How much does the high cost of living hurt Rutgers donations?

[ruready4somefootball]

All the talk about where Rutgers ranks in alumni donations and where we could be if it wasn't so bad, makes it seem like we are the cheapest fans in America. Is there a more expensive area in the country to live with a major University to support than this area, and Rutgers? So many of our alum, are just trying to get their feet wet,saving money to buy their first home,setting up shop, for the rest of their lives. Sure, you make more money in this area, but I don't think it equates to the cost of living in most parts of the country. The older more established alum,are the ones that take the hit here,but that sure lowers the pool of donors,and makes the statement about the 500,000 living alum in the tri-state area look a lot smaller.

 

[Caliknight]

It should be the opposite. People here like to post about how much income NJ residents have and how wealthy the state is, so they should have more money to donate.

 

[RUwoz]

Berkeley seems to get donations

 

[sct1111]

It's odd to see institutions like University of Delaware and Virginia Commonwealth have larger endowments than Rutgers. I mean Rutgers is twice the size of UDel, has many many more alumni, is a better academic institution, sits in one of the richest states, close by to some of the most profitable businesses on the planet, is one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the nation and yet still has a subpar endowment.

 

[mikefla]

It doesnt matter how much NJ thinks its the richest state, the fact is most high wage earners are taxed to the max. You only have to visit Camden or Newark to know the state is made up of more than this wealth fantasy. NJ has a LOT of problems to solve and a tax surplus is very unlikely...ergo absurd property taxes state-wide and alums that have to be very careful with their incomes.

That said donation are NOT about hounding and squeezing the average fan at the schools that have the biggest endowments, its about the deep pocket alums(and NON alums) giving because they want their name associated with the university.

I can speak for Cornell>>>the average Cornellian doesnt give much, but the big dogs do. We had a target of half a billion for ALL last year and hit a BILLION in 3 mo !!!! and adjusted the target UPWARDS! The deep pockets did their job.

 

[FanuSanu52]

Mikefla seems to be spot on. If we had the really wealthy alums dropping big donations, we wouldn't even have to question if potential donors are priced out because they're struggling in overpriced NJ. I don't find the high cost of living a plausible explanation. You either have big money and no problems with cost of living in the state (the folks we need donating) or you don't (folks that wouldn't move the needle anyway). I doubt there are that many people out there just itching to donate big after they make that last mortgage payment.

 

[R1776U]

did anyone here ever consider to GET RID OF INCUMBENT POLITICIANS(and the nanny laws that follow) .. and get rid of the NJEA??? and only pay for services that you WANT??... like fire, police, EMS, public works?... not paying for YOUR kid makes me pay 6500 less... i don't have kids in the system.. why the f should i have to pay for YOUR choice? did i tell ya to have a kid? no?.. then why should my money pay for YOUR choice to stick it in ur wifey?

that is why donations aren't that good

note: i'm pro-choice, pro 2nd Amendment, i'm for ghey marriage(just deal with the divorce like heteros)... equal is equal.. you pay for what you do

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

Some people think that just repaying their loans is enough.

 

[Knight_Light]

[QUOTE="sct1111, post: 246213, member: 5758"]It's odd to see institutions like University of Delaware and Virginia Commonwealth have larger endowments than Rutgers. I mean Rutgers is twice the size of UDel, has many many more alumni, is a better academic institution, sits in one of the richest states, close by to some of the most profitable businesses on the planet, is one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the nation and yet still has a subpar endowment.[/QUOTE]

Didn't know that...that's actually pretty surprising.

 

[Knight_Light]

note: i'm pro-choice, pro 2nd Amendment, i'm for ghey marriage(just deal with the divorce like heteros)... equal is equal.. you pay for what you do

Not sure what the above has to do with the topic....besides, you didn't mention your favorite color.

 

[chrisru99]

All of are money is going to private schools so our kids can get into really good colleges one day. lol Personally I only donated 750 this year to RU Mortgage taxes my own student loans and my daughters TCNJ tuition does not leave much room for much else.

