Endowment per student seems a more useful measure, though one would want to dig deeper to understand a school’s spending priorities …
I think the data is interesting, and has value in and of itself. I like a healthy debate about what data means. Endowment numbers mean something. Ymmv of whether it is valuable to your decision, but to say they have no value whatsoever to anyone and shouldn’t be talked about- at all - that doesn’t make sense to me.
I don’t care about football, but knock yourself out if you want to start a thread about it. I get that for some people the quality of the football team is essential.
At a minimum, endowments are a current blip on the storyline of a school. For example, NMH’s financial story is interesting- reflecting difficult choices about selling off land and consolidating campuses. Plus some unfortunate timing with the market crash. To me, how they came back from that speaks well of the school’s unique identity. NMH’s endowment level over time is part of who they are.
Endowments aren’t the end of the analysis, they are the beginning. Financial reports from the schools are interesting- as are strategic plans.
There is no doubt a striking relationship to the size of an endowment and rankings. More money means less reliance on tuition, and the ability to spend money elsewhere. Perhaps a new gym, higher salaries, or a new bus for sports. Whatever. This just goes to show that money does play a part in public perception. Sure there are schools that deliver an excellent education with smaller budgets.
Not sure why there is so much negativity on this post. If you don’t like what is being posted, just point your browser elsewhere.
@sgopal2 Negativity happens frequently on CC. Sometimes it’s good as in debating various points, sometimes it devolves into something else. You can also skip a post you don’t like too. 
I do this frequently. Honestly, I don’t see any negativity at all here just difference of opinion. I think many think endowment is a factor and others think it’s a minor aspect. YMMV.
True negativity abounds here on CC. And frankly it is getting quite toxic. There is a reason why most high school students don’t frequent this board anymore. CC is admonished for being filled with helicopter parents who like to bash posters. Most of the students have fled to other sources like reddit to get their information. Its a shame because many parents here can offer great insight.
This thread is a perfect example of that toxic culture. It is fine to disagree, but to post several times in a row “Whats the point of this thread” is downright rude. The negative attitude on this forum is quite unhealthy, and frankly I’m sick of it.
@sgopal2 Sorry, I didn’t read the whole thread so I didn’t see that comment. Yes, I’d agree CC is quite “critical” in many threads. IMO, it reflects our culture. Everyone is an instant expert who can Google data and information rather than rely on their own knowledge.
@CateCaParent : Interesting that you mention NMH. Friends received a communication that their student would be accepted if the financial aid request was withdrawn. It would be interesting to see NMH’s financial aid numbers for this application cycle.
I found the rankings by “endowment per student” VERY interesting since there are several schools with relatively high endowments per student that are hardly ever mentioned here.
@Publisher I think NMH is healthy and doing just fine - and it is a great school. One of my family’s personal favorites. But you can also tell from their FA web page that they are a little more cautious with money. They tell readers loud and clear not to expect FA in the future that you didn’t get right away. I appreciate their honesty.
My guess is their FA budget/approach hasn’t changed in a while. They come across as fiscally conservative- but not in a way that compromises their program. I don’t want to discourage people from applying there.
We used endowment per student as a metric when researching both boarding schools and colleges.
In response to a poster on the first page of this thread, endowment figures are updated annually.
Posting endowment figures after admissions decisions have been released does not influence to which boarding schools a student applies, but does inform successful applicants of a factor to consider in their ultimate choice.
With respect to @publisher comment, I will say my DC had two fantastic meetings at NMH this past interview season with a coach & with the advisor to an academic EC. Then during the parent interview, the AO began the conversation in no uncertain terms, “If you think you’re coming here for FA, you really should re-think your situation.” She had never seen our financials, our kid’s SSAT score, or really anything else. We chose not to apply.
@hoopsdad2000 : An interesting note to your post is that NMH actually has an impressive Endowment Per Student figure of $212,214. This places NMH at #37 in terms of boarding school EPS (endowment per student).
To place this in context, St. Paul’s School has the highest Endowment per student among all boarding schools at well over $1 million per student ( approximately $1,185,000 EPS). NMH’s EPS of $212,214 is similar to Bucknell University’s EPS of $212,799. Both are substantially higher than Georgetown University’s EPS of $127,083 & Kenyon College’s EPS of $126,027.
Several posters have expressed interest in a list breaking down each boarding school’s overall endowment in terms of Endowment Per Student (EPS). Accordingly, I have ranked boarding schools by endowment per student. The top 37 boarding schools ranked by EPS are:
1 St. Paul's School--$1,185,000 endowment per student. This would place SPS at number (#7) seven among all four year colleges & universities. St. Paul's School endowment per student would place it fourth among the 8 Ivy League Schools--only behind Princeton, Harvard & Yale.
