<p>Bowdoin’s was 1.2 billion dollars this year. Wesleyan’s was 688 last year. 688/1,200=57.3%: pretty close to double. No, I have friends who attended all the major LACs and have discussed class rigor with them. There was much less emphasis on critical thinking and writing at Wesleyan compared to Bowdoin. Our intro. bio final consisted of a single question requiring to that we weave together essentially everything we had learned over the semester in compact, compelling prose. I’m not running away from anything–it’s possible and usually appropriate to both decry the system in which one is embedded and to acknowledge that embeddedness. I gave an example in another thread or maybe this one of a materials engineering program with a reseach program of doing basic and applied research on sustainable materials–such an undertaking would require knowledge of physics, chemistry, mathematics, and engineering, as well as some degree of interest in saving the world–hence, pragmatic and idealistic. That’s just one example, but anything involving a fusion of praxis and ideals would be great. As it stands, our departments–except film and ethnomusicology–are not distinguished in comparison with those of peer schools. That can’t change without more money and, frankly, the dying off or retiring of existing faculty. So it seems to me that a stunningly original and highly challenging interdisciplinary program might just help create some much-needed excitement about Wes and its mission. My concern about this college nonsense has run its course for now. I had a stomach flu that apparently addled my brain to the point that writing on these deeply sad boards seemed a good idea. All the best to you.</p>
<p>Ok, that explains it! </p>
<p>To be clear though Bowdoin’s endowment was $1.038B and Wesleyan’s was $669M AT THE SAME TIME last year. I expect Wesleyan’s to be over $760M as of June 30th this year whenever they announce the numbers? You need to compare both at the same time. Probably just a stomach flu symptom again. Get better!</p>
<p>I understand the timeline according to which these data are released and that it’s not strictly kosher to compare them a year apart. Even if your optimistic projection comes to pass–and I pray it will–Wes will still have an endowment equal to only 63% of Bowdoin’s, with about $670K/student at Bowdoin and $233K/student at Wes, so 1/3 the endowment per student. Also, please drop the condescending tone. It’s unbecoming.</p>
<p>I totally agree that per student the endowment at Wes hurts a lot when compared to the other LACs it’s compared to. At least, like @smartalic34 said, slippage in the endowment appears to be fixed and has been for quite a while. So far this year college endowment gains are coming in at greater than 12% over last year, so it would be a surprise if Wes does not come in over $760M.</p>
<p>Ok. It’s as if he fell off the face of the earth! </p>
<p>^If John Wesley were here, he’d ask us to clean up the Solo cups and brew some coffee. ~O) </p>
<p>^johnwes…is that you hiding out behind that new scree name? </p>
<p>I do know who he is. John and I attended a Wesleyan function not that long ago where he “outted” himself. He’s a much younger guy and I think he became very leery of being seen as a school spokesperson (something which doesn’t bother me at all, btw.)</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>Nice try. We both know better. :)</p>
<p>On the subject of Wesleyan’s fall in the USNWR rankings, I wonder whether USNWR’s rankings correlate in some way to the percentage of students who go into finance careers. I’ve noticed that several colleges that do well, but not spectacularly well, in the USNWR rankings seem to send a smaller percentage of graduates to Wall Street than do most of the schools at the top. If Wesleyan is falling because more of its graduates are going into the arts or public service and fewer of them are going into banking, that might make Wesleyan more attractive to some people – even if its buildings aren’t as well maintained as some of its competitors’ buildings. I don’t know much about the USNSWR rankings or the NESCAC schools, so take this post for what it is – an invitation to those who actually know something about the relative rankings of liberal arts colleges to say something informative or, if not informative, then at least entertaining or provocative. Incidentally, I’m most drawn to colleges that are strong academically but also have a bit of an artsy vibe, so Wesleyan sounds like it might be a good place (notwithstanding the soon-to-be-outdated reputation of its fraternities).</p>
<p>“Overtaken by the illustrious likes of Hamilton, Washington & Lee, and Colby.” You write that you don’t wan’t to “bash Wesleyan,” but you seem comfortable bashing three other schools. Do you know anything about these colleges? If so, you should know that Hamilton, for example, is one of only eleven schools in the Nation, and only NESCAC college, recognized by USNWR (2015 Best Colleges) in “Writing in the Disciplines.” The criteria for inclusion in this category are almost identical to what you write Wesleyan should aspire to, “[emphasis of] writing across all majors.”</p>
<p>Btw, I question the statistical premise of this thread. Wesleyan is currently closer, by USNWR score (7 points), to Bowdoin than Bowdoin is to Williams (8 points.)</p>
<p>“Statistical premise”? An old-school drag queen would exclaim, “Mary!” I’ll simply shake my head and hope you’re not a Wesleyan student or alum.</p>
<p>This year:
Williams: 1
Δ=4
Bowdoin: 5
Δ=10
Wesleyan: 15</p>
<p>Last year:
Williams: 1
Δ=3
Bowdoin: 4
Δ=13
Wesleyan: 17</p>
<p>I also shake my head at times by what people don’t know, or bother to know.</p>
<p>This year, overall score:</p>
<p>Williams: 100
Bowdoin: 92
Wesleyan: 85</p>
<p>Your interest in rank overlooks the true statistical differences which are manifested in the score. You seem not to realize that your concern about Wesleyan’s not being in the top ten is only a difference of five points (which would place it in a tie for 8th.) This is less than the difference between the first and third place schools. In the heart of the bell curve a difference of even nineteen places in rank can be explained by a meaningless three points. So you have to look at all the data in context if you want to draw conclusions from it.</p>
<p>I shouldn’t have had to explain that because I think my original post was clear enough for those who read what I actually wrote.</p>
<p>No, didn’t go to Wes. I favor blue over red.</p>
<p>Fair enough. I hadn’t seen the scores. The rankings hold no intrinsic value for me, just a perverse fascination. I opened this thread essentially to lament that Wesleyan has to get by with a such a small endowment compared to the schools it can no longer complete with quite as successfully for the best students. </p>
<p>@wesleyan97’s - Your thesis doesn’t hold water. Assuming you transferred from Bowdoin ~1995, Wesleyan’s acceptance rate would have been 36%. That means, Wesleyan is roughly 30% harder to get into today than it was when you were an undergraduate. </p>
<p>Nothing wrong with supporting your school. The discussion was interesting and intelligently written, otherwise I wouldn’t have read through and posted. </p>
<p>For the record, I should have referred to a distribution curve, not a bell curve, since I don’t know its shape.</p>
<p>The image of the President being lost in a Freudian time-warp is hysterical. </p>
<p>This pertains to the topic, so I figured I would post it. I sampled mainly Northeastern coeducational colleges from a somewhat longer list, feel free to add to it. (Source, New York Times, Graphic: The Most Economically Diverse Top Colleges, 9/4/14).</p>
<p>COLLEGE, ENDOWMENT PER STUDENT</p>
<p>Princeton $2,280,000
Yale 1,990,000
Harvard 1,520,000
Swarthmore 970,000
Amherst 940,000
Williams 840,000
Dartmouth 660,000
Bowdoin 490,000
Hamilton 410,000
Duke 370,000
Brown 350,000
Vassar 340,000
Columbia 320,000
Middlebury 300,000
Colby 290,000
Colgate 260,000
U. Penn. 230,000
Cornell 220,000
Wesleyan 200,000
Trinity 180,000
Bates 120,000
Conn. Coll. 110,000
St. Lawrence 100,000
Georgetown 80,000</p>
<p>Pomona 1,245,000</p>