<p>For my money, endowment per student is the single best metric.
At the extreme, take Princeton. $2.2 million per student. An annual throw off of $110,000 per student per year at a 5% rate. Not counting the annual fund drive.
Enough of a cushion not to back off of financial aid, faculty and program commitments unless the world economy collapses in an almost unimaginable way. If that happens, who cares about Princeton? We've got bigger problems.</p>
<p>I think some of you are missing the boat in thinking only of endowment. </p>
<p>It is better to focus on the overall financial picture of an institution. The endowment is just one component. </p>
<p>What really matters is:</p>
<ul>
<li> is the college operating at a surplus or loss?<br></li>
<li> how indebted is the place?</li>
<li> what are the enrollment trends?</li>
</ul>
<p>From there, you could observe what's happening on the campus - is there a lot of deferred maintenance? Do the buildings, outside or inside, look shabby? What about the grounds?</p>
<p>An endowment can be a great rainy day fund, for a few years, as it is hard to go bankrupt before you've spent the endowment down. But this does not mean that a poorly endowed school is in financial danger. It is just not that simple. </p>
<p>The sad fact is, though, that the financials you'd like to see are rather hard to come by. Many schools put the data on their website, but it is not easy to find.</p>
<p>I know that a number of college presidents have written to their students/parents/alumni about how the current financial situation will affect their campuses - Duke, U Penn, Colgate, Middlebury, Williams, Weslyan, Hamilton, Bowdoin, Tufts to name a few. You can find them on the college websites or in their online newspapers. Some are more detailed than others; it's interesting to read the different approaches (granted, some differences represent the writer). I'm done with my college searches, but they may be worth looking at to those still searching.</p>