St. Paul’s School endowment per student would place it at number (#2) two among all LACs (liberal arts colleges)–only behind Pomona College’s EPS of $1,295,755, and ahead of Swarthmore, Amherst, Grinnell & Williams College.
-
St. Paul’s School–$1,185,000 endowment per student (EPS)
-
Phillip’s Exeter Academy–$1,061,000 EPS
-
Phillips Academy at Andover–$926,445
-
Groton School–$916,230
-
THINK Global–$877,200
-
Woodberry Forest–$842,640
-
Deerfield Academy–$821,000
-
The Hotchkiss School–$805,000
-
Middlesex School–$647,000
-
Mercersburg Academy–$625,000
-
St. Andrew’s School–$619,000
-
Peddie School–$582,600
-
Lawrenceville School–$571,000
-
The Thacher School–$557,000
-
Episcopal High School–$523,000
-
Culver Academies–$476,000
-
Choate Rosemary Hall–$461,177
-
Foxcroft School–$449,438
-
Milton Academy–$443,000
-
Chatham Hall–$428,600
-
Taft School–$427,400
-
St. George’s School–$392,000
-
St. Mark’s School–$391,900
-
Miss Porter’s School–$361,000
-
Eaglebrook School (junior boarding school)–$332,030
-
Berkshire School–$328,431
-
Cate School–$326,087
-
Westover School–$311,224
-
Loomis Chaffee–$294,203
-
Hill School–$291,430
-
Cranbrook Schools–$267,000
-
Emma Willard School–$260,000
-
Westminster School–$256,300
-
Kent School–$232,000
-
Missouri Military–$222,727
-
Blair Academy–$219,565
-
Northfield Mount Herman–$212,214
Skipping down, I’ll include a few more schools:
- Concord Academy–$182,300
- Asheville School–$163,300
- McCallie School–$139,430
- Portsmith Abbey
- Wyoming Seminary–$131,000
- Pomfret School
- Hawaii Prep
- Baylor School–$127,451
- Avon Old Farms
- Suffield Academy–$120,500
- Tabor Academy
- Lawrence Academy
Some colleges & universities with lower endowment per student numbers than the boarding schools listed above are:
NYU–$88,509
Boston University–$63,663
Sarah Lawrence College–$62,566
Bard College–$60,355
Syracuse University–$56,735
American University–$56,519
@teahupoo : Regarding your question in post #10 above, my understanding is that a school’s land & buildings are not included as part of the endowment fund as they are not investible assets.
According to a report issued by the NACUBO (National Association of College and University Business Officers), endowments pay for technology, supplies, faculty & staff salaries, buildings, institutional grant aid, libraries, athletics & research.
Are they investing in the staff and neglecting the facility maintenance… Has anyone seen this at other schools. If the endowment is north of 100m I’m guessing financial struggles shouldn’t be an issue…esp in this economy. Is this factored into anyone’s decision to attend? Any examples of schools with a solid master plan being followed that invests in the kids beyond financial aid?
@PMTcruiser I believe that all schools have an overall plan for example to keep buildings updated ( build where it is needed for example a new sports center or a new classroom science etc). I don’t think this always come from endowment ( or ever does) I would guess it depends on the school. Many schools are like colleges and have big donors give a building or sponsor something they have an interest in. Not all schools are in the same condition. Not all schools have the resources or physical space to expand.
FWIW: As an aside comment, although not a prep school, there is an interesting article about Bowdoin College’s recent endowment success.
A healthy endowment is reflected in many ways including maintenance, investments in new technology, and the other items mentioned in my post above. At least one super high endowment school offered students free travel to France & Switzerland during Spring Break for mission work. I have also heard of students on full financial aid receiving full travel & lodging on campus awards for family members travelling cross country during some breaks. And , of course, the ability to hire the best faculty in numbers that keep average class size to a very low number.
I would avoid schools that are struggling financially, but once a school has met a certain bar in terms of endowment per student, I wouldn’t worry about it.
We care more about teacher quality than shiny facilities … Most of these schools’ most illustrious alumni attended when facilities were far more spartan!
Well endowed schools CAN pay higher salaries. That doesn’t mean they do…And there are mountains of research indicating people leave managers, not companies, so I’d expect the same at a school.
There is more to attracting and keeping teachers, too. Did anyone check out the quality of teacher housing on tours? Just because the school has a shiny new dorm or Science center, doesn’t mean they’ve invested in faculty housing.
Also affecting teacher retention: At least one well endowed school does NOT automatically admit faculty kids. Might that cause some excellent teachers to go elsewhere when their kids hit 8th grade?
Finally: Yes, well endowed schools CAN offer better FA. That doesn’t mean they will offer one to YOU. Our most generous FA offers did not always come from the best endowed