and under Republican rule (Bush said about 3 words about education in his state of the union, and probaby none since...), Public Universities have taken massive cuts to allotments given to them in terms of money recieved from the state, and from the federal government for Pell grants, etc. Now what I want to know, is the adverse affects of this bad economy also being seen in the Private Universities? Like I mean if your going to UWisc, Penn State, UMichigan, etc, your going to be affected by the budget cuts, however what affect to private schools like NYU, Tufts, Case Western have to deal with?

By Lethalfang (Lethalfang) on Wednesday, September 03, 2003 - 04:48 am: Edit

Less endowment.

By Momof2 (Momof2) on Wednesday, September 03, 2003 - 11:34 am: Edit

Many of the private schools are expecting a narrowing of the gap between public and private school costs and are therefore contemplating rising applications. At least that is what they are saying in mailings to alumni, donors, etc. As for endowment, reduced giving may take a long time to show up, however the more immediate concern is very low interest payable on existing endowment funds. Theoretically, it is the earnings/interest that provide funds for the annual budget and financial aid.

By Batman (Batman) on Wednesday, September 03, 2003 - 11:24 pm: Edit

Just want to note here that not all public universities are as dependent on state funds as it may appear. University of Virginia, for example, only gets approximately 13% of its annual budget from public funds and enjoys a huge endowment. Thus, the cuts have not been as evident there as perhaps some other schools.

By Obh100 (Obh100) on Thursday, September 04, 2003 - 12:12 am: Edit

However, look at schools like Penn State, the University of Wisconsin, getting serious hits in their state funding, they won't be able to expand like the elite schools which always have huge endowments and thus a chasm might be created in terms of quality when it concerns institutions...