<p>Does anyone know how to look up the financial health of a college? I am surprised at the cost of some colleges and when we visit, well from the outside it looks like there are a lot of improvements needed to be made. With the way the economy has been for a while some colleges may have been affected more than others. I would hate to have my kid go to a college only to find out that crucial services are cut back half way through his education or worse that the school shuts down. How do I find out this sort of information?</p>
<p>Forbes attempted to assign a financial grade. I really haven’t scrutinized the analysis but it might be a place to start: <a href=“Is Your College Going Broke? The Most And Least Financially Fit Schools In America”>http://www.forbes.com/sites/schifrin/2013/07/24/is-your-college-going-broke/</a></p>
<p>Look at the size of the endowment. Also, look at the amount of construction. Many complain at the inconvenience of detours, etc, but growth is a good thing.</p>
<p>Google the bond rating. A school with weak financials will get penalized by the markets when they go to borrow money- a school can have a big endowment but have several years of cash flow problems, which probably signifies some trouble down the road.</p>
<p>@MWCDSS thanks that was very informative - kind of disturbing to look at that list. Even schools I thought weren’t too bad have C or C- ratings.</p>
<p>@MADad how do you get the endowment information?</p>
<p>@blossom thanks I found the info on the school I was worried about and their rating is actually good.</p>
<p>@Benley even without a membership lots of information could be found.</p>
<p>Wow thanks you all - I never thought I could find this much detailed information. I feel better about the one school I was worried about.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/research/2012NCSEPublicTablesEndowmentMarketValuesFinalJanuary232013.pdf”>Page not Found;
<p>Endowment ranking</p>
<p>You cannot “look up” something like the financial health of a college. Like the health of a human being, the financial health of a college is a condition that requires observation, analysis, and judgement. Exactly what should you observe for the best evidence of financial health? The amount of construction, the bond rating, or the endowment size might all be good indicators, but you should not confuse any single indicator with “financial health”. Blood pressure is not the same as “health”. Body temperature is not the same as “health”.</p>
<p>Financial endowment per student probably is one of the best available indicators (for private colleges, anyway).
<a href=“http://www.ordoludus.com/quality.php?sort=ES&dir=down#data”>http://www.ordoludus.com/quality.php?sort=ES&dir=down#data</a>
<a href=“50-50 Highlights: Average College Endowment per Student”>http://diycollegerankings.com/50-50-highlights-average-endowment-per-student/5072/</a></p>
<p>I’m curious as to why you would want such detailed information. Are you concerned that a school your child is possibly attending might go belly up during their 4 years? If you have this inkling, probably best to move on to another school.</p>
<p>@mnm111 Actually I wasn’t looking for “detailed” information. Yes I was concerned that a school may be in trouble not just to go belly up but perhaps to cut back on services. I also realize, however, that I am not a finance person and do not have the ability to make any predictions on the financial stability of a school. Because I am totally in the dark about these issues I didn’t want to pre-judge a school either and have him lose out on good programming.</p>
<p>I don’t want to name the school because I don’t think it’s fair to taint an institution’s reputation based on my insecurities but the city it is in is not doing well either. Since my son focuses on programming first before location, the specific program he has been accepted into is good. Some of the classrooms of the school don’t look the greatest either. I may be a little spoiled and maybe it’s easy to gain my confidence by superficial things like structures? I would hate for that to mislead my son in thinking he wouldn’t get the education he wants from there.
Personally I really don’t want him to go to that school.</p>
<pre><code> Great resources from everyone on here.
</code></pre>
<p>When I first started college search, people ask why I was interested in such information, and my answer was simple; -“I needed to know that a school is managing their finances well, sustainability is @ their priority list, and If I need a VERY healthy AID PACKAGE, they will be willing to offer, provided I meet their requirements”.
In addition to all the resources above, USnews.com, list each colleges’ Endowment as of the current year. e.g
<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/harvard-university-2155”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/harvard-university-2155</a>
or
<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/williams-college-2229”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/williams-college-2229</a></p>
<p>Endowment can be found under “General Information”.</p>
<p>One thing I must say is that, do not let the amount posted sway you. You have to generate your own excel spreadsheet to see how that endowment stands when compared to the student population. An endowment amount of a public flagship school with 10 campuses - 50,000, or a private university with 15,000 student does not translate to the same with 5,000 or less student. In addition, although a school’s endowment might be huge, it does not in anyway mean they are generous with it.
So do your research, apply it to your situation (FIT & BALANCE), and make your selections wisely.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how easy these might be to find, but if a school has created a strategic plan, it might include indicators about where the school is vulnerable and where it has opportunities. I was planning to poke around my kid’s target schools for such plans. </p>
<p>Midhelper- bear in mind that a campus which started construction in the 1800’s is not going to have the same shiny look and feel as one largely built in the 1900’s with a coherent “master plan”. My own college housed its administrative offices (President and other “important people” in a building where George Washington garrisoned his soldiers for a time. The A/C never worked properly in hot weather, and the heat never worked properly in cold weather. More of a function of the historical significance of the building than the financial resources of the University.</p>
<p>I know people who live in Houston or Scottsdale or a “new” city who tour Princeton and think “this place must be broke”. So be wary of making judgements based on 21st century eyes evaluating a Colonial era footprint.</p>