 

[RUfinal4]

part of the issue could be that many RU alums still live in the NJ area and see all the political talk in the news about state contributions to the University.

For alums of state schools that live in other states they may be more likely to donate as a way to keep a connection. Plus when living out of state you don't see the day to day news affecting the University.

 

[BigLou]

[QUOTE="sct1111, post: 246213, member: 5758"]It's odd to see institutions like University of Delaware and Virginia Commonwealth have larger endowments than Rutgers. I mean Rutgers is twice the size of UDel, has many many more alumni, is a better academic institution, sits in one of the richest states, close by to some of the most profitable businesses on the planet, is one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the nation and yet still has a subpar endowment.

Didn't know that...that's actually pretty surprising.[/QUOTE]

Maybe Virginia Commonwealth is surprising but my guess about UDel is that they have been recipients of gifts from the DuPont family

 

[derleider]

It's odd to see institutions like University of Delaware and Virginia Commonwealth have larger endowments than Rutgers. I mean Rutgers is twice the size of UDel, has many many more alumni, is a better academic institution, sits in one of the richest states, close by to some of the most profitable businesses on the planet, is one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the nation and yet still has a subpar endowment.

Delaware is for obvious reasons. Its got one of the major large corporations of the last 150 years in its backyard. Might as well call it DuPont university. Not sure where all of VCUs wealth comes from, but given the lack of major PRIVATE schools in Virginia, one can assume that alot of Richmond are corporations give money to VCU (Phillip Morris for example has an HQ down there).

VCU was started in 1838 as a medical school. It even stayed open during the Civil War. Parts of it were also part of W&M later. RU didnt reopen its doors for good until 1825. We are old, but we spent the first 60 years going in and out of business.

Meanwhile RU might be old - but its first 125 years or so were representing a church sect that was dying before the school even started. NJ is the only state that had TWO colonial era schools, and one of them dominated fundraising - it wasnt us. Then we became a huge state school and expanded way too quickly. First that no doubt pissed off the small school alums who viewed RU as an elite institution. Then it created a bad impression among the large school era alums by being a cheap experience.

But I think the high cost of living comes into play. Rich states actually usually have the most inequality. There are alot of rich people in NJ who would never send their kids to RU, and alot of poor people who can barely afford to keep their head above water once they graduate from RU. A similar thing applies in MD - and MDs endowment is in the same range as RU.

It costs alot to go to RU. When you get out you pay alot for housing and alot in taxes. Alot for commuting (either in tolls, or in tolls avoided by moving closer to work and paying more for your house.) Since you went to RU, chances are you didnt start out in a rich family, so you are paying back that RU loan yourself.

Also - remember - RU didnt become a HUGE school until after WW2. And that was on the backs of GIs - they certainly werent making a ton of money after RU. So basically RU likely didnt become a HUGE school with a regular non-GI Bill student base until the late 1950s. A 1950s era graduate is still only in their late 70s. Much of RUs huge alumni base is just entering prime donating age.

 

[RU205]

In another thread on this topic someone mentioned that if all RU alums gave just $25 a year the schools endowment would grow considerably. About $2 a month should be nothing, even if you still have student loans.

All the other stuff is just background noise. Politics, taxes, cost of living, etc. people probably spend $25 a week on coffee or beer. They can spend $25 a year to the school.

I didn't attend RU but my season tix and small donations should just add to it. I attended a small school in the region and I send in money every year. $25-$50 at first and more over time.

My take is RU alums are cheap and I haven't heard a good argument to change my mind.

 

[CuredbywinningRU]

Our lack of donations reflects the economic demographics of the student body, currently and historically. Full stop. Very different than that of most flagship state Us.

