<p>I will give modestly to my college for life. We still give (also modestly) to our son's private middle/elementary school in gratitude for the excellent education he received there. We designate our gift for the scholarship fund instead of the annual fund. After he graduates from public high school, we will probably still join the PTA. It'll be up to our S to give to his university!</p>
<p>We donate to grad school alma mater but not undergrad, we see more innovations taking place at grad school vs. our undergrad schools, plus we feel more indebted to grad school. D is just a sophomore and college is a far off thought (in her mind at least, obviously not to her mom since I'm on cc wink) but I haven't even considered what we will do donation wise once she's a college grad.</p>
<p>I'm a college student, but I donate to my former (private) high school. The school served me well, and I know that they need the money and will use it well. My mother is also the chair of the board and appreciates that my sister and I donate.</p>
<p>H and I both give annually, fairly minimal amounts, to each of our undergraduate LAC's and graduate professional schools. The amounts probably barely pay for the cost of solicting the donation....but make us feel like we've contibuted something towards giving others the opportunity for the excellent educations we received. </p>
<p>Have received letters and calls to donate to child's college. Told them that our "donation" is currently going towards room, board and tuition and after we pay off the loans for the nearly $50,000/year expense, we might consider donating to their annual fund.</p>
<p>I donate a small amount ( about $25-$50) each year to my alma maters because donations by alumni increases rankings. Moreover the amount donated doesn't figure into the rankings. It only matters that a large percentage of alumni donate something,which is what I do.</p>
<p>However, I give more money to schools that need it such as art schools, some local lacs, a school that my son attended that has strong learning disability programs etc.</p>
<p>Today learned that our department at state u is to be recommended to be phased out due to lagging student enrollment.<br>
Wow.
We have been heavily involved in alumni program to re-arrange and try to bolster enrollment in allied fields this past year , majors combined and new programs to be added at the advice of alums who put in their own time and expense and then to find that none of the ideas will be allowed to come to fruition but be killed the first year.....
Yeah, like we will be donating ever again!
Hard times to be a Coug....
PS if you use gas or oil or minerals of any kind - like the wiring for your computer or the AC or heat that makes you comfortable or turns on your lights or runs your car..., thank a geology major, just not at WSU any more.</p>
<p>I donate to my Grad school, UChicago. I will be forever grateful to them for taking a chance on a guy from a fourth tier (if that) school and then giving him an amazing educational & research experience. (Not to speak of the research/training fellowships that paid for tuition and provided insurance and a stipend.) As a matter of fact, they had to threaten me to get me to leave.</p>
<p>I went to an expensive LAC and have not donated since graduating. I didn't realize about the alumni participation ranking or I would have given something. The school was really way more than my family could afford from the beginning, and my father's financial situation worsened dramatically after freshman year. Not only would they not give me a dime, but they also would not allow me to have a job on campus because they said my family made too much. I should have transferred, but I was a first gen and my parents instead gave up everything and wanted me to stick it out. In any case, now that I am in a position to be very generous, I just can't get the memory of sitting across from the financial aid officer, crying, and having him tell me "no".</p>
<p>We have an amazing state university which impresses me. They make a wonderful education available to so many. My donations go there instead of to my alma mater.</p>
<p>I attend an annual luncheon/fundraiser for alumni in my industry because a friend is in charge of organizing it--that's the extent of my participation. The Dean attends and tells us all about the wonderful improvements made possible by our donations and reports on how well the sports teams are doing. Then, his cronies come around to the tables and try to squeeze more money out of us--it's a good time!</p>
<p>Seriously though, I hope to donate to my D's college in the future since they are quite generous to those who cannot readily afford the 50K/yr private school tuition.</p>
<p>I've been sending money to Xavier U in New Orleans ever since Katrina, thanks to Mini's recommendation.</p>
<p>I joined the life membership at the large U's I attended for degrees, so still receive magazines. There was never a possibility that S would matriculate at these Us. I'd be far more enclined to contribute to his UG U. I can imagine S returning for alumni events, etc.</p>
<p>I used to donate money to my undergrad alma mater. I did every year since graduation. I believed strongly in "giving back" and understand the value of the annual fund to its operations, as well as the importance of alumni participation in things like bond ratings and rankings. However it changed its mission and I disagreed (vehemently) with that decision. Maybe I'll give again one day, but right now I don't.</p>
<p>I would consider giving to another undergrad institution who has maintained the mission my alma mater ditched, but right now it's not in the budget given my son's private school tuition. FWIW, we also give (modestly) to that school because I understand how important such support is.</p>
