What are the top colleges in the US that receive the most donations from alumni? Stating that one college is better than the other is hardly ever an entirely objective matter, as there are a plethora of indicators and factors that must be taken into account. However, a good way of judging how colleges are faring out is by looking at how much graduates are eager to give back to the schools that have offered them their education. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that there is a high degree of correlation between the amount of donations each school receives and the quality of education provided by that school.
Previously we have attempted to rank colleges based on several criteria. See best engineering colleges in America or best colleges to find a husband for sample articles. Following, we would like to present you with a list we have compiled of the 20 top colleges in the US that receive the most donations from alumni, based on a report recently released by Forbes Magazine. Their report, the Grateful Graduates Index 2014 ranked colleges across the country according to the average amount of donations from former students, within a ten year time frame as well as the percentage of alumni that donated to the college during the timeframe. The two indicators were used to compile the Grateful Grads score which was then used to rank the schools.
Curious to see which US colleges have the most generous alumni? Let’s take a look at the countdown.
No. 20: Harvard University
Median private donations (10 years): $25,122
Estimated alumni participations rate: 19%
Grateful Grads Index score: 91.4
No. 19: University of Pennsylvania
Median private donations (10 years): $16,614
Estimated alumni participations rate: 24%
Grateful Grads Index score: 91.6
No. 18: Haverford College
Median private donations (10 years): $14,463
Estimated alumni participations rate: 43%
Grateful Grads Index score: 92.2
No. 17: Carleton College
Median private donations (10 years): $14,876
Estimated alumni participations rate: 50%
Grateful Grads Index score: 93.6
No. 16: California Institute of Technology
Median private donations (10 years): $56,706
Estimated alumni participations rate: 24%
Grateful Grads Index score: 94.5
No. 15: Bryn Mawr College
Median private donations (10 years): $16,272
Estimated alumni participations rate: 30%
Grateful Grads Index score: 94.7
No. 14: University of Notre Dame
Median private donations (10 years): $15,319
Estimated alumni participations rate: 37%
Grateful Grads Index score: 94.8
No. 13: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Median private donations (10 years): $36,763
Estimated alumni participations rate: 25%
Grateful Grads Index score: 95.1
No. 12: Yale University
Median private donations (10 years): $30,033
Estimated alumni participations rate: 28%
Grateful Grads Index score: 96.7
No. 11: Duke University
Median private donations (10 years): $28,521
Estimated alumni participations rate: 28%
Grateful Grads Index score: 96.8
No. 10: Stanford University
Median private donations (10 years): $30,826
Estimated alumni participations rate: 28%
Grateful Grads Index score: 97
No. 9: Brown University
Median private donations (10 years): $21,694
Estimated alumni participations rate: 29%
Grateful Grads Index score: 97.4
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No. 8: Wellesley College
Median private donations (10 years): $17,958
Estimated alumni participations rate: 47%
Grateful Grads Index score: 98.5
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No. 7: Davidson College
Median private donations (10 years): $18,044
Estimated alumni participations rate: 48%
Grateful Grads Index score: 98.6
No. 6: Amherst College
Median private donations (10 years): $18,752
Estimated alumni participations rate: 52%
Grateful Grads Index score: 99
No. 5: Bowdoin College
Median private donations (10 years): $19,598
Estimated alumni participations rate: 44%
Grateful Grads Index score: 99.4
No. 4: Claremont McKenna College
Median private donations (10 years): $22,459
Estimated alumni participations rate: 42%
Grateful Grads Index score: 99.8
No. 3: Williams College
Median private donations (10 years): $23,346
Estimated alumni participations rate: 53%
Grateful Grads Index score: 99.9
No. 2: Dartmouth College
Median private donations (10 years): $27,464
Estimated alumni participations rate: 44%
Grateful Grads Index score: 100
No. 1: Princeton University
Median private donations (10 years): $29,330
Estimated alumni participations rate: 46%
Grateful Grads Index score: 100