Again, RU has a disproportionate number of first generation college kids from middle income or lower families or families who otherwise "chose" RU due to cost factors and who are without the tradition of, or means to undertake charitable giving in a meaningful way. These families also typically lack the connections to assure that their kids (and many RU kids are very bright and capable, but that's not enough in many cases) have the smoother routes to the jobs and opportunities that lead to the type of VERY high incomes needed to make major donations. These types of jobs include, to name a few - SENIOR positions (merely being an employee of Goldman Sachs doesn't mean you can be a major donor) at investment banks, hedge funds, public companies, private equity shops, VC firms, elite national law firms and other elite institutions where your comp isn't merely salary but is also based on equity positions or similar interests).

That is the issue, every other issue is related to the foregoing. We have alums in senior posts at some of these elite employers, but way too few as a % of our alum base and all too often those that are there couldn't care less about RU since all too often their experience at RU was not great (RU screw, etc) or lacked sports success or other bucolic memories.

Without those major donations, nothing will change.

 

[imbazza]

UConn jumped us in USNWR university ranking because of 1 fact they went out and got big boost in donations. I do not know if it was a few deep pockets or an across the board all alum in thing.
But between ~2000 and today they skyrocketed over ranking their quality of education with just $$$$ so here is an example of a richer state then NJ jumping a better school with a boost in alum funds.

 

[RU205]

RU played Howard last year. Howard is in DC which has a high cost of living, lower level athletics and high taxes and all of the other excuses used here. I don't know if Howard students are first in family from middle or lower middle families to attend college or if most kids come from upper class families? But RUs endowment should be 4 or 5 times Howard's endowment but it's not.

RU has over 460,000 alums with an endowment of $900M
Howard has over 80,000 alums with an endowment of $580M.

 

[OntheBanks]

Our lack of donations reflects the economic demographics of the student body, currently and historically. Full stop. Very different than that of most flagship state Us.

Again, disproportionately first generation college kids from middle income or lower families or families who otherwise "chose" RU due to cost factors and who are without the tradition of, or means to undertake charitable giving in a meaningful way and without the connections to assure that their kids (and many RU kids are very bright and capable, but that's not enough in many cases) have the smoother routes to the jobs and opportunities that lead to the type of VERY high incomes needed to make major donations (to name a few - SENIOR positions (merely being an employee of Goldman Sachs doesn't mean you can be a major donor) at investment banks, hedge funds, public companies, private equity shops, VC firms, elite national law firms and other elite institutions where your comp isn't merely salary but is also based on equity positions or similar interests).

That is the issue, every other issue is related to the foregoing. We have alums in senior posts at some of these elite employers, but way too few as a % of our alum base and all too often those that are there couldn't care less about RU since all too often their experience at RU was not great (RU screw, etc) or lacked sports success or other bucolic memories.

Without those major donations, nothing will change.

WOW !! - That second paragraph is amazing. I'm glad my grammar school teacher never gave me a sentence like that to diagram. :eek:

 

[CuredbywinningRU]

Delaware is for obvious reasons. Its got one of the major large corporations of the last 150 years in its backyard. Might as well call it DuPont university. Not sure where all of VCUs wealth comes from, but given the lack of major PRIVATE schools in Virginia, one can assume that alot of Richmond are corporations give money to VCU (Phillip Morris for example has an HQ down there).

VCU was started in 1838 as a medical school. It even stayed open during the Civil War. Parts of it were also part of W&M later. RU didnt reopen its doors for good until 1825. We are old, but we spent the first 60 years going in and out of business.

Meanwhile RU might be old - but its first 125 years or so were representing a church sect that was dying before the school even started. NJ is the only state that had TWO colonial era schools, and one of them dominated fundraising - it wasnt us. Then we became a huge state school and expanded way too quickly. First that no doubt pissed off the small school alums who viewed RU as an elite institution. Then it created a bad impression among the large school era alums by being a cheap experience.

But I think the high cost of living comes into play. Rich states actually usually have the most inequality. There are alot of rich people in NJ who would never send their kids to RU, and alot of poor people who can barely afford to keep their head above water once they graduate from RU. A similar thing applies in MD - and MDs endowment is in the same range as RU.

