OT: Rutgers 2025 Endowment Increase

Jtung230

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Jun 30, 2005
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bigmatt718

Heisman
Mar 11, 2013
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Some of the schools ahead of us surprised me. Just to show how far behind we are Va the rest of B1G.
The crazy part is next year Rutgers should crack $2.5B and Oregon should crack $2B. Pretty sure only the B1G and Ivy League would be the only athetic conferences with all members having an endowment of at least $2B when that happens.
 

NickRU714

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Aug 18, 2009
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Can I ask a dumb question - what exactly is the end goal of the endowment?

I get that we want to “grow”.
But shouldn’t the growth offset tuition increases?

I know this is a bad analogy:

We increasing our “emergency fund” (endowment) while also running up credit card debt each year (needing tuition increases, increased government funding, budget cuts).

What’s the point of having the largest endowment while still increasing tuition?
 
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mdk02

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The crazy part is next year Rutgers should crack $2.5B and Oregon should crack $2B. Pretty sure only the B1G and Ivy League would be the only athetic conferences with all members having an endowment of at least $2B when that happens.

UVA, UNC, Duke and Ga. Tech get the ACC off to a flying start. Not sure it's 100%
 
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mdk02

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Can I ask a dumb question - what exactly is the end goal of the endowment?

I get that we want to “grow”.
But shouldn’t the growth offset tuition increases?

I know this is a bad analogy:

We increasing our “emergency fund” (endowment) while also running up credit card debt each year (needing tuition increases, increased government funding, budget cuts).

What’s the point of having the largest endowment while still increasing tuition?

An endowment is not an emergency fund. Bad analogy.
 
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NickRU714

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Let me try and rephrase.

“Tuition is increased 5%”
“Endowment increased 7%(or whatever it is)”

Why not increase tuition by less (even zero) and keep the endowment overall even.
“The endowment grew 7% but the overall fund is the same amount. That 7% all went into helping us have zero tuition increase.”

Not saying reduce the endowment.
But shouldn’t all “gains” go towards reducing annual budget deficits.
 

Krup062

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Jul 2, 2025
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Schools should be underwriting student loans not the government. Watch how fast tuitions drop.
With student loans very difficult to get discharged in a bankruptcy, the student is left on the hook for everything, and there is no incentive on the banks and universities to rein in costs and make sure what they are teaching actually has the potential to lead to employment.

I would have a bankruptcy by the student have them retain and have to pay off 1/3 of the remaining student loan debt, the university where it was spent would have to pay the bank another 1/3, and the bank would have to write off the remaining 1/3.

It would force the universities to control costs and evaluate the validity of their degree programs, and banks to only lend for reasonable tuition spending for the degree programs that are being pursued.

Right now the college loan system is the equivalent of an auto dealer charging $100K for a Toyota Corolla, and a bank lending someone that much to buy it, because they know the person buying the car can’t get out of the debt.
 

Rutgers Chris

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Nov 29, 2005
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With student loans very difficult to get discharged in a bankruptcy, the student is left on the hook for everything, and there is no incentive on the banks and universities to rein in costs and make sure what they are teaching actually has the potential to lead to employment.

I would have a bankruptcy by the student have them retain and have to pay off 1/3 of the remaining student loan debt, the university where it was spent would have to pay the bank another 1/3, and the bank would have to write off the remaining 1/3.

It would force the universities to control costs and evaluate the validity of their degree programs, and banks to only lend for reasonable tuition spending for the degree programs that are being pursued.

Right now the college loan system is the equivalent of an auto dealer charging $100K for a Toyota Corolla, and a bank lending someone that much to buy it, because they know the person buying the car can’t get out of the debt.
Very similar thoughts here…
 

mdk02

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Schools should be underwriting student loans not the government. Watch how fast tuitions drop.

Doesn't have to be 100%. But having some "skin in the game" would likely lead to some financial prudence. Not sure tuitions would drop but the number of assistant deans sure would. And for some schools, not Rutgers, the number of marginal students unlikely to graduate would shrink.
 