<p>I said I wasn't going to give to my grad alma mater as long as I was still paying loans, but I relented. I give them money annually, as does my husband who went there for all his degrees. They are also my employer, which puts me in the funny position of kind of knowing they don't really "need" my pittance, but still knowing the importance of me sending it in.</p>
<p>I have given modestly to my alma mater almost every year since I graduated, but it would have been really difficult to continue doing so if it had not admitted my S, who was very well qualified relative to the pool of accepted and admitted students. Had it been more of a reach for him (like if his stats put him in the bottom half of the applicant pool), I don't think I'd have felt so much bitterness at a rejection.</p>
<p>I give even more modestly to my law school, because I am employed part-time at a small town law firm and make relatively little. I am one of a very small number of alumni who give, according to a recent mailing I received from the school, and I have classmates who make more than 10x what I make and give nothing back to the school, and that really bothers me. (The school publishes a list of who donates.) It won't keep me from giving to the school, which I think a lot of, but it will keep me from giving more.</p>
<p>I donate to my prep school and college, and speciify that it go to the scholarship fund. Its not alot of money, but the college is eligible for grant money depending on the % of alums who donate so every little bit helps. My husband refuses to donate to his prep school because he hated it, even though it got him into Harvard. (which he also refuses to donate to, saying they're already too rich). I went to private schools with the understanding that I'd always help however I could. Its part of the deal in my mind.</p>
<p>My husband and I used to contribute annually to our (shared) alma mater. We usually gave at the minimum level to qualify for the football ticket lottery (and we even went to a game once). But we have decided to stop giving after S1 was not accepted last year (and his stats were definitely within the realm of possibility; just not at that tippy-top range). Like DonnaL's son, ours would not have attended, but it would have been nice for the legacy thing to have kicked in. It would be just our luck, if S2 does want to attend.</p>
<p>I do not donate to my alma mater because they have never even asked me to donate. I am not hard for them to find, so that makes me feel like my money wouldn't be used very wisely. I will not start donating until I feel the school is going to efficiently use my money.</p>
<p>I make a small contribution to my boarding school every year, but being a current college student paying full tuition, I feel that neither I nor my parents, despite being alumni, despite working for the development office there, are obligated to make a contribution. </p>
<p>As a compromise, I got a Bank of America Student Credit Card from the Princeton U Alumni Association. Supposedly BoA makes a small contribution to Princeton every time you use the card, so they'll be forking up instead of me, and I can claim to be contributing. Best of both worlds IMO.</p>
<p>I was fortunate enough to attend Emory on a full ride. Once I'm actually earning money (two years of med school left), you bet I'm going to give back. </p>
<p>Ever since I was little, my dad talked about how the most important thing he got from college was learning to love learning. He instilled that in me, which directly led to my academic success. So whatever I give to Emory in the future, I'm going to give twice that to my dad's alma mater, a tiny unknown with maybe 1/2500th the endowment.</p>
<p>My wife and I are low/infrequent donation alums. She gives to her (private) high school and I give to a local arts education program for disadvantaged kids. Still, I have an annual-fund donation request on my desk and I will participate this year, and from now on. While our alma matter has a sizeable endowment, it also has a new president who has initiated needs-blind admission, which I support.<br>
What gets me is the hard-sell I get from the colleges my two children attend. My wife and I have no association with either institution but we're constantly urged to make contributions. My only touch-point with either place is via their respective billing offices - and I'll be happy to see the end of those relationships. I'll leave it to my children to decide if they want to contribute as alums. Meanwhile, I think it is a bit much to be asked to top-up the endless dollar-flow from my bank account to my kids' colleges.</p>
<p>My H and I went to the same University. We donate there--I to the excellent conservatory and he to the excellent design/architecture/planning school. We are also members of the alumni association. We don't have much to give but every little bit helps.</p>
<p>I do not give to my kids current colleges, beyond tuition. When I get donation requests from them, I get a good laugh out of it! Someday my KIDS can give.</p>
<p>Dh and I have donated only rarely (and small amounts, at that) to our undergraduate alma mater. We do volunteer a considerable amount of time each year by doing alumni interviews for applicants, though. </p>
<p>If our child is not accepted to our alma mater next year, I at least will not continue to interview applicants and will never give another penny to the college again.</p>
<p>I think it is entirely natural to not want to give to a school that rejects one's own offspring.</p>