It costs alot to go to RU. When you get out you pay alot for housing and alot in taxes. Alot for commuting (either in tolls, or in tolls avoided by moving closer to work and paying more for your house.) Since you went to RU, chances are you didnt start out in a rich family, so you are paying back that RU loan yourself.

Also - remember - RU didnt become a HUGE school until after WW2. And that was on the backs of GIs - they certainly werent making a ton of money after RU. So basically RU likely didnt become a HUGE school with a regular non-GI Bill student base until the late 1950s. A 1950s era graduate is still only in their late 70s. Much of RUs huge alumni base is just entering prime donating age.

Your point bout RU not becoming a large school until the 1950s is a bit silly. First of all, it's been huge now for many decades. Second, the size of the school is not what is the issue. Amherst (albeit in a different category) has less than 2000 students and has an endowment of over $2 Billion. Lehigh is a bit bigger than Amherst but still is a small school and its endowment is over 1.2 Billion and it doesn't have a medical school etc which often accounts for a huge chunk of an endowment. Heck even little known small schools get donations that we rarely see. Tiny Carthage College in Kenosha Wisconsin got a $1M gift a number of years ago to create a nice tennis facility. We're a lot bigger than Carthage College and have had only one gift of a $1m in our history for a non-revenue sport (Bainton for baseball).

 

[derleider]

UConn jumped us in USNWR university ranking because of 1 fact they went out and got big boost in donations. I do not know if it was a few deep pockets or an across the board all alum in thing.
But between ~2000 and today they skyrocketed over ranking their quality of education with just $$$$ so here is an example of a richer state then NJ jumping a better school with a boost in alum funds.

False. UConn jumped us because over the course of two decades their state poured billions into the school at a time NJ was putting NOTHING into RU, and cutting our funding. They also also a big tuition discount to all of new England - and being the most attractive school in in NE, they make out better than the rest in getting better students. That being said - if they were the size of RU, they would be far behind RU (an considering all of New England is now getting a tuition discount, its a fair comparison)

RU dropped in the rankings because it had to expand to keep up with loss of state funding. During that time our alumni giving has actually increased (if not the percent, then at least the value of the donations). If NJ had kept its contribution to RU at 1990 levels in real dollars, and RU had thus been bale to remain around 23,000, RU would be the 2nd ranked school in the Northeast behind PSU.

The expansion affected almost every US News statistic in a negative way. Its made RU take worse students than it otherwise would have, lowering selectivity, retention, graduation rate performance (how well do you students do relative to the average for their income level) and probably reputation (these four make up 65% of the ranking).

The how much money do you spend statistics (students/class, faculty salary, $/student, use of adjuncts - 30%) are also mostly affected by state spending (and to a lesser extent grants), not alumni donations (which hare a minor part of any schools budget). And that discounts spending on dorms, athletics facilities, and hospitals - which are a big part of RUs recent building spree. Most of it in fact.

That 95%.

Alumni donations are a very very minor part of US News, contrary to what people think - the other 5%.

So really - RUs lack of state resources is the main reason we have dropped in the rankings. NJ stopped spending and we dropped. Other states spent and their schools rose. Its not hard to see that. I think a study came out recently that basically spelled it out - you have to spend alot of money to climb in US News. We havent.

Howard is a very unique school. Its not quite the black Harvard - but it is probably THE most prominent HBCU, and likely draws alot of black elites (or at least alot relative to its academic standing) and donations from unaffilated blacks. It has a connection with a community that RU doesnt really have with any community.

 

[srru86]

My take is RU alums are cheap and I haven't heard a good argument to change my mind.

Unfortunately that is more true than not.

 

[CuredbywinningRU]

Unfortunately that is more true than not.

