In an interesting article today from the AP, many colleges are now not waiting until their current students are alumni to ask them to donate money. Michigan (and public schools more generally) is one of the main topics of the article, but it also mentions private schools such as Emory and Penn. These schools are doing all they can to build loyalty among students.
One of the interesting things the article mentions is that public schools are having more of a problem with alumni support than private ones, simply because many public school alumni attended when the state picked up more of the tab for education, and aren't used to being expected to give money. In 1960, Michigan received about 80 percent of its money from the state every year. Today it's more like 20 percent.
However, the further issue here is the vast difference in tuition for in-state and out-of-state students, as well as in financial aid packages. Many out-of-state students don't get the kind of financial aid packages that in-state students get, and feel like the school has already gotten enough money from them from tuition, so they are not as willing to donate later in life. For donation rates to go up, this will have to change.
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