Talk about achieving fund-raising success: donations to U.S. colleges and universities rose sharply in 2007 to a record $29.75 billion, an increase of 6.3% over 2006 giving. The year-to-year increase actually follows the academic calendar year, therefore it doesn’t take into consideration the economic slowdown that took hold this past fall.

Stanford University Leads the Way

Once again, the biggest recipient of the spoils was Stanford University which raised 832.4 million dollars, an amount that was significantly less than the all-time record of 911 million dollars garnered the previous year. Still, the California university easily out paced second place Harvard which pulled in $614 million.

The University of California and Johns Hopkins University took the third and fourth spots, netting $469.7 and $430.5 million respectively.

Big Endowments At 76 Schools

Endowments at schools of higher learning across the US continue to expand, despite government calls to have colleges and universities tap these funds to help keep tuition costs in line. At least 76 colleges and universities are now boasting endowments of one billion dollars or more, but that number is expected to hold steady as the stock market pulls back.

Alumni, Foundations Are Big Contributors

Foundations are the largest contributors to colleges and universities, with alumni following a close second. Over the years, giving has corresponded closely to how well stocks are performing: the better the stock market gains, the higher the contributions.

SayCampusLife has been following the call for schools to tap their endowment funds and offer other relief here: US Senate Investigates College Endowment Practices, Small Colleges Feel Pressure to Reduce Tuition,  and How Expensive Is Your College?

Source: (ap.com)

Tags: college tuition, endowment funds, Harvard, Johns Hopkins University, Stanford University, Student Loans, University of California

What to Do About Credit Cards While Attending College

Banks and other student loan companies will be marketing you with credit card offers. Their objective is to get you onto their credit card system so that they have you as a customer for life.

 You will need a cash card for school. Many college-town merchants will not accept checks and you don’t want to carry around cash. But beware! Many students get into big debts with easy use of credit cards.

What Type of Credit Card for School

Pre-paid Cards:
see how to use pre-paid cards to manage and budget your student funds. They work just like credit cards. But they limit your spending by the amount of money you load to the card.

view how they work from MasterCard International