I don't agree. I don't think they are more or less cheap than other alums. This reminds me of the argument that the AD or RU is cheap because they don't spend more for various sports programs at RU. You can't spend what you don't have and you can't make major donations (and that's all that matters in the big picture to change RU for the better) unless (a) you have succeeded to the point of being able to do so and (b) you care about RU (ie, you look back positively on your experience) enough to give .

I'd hardly call RU alum and home depot mogul Bernie Marcus cheap - he's given more to ATL in terms of charitable donations to civic institutions in that city than anyone in recent years - but he simply doesn't care about RU. He's just like many of those who commuted to college and for whom it just wasn't a bucolic thing. That's not being cheap.

 

[UMRU]

did anyone here ever consider to GET RID OF INCUMBENT POLITICIANS(and the nanny laws that follow) .. and get rid of the NJEA??? and only pay for services that you WANT??... like fire, police, EMS, public works?... not paying for YOUR kid makes me pay 6500 less... i don't have kids in the system.. why the f should i have to pay for YOUR choice? did i tell ya to have a kid? no?.. then why should my money pay for YOUR choice to stick it in ur wifey?

that is why donations aren't that good

note: i'm pro-choice, pro 2nd Amendment, i'm for ghey marriage(just deal with the divorce like heteros)... equal is equal.. you pay for what you do

Even though this kind of hijacks the thread, I still think I will respond. (to answer the OP - I think the bigger "problem" is that we have so many different things we can spend our money on instead of RU)

Top flight schools have a huge positive impact on the state and directly on you in many ways. One obvious one is that property values are far higher in places with great schools (even if it is just the perception that the schools are better - see Basking Ridge, for example). Another is that whatever business you are in benefits from having kids that are educated. Three, even if your line of work does not depend on educated kids (can't imagine what that might be, but whatever), it is still essential that the businesses you work with or buy from have educated kids. Even personally you benefit - every once in awhile I at Home Depot I get the guy who actually knows what he is talking about! Its fantastic!

 

[derleider]

Even though this kind of hijacks the thread, I still think I will respond. (to answer the OP - I think the bigger "problem" is that we have so many different things we can spend our money on instead of RU)

Top flight schools have a huge positive impact on the state and directly on you in many ways. One obvious one is that property values are far higher in places with great schools (even if it is just the perception that the schools are better - see Basking Ridge, for example). Another is that whatever business you are in benefits from having kids that are educated. Three, even if your line of work does not depend on educated kids (can't imagine what that might be, but whatever), it is still essential that the businesses you work with or buy from have educated kids. Even personally you benefit - every once in awhile I at Home Depot I get the guy who actually knows what he is talking about! Its fantastic!

Theres always that one guy that doesnt want to pay for civilization.

 

[beaced]

All the talk about where Rutgers ranks in alumni donations and where we could be if it wasn't so bad, makes it seem like we are the cheapest fans in America. Is there a more expensive area in the country to live with a major University to support than this area, and Rutgers? So many of our alum, are just trying to get their feet wet,saving money to buy their first home,setting up shop, for the rest of their lives. Sure, you make more money in this area, but I don't think it equates to the cost of living in most parts of the country. The older more established alum,are the ones that take the hit here,but that sure lowers the pool of donors,and makes the statement about the 500,000 living alum in the tri-state area look a lot smaller.

If each of those 500,000 alums were to give just 10 dollars a month to RU,it would bring in 60 million dollars a year.That should not hurt anyone's budget.

 

[UMRU]

Theres always that one guy that doesnt want to pay for civilization.

OK, derlieder, that really made me laugh. Thanks!

 

[NotInRHouse]

Our lack of donations reflects the economic demographics of the student body, currently and historically. Full stop. Very different than that of most flagship state Us.

Again, RU has a disproportionate number of first generation college kids from middle income or lower families or families who otherwise "chose" RU due to cost factors and who are without the tradition of, or means to undertake charitable giving in a meaningful way. These families also typically lack the connections to assure that their kids (and many RU kids are very bright and capable, but that's not enough in many cases) have the smoother routes to the jobs and opportunities that lead to the type of VERY high incomes needed to make major donations. These types of jobs include, to name a few - SENIOR positions (merely being an employee of Goldman Sachs doesn't mean you can be a major donor) at investment banks, hedge funds, public companies, private equity shops, VC firms, elite national law firms and other elite institutions where your comp isn't merely salary but is also based on equity positions or similar interests).

That is the issue, every other issue is related to the foregoing. We have alums in senior posts at some of these elite employers, but way too few as a % of our alum base and all too often those that are there couldn't care less about RU since all too often their experience at RU was not great (RU screw, etc) or lacked sports success or other bucolic memories.

Without those major donations, nothing will change.

I'm the first person in my family to graduate college, donate to RU, and I'm a lawyer in a senior management position in a sizable company.

Try again.

 

[vkj91]

All of are money is going to private schools so our kids can get into really good colleges one day. lol Personally I only donated 750 this year to RU Mortgage taxes my own student loans and my daughters TCNJ tuition does not leave much room for much else.

And that 750 is admirable with everything else on your plate. If more alum were willing to do what you do RU would be In a totally different spot financially.

 

[secant90]

the difference is that RU doesn't really drill a great sense of pride into an 18 - 22 year olds head. i've never donated to the school and living in a high cost area has nothing to do with it. i moved to DC after graduation, which has a higher cost than living in NJ. My friends from UVA and William & Mary have donated $1,000 - $3,000 a year since they graduated. this blew my mind. apparently, most of their alums donate like it's a natural function. none of my friends from RU have ever donated anything since 2004. sure, we all have the extra money, but we just don't care.

 

[zgoru]

I scrolled thru all the responses without reading, but good point OP, living in Bergen County NJ, not all that easy to donate as much as you'd like to.

 

[RU62]

Let's just forget all the bull and excuses about high cost of living in NJ. Donate something. Is $25 too much to ask? But one thing here relates to what has Rutgers done to make or encourage one to give something back. I am sure that while many of our young alumni are proud and thankful for their Rutgers degree there often seems to be something missing in their attachment to the school.

It also would be interesting for someone to publish the statistics for alumni donations as far as percent of Alumni donating for each campus...NB/Piscataway, Newark and Camden and perhaps event a closer look at NB/Piscataway by school namely A&S, Cook (Ag), Livingston, Engineering and Douglass. Would also be interested in comparing NB stats prior to and after the University went coed plus a breakdown of male vs female in relationship to number of graduates. Wouldn't be surprised to see the female participation as being higher.

 

[Knight Shift]

I don't agree. I don't think they are more or less cheap than other alums. This reminds me of the argument that the AD or RU is cheap because they don't spend more for various sports programs at RU. You can't spend what you don't have and you can't make major donations (and that's all that matters in the big picture to change RU for the better) unless (a) you have succeeded to the point of being able to do so and (b) you care about RU (ie, you look back positively on your experience) enough to give .

I'd hardly call RU alum and home depot mogul Bernie Marcus cheap - he's given more to ATL in terms of charitable donations to civic institutions in that city than anyone in recent years - but he simply doesn't care about RU. He's just like many of those who commuted to college and for whom it just wasn't a bucolic thing. That's not being cheap.

Maybe I am wrong here, and fine with Bernie Marcus. Has David Stern ever made a major gift, and if, why is that the case?

 

[Knight Shift]

Major Corporations in the backyard?

1. JnJ
2. Merck
3. Becton DIckinson
4. American Standard
5. ADP
6. Campbell Soup
7. Celgene
8. Chubb
9. Church & Dwight
10. Coach
11. Honeywell
12. Ingersoll Rand


Many others:
http://www.ranker.com/list/companies-headquartered-in-new-jersey/the-working-man?page=2

 

[rutgersal]

It should be the opposite. People here like to post about how much income NJ residents have and how wealthy the state is, so they should have more money to donate.

This. Higher salaries offset higher expenses. People can afford to give. They just don't want to.