Rutgers Chris

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Except you have some academically promising kids from families that would not mean loan criteria. As I said earlier I don't think the feds should be 100% the providers or guarantor, but they have a place in the system.
True. That is something that would need to be solved ideally. You’d have to wonder what the true cost of a degree is with all of the bloat cut out, government backed loan inflation, etc. Once that is more manageable do loans become more competitive? Do private companies step in to subsidize degrees with a work requirement? Plenty of smart people out there than can likely develop a better system than what we have now .
 

T2Kplus20

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Except you have some academically promising kids from families that would not mean loan criteria. As I said earlier I don't think the feds should be 100% the providers or guarantor, but they have a place in the system.
That's what scholarships are for. Private K-12 schools given out tons of financial aid without gov'ment support.
 
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mdk02

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That's what scholarships are for. Private K-12 schools given out tons of financial aid without gov'ment support.

But normally in conjunction WITH govhernment support. Although with the Ivies, Stanford etc. it's little government support.
 

mdk02

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Totally agree… and why does a 4-year Philosophy degree cost the same as an 4-year Engineering degree..and similarly why does a Philosophy professor makes the same money as an Engineering professor.. makes no sense.

Are the salaries the same? I don't know. Any difference between public and private (MIT engineering more than MIT philosophy)?
 

Anon1751565407

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Jul 3, 2025
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Totally agree… and why does a 4-year Philosophy degree cost the same as an 4-year Engineering degree..and similarly why does a Philosophy professor makes the same money as an Engineering professor.. makes no sense.
Much harder for a a politician to gaslight a philosophy major from Rutgers than an Engineering major. And I didn’t major in either discipline.
 

Anon1751565407

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Mr. Magoo1

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Much harder for a a politician to gaslight a philosophy major from Rutgers than an Engineering major. And I didn’t major in either discipline.

Perhaps. My point is that it’s bad enough for pre-med student to go tens or even hundreds of thousands in debt. That person generally has a path out of debt. A student majoring in basket-weaving should be paying something similar to what that degree is worth, as should those professors.
 

Anon1751565407

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Perhaps. My point is that it’s bad enough for pre-med student to go tens or even hundreds of thousands in debt. That person generally has a path out of debt. A student majoring in basket-weaving should be paying something similar to what that degree is worth, as should those professors.
This country is cooked. Soon, colleges will be filled with nothing but dumb kids with rich parents. A bunch of RFKJrs…
 
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Fat Koko

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The crazy part is next year Rutgers should crack $2.5B and Oregon should crack $2B. Pretty sure only the B1G and Ivy League would be the only athetic conferences with all members having an endowment of at least $2B when that happens.
That is correct. Half the SEC is below $2 billion. So are Clemson, Florida State, and Louisville from the ACC.
 

Fat Koko

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Rutgers endowment history below. Rutgers had been moving up the rankings since 2009 but this trend stalled in 2020.

Endowment fun fact - 1974-2025 CAGR: Rutgers 9.4%, Harvard 7.9%, Michigan 11.7%.

1771090746387.png
 
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RCBeta

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Jul 8, 2025
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Up to $2.35B after fiscal year 2025. Still 2nd lowest in the B1G though ahead of only Oregon who has $1.84B. Numbers are in the spreadsheet.


Up to $2.35B after fiscal year 2025. Still 2nd lowest in the B1G though ahead of only Oregon who has $1.84B. Numbers are in the spreadsheet.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Endowment is $12 Billion.
Does this count?
 

Shelby65

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Apr 1, 2008
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The flip side of keeping academically deserving kids out is replacing with undeserving, sliding metrics, ranking tanking, etc.
 

mdk02

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Aug 18, 2011
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The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Endowment is $12 Billion.
Does this count?

I believe the foundation is separate and apart from the med center. And while it makes donations to the center it also makes donations to other medical entities.