Why is georgetown endowment so small

One of Grinnell's trustees was friends with Warren Buffett and was able to invest the endowment in some of Buffett's earlier deals. Economist 2cc5. Economist bc Uchicago also has a relatively small endowment per capita compared to schools it considers peers. Why is Georgetown's endowment so small? For such an old school they are very poor. Why is Georgetown so poor?

Georgetown is located in DC which is an expensive city, that's why. They were not fundraisers. Of the top 25 schools, i believe it has the smallest endowment. It's tiny! Georgetown has not released information on how successful those programs were. As a result, students saw reduced costs from the university for tuition and room and board, translating to less revenue for the school.

The university offered a 10 percent reduction in tuition for all undergraduates, and 5 percent for all graduate students. Of the remaining 11, graduate students, the majority have reported taking out loans or not receiving full-tuition scholarships, meaning the tuition reduction would benefit them.

At a conservative estimate, about 6, graduate students received the reduction. On the undergraduate side, about 45 percent of undergraduates receive some form of financial aid. Though some students who are on financial aid benefited from the tuition discount as they pay part of their tuition costs out of pocket, those whose tuition is fully covered would not have.

Based on rough numbers of how much aid students receive, it can be estimated that at the most, 5, students benefited from the tuition cut, and 2, students, or 30 percent of undergraduates, did not.

The university also lost a vast majority of its usual revenue from room and board. While meal plan costs would have also decreased with fewer students to feed on campus, meaning Georgetown might have been able to avoid significant losses, the university generally relies on the money they get from housing. Assuming that all freshmen, sophomores, and juniors live on campus, and discounting seniors who may live off-campus, approximately 5, students annually pay for on-campus housing.

These are estimated numbers based on publicly available data about tuition and financial aid. Other potential major costs include providing COVID testing to students on and off campus, decreased enrollment, and increased financial aid needs. Other sources of university saving include energy costs, limited travel, and potential cuts in staffing. However, Georgetown did invite any seniors who wished to live on campus back for the spring, estimating that about students would move back onto campus.

With more classes being offered in person, there may be other areas the university can cut its losses in the spring semester. To keep costs down while not resorting to layoffs in spring , Georgetown is implementing the Redeploy Georgetown program to fill COVID-related staffing needs with current employees. This article appeared in the September 15, issue of the Hatchet.

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