 

[rutgersdave]

People have the money but don't want to donate. One of the top 5 companies listed above average pay is over six figures. The number 2 guy is a Rutgers graduate.

 

[applesktrack]

Theres always that one guy that doesnt want to pay for civilization.

Funny how he hates paying for schools, but didn' t mention welfare and food stamps. I would rather fund schools then welfare and food stamps but I do so cause I know its part life.

 

[CuredbywinningRU]

Maybe I am wrong here, and fine with Bernie Marcus. Has David Stern ever made a major gift, and if, why is that the case?

I don't believe Stern has ever done anything material other than allowing his name and NBA logo to be used on donation soliciting materials.

 

[CuredbywinningRU]

I'm the first person in my family to graduate college, donate to RU, and I'm a lawyer in a senior management position in a sizable company.

Try again.

Good for you and I've given in the tens of thousands myself but your example is not what I'm talking about unless you fit the category below and are giving major gifts. I'm talking about truly major gifts - the relatively few RU grads in senior positions in the types of extremely elite entities where they are making in the multiple seven figures annually and have net worths in excess of $10 rarely give an iota about, or meaningful money to, Rutgers. The problem is the relative rarity of RU grads (based on the % of alums) in that starts and the lack of interest of that small group for the most part in supporting RU. We simply don't get major gifts like other big schools

 

[sct1111]

Delaware is for obvious reasons. Its got one of the major large corporations of the last 150 years in its backyard. Might as well call it DuPont university. Not sure where all of VCUs wealth comes from, but given the lack of major PRIVATE schools in Virginia, one can assume that alot of Richmond are corporations give money to VCU (Phillip Morris for example has an HQ down there).

VCU was started in 1838 as a medical school. It even stayed open during the Civil War. Parts of it were also part of W&M later. RU didnt reopen its doors for good until 1825. We are old, but we spent the first 60 years going in and out of business.

Meanwhile RU might be old - but its first 125 years or so were representing a church sect that was dying before the school even started. NJ is the only state that had TWO colonial era schools, and one of them dominated fundraising - it wasnt us. Then we became a huge state school and expanded way too quickly. First that no doubt pissed off the small school alums who viewed RU as an elite institution. Then it created a bad impression among the large school era alums by being a cheap experience.

But I think the high cost of living comes into play. Rich states actually usually have the most inequality. There are alot of rich people in NJ who would never send their kids to RU, and alot of poor people who can barely afford to keep their head above water once they graduate from RU. A similar thing applies in MD - and MDs endowment is in the same range as RU.

It costs alot to go to RU. When you get out you pay alot for housing and alot in taxes. Alot for commuting (either in tolls, or in tolls avoided by moving closer to work and paying more for your house.) Since you went to RU, chances are you didnt start out in a rich family, so you are paying back that RU loan yourself.

Also - remember - RU didnt become a HUGE school until after WW2. And that was on the backs of GIs - they certainly werent making a ton of money after RU. So basically RU likely didnt become a HUGE school with a regular non-GI Bill student base until the late 1950s. A 1950s era graduate is still only in their late 70s. Much of RUs huge alumni base is just entering prime donating age.

Dupont may be in UDels backyard, but we have an even bigger company Johnson and Johnson basically on our campus. Johnson and Johnson is literally the largest and most profitable pharmaceutical company in the world and it's headquarters are in New Brunswick. It's revenue in 2014 was $74 billion! Again J&J is literally the largest and most profitable pharmaceutical company IN THE WORLD and it is 200 feet from Old Queens.

I'm sure J&J has contributed a lot to Rutgers over the years but compared to some other companies with respect to their scope and size, not so much. Our pharmacy program should be top 5 in the world but it is not. Bristol Myers Squib and Colgate Palmolive also have major facilities in New Brunswick and Piscataway.

Johnson and Johnson could single handedly turn Rutgers into a top 25 university. Of course that's expecting a lot but it's not too much to expect more of a contribution to Rutgers.