Alma Mater Contributions

[livingdeb]

Do you make regular contributions to your alma mater?

I never have.

It was a big surprise to me when the begging began. I was pretty ignorant about college in general. I mostly just knew it was more schooling, and therefore I wanted some.

I'd never even heard of most colleges. Seriously, I'd heard of Harvard, University of [fill in the state], Texas A&M, and [fill in the state] University. I thought private universities were good and public ones were not so good. I was told (and this was pretty much true in the late 1970s when people were telling me this) that one shouldn't pay attention to the tuition rates because any school that accepts you will provide financial aid to make up the difference between that and what you can afford.

Little did I know they would ask for it all back. Not just the loans, which were equivalent to a car payment, for ten years, without a car. But also the begging. I'm sure people who totally paid their own way and people who went to state schools also get the begging.

And the stalking. No matter how often I move, my alma mater can find me, even when my insurance company can't.

At first I didn't donate because I decided that if they're going to try to get ignorant people like me to come to their school, without ever telling us what is expected, it's their problem when I don't cough up the dough. And if they like to go around bragging about how all their alumni are rocket scientists and peace workers because of their fabulous schooling, but I couldn't even get a teaching job, then maybe they don't deserve my money, which I didn't even have anyway.

Later, when I had money, I told myself that my donations should go to people who need it more than prospective college students do.

But now I'm starting to feel a little guilty. First, I do spend some money on things like public radio and public TV which are also less important than feeding starving people. That's because throughout all the time I was freeloading (partaking of the services without paying for them), I told myself I would pay when I could. And now I do. So maybe the same thinking should apply to my college.

And they call and say that as little as $25 per year can let them include me in the statistics and thus make it look like alumni respect the school more which in turn makes it look more respectable to others.

If I did decide to start making contributions, which colleges would I even contribute to? I went to five different ones:
* Freshman and Sophomore year: private college
* Junior year: state college #1
* Senior year: private college
* Fun after college: community college #1
* Graduate school: state college #2
* Fun after grad school: state college #2 and community college #2

Are my taxes good enough to count as repayment for the two state colleges, since I'm still living in that state? And one of the community colleges since I still live in that community? Do community colleges even take (small) donations?

So, if you've thought about this issue before, what did you decide?


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Comments

[llcoolvad.livejournal.com]

No, I never have contributed to an alma mater, and partly it's because I have the same problem you do -- I attended (over about 17 years):

1. First semester freshman year: private university #1
2-4. Next three semesters, then a couple more a few years later: state university #1, plus classes at other private schools (#2 & #3) nearby who participated in exchange program
5. Random classes in photography: private art school #4
6. Another few undergraduate semesters: private school #5
7. Final four undergrad semesters: state university #2
8. A few classes in computer-y stuff: corporate training program #1
9. Grad school: private school #6 [that I now teach at]

So that's nine schools, five major. Sigh.

Suprisingly they've lost my number somehow. I used to get calls all the time from State U #1 and #2, but lately nothing. I seem to recall that they have my address, and in my semi-monthly alumni newsletter from State U #2 I get the occasional letter, but I just toss 'em.

As far as I'm concerned, all the private schools I attended get plenty of money elsewhere, and my taxes pay for the state schools. Not that I don't think the state schools need more money, because they clearly do. But I just don't think donations are the answer. A bigger commitment to education from the state, perhaps.

I guess if you really feel guilty, only choose the schools that you actually graduated from as the deciding factor. Or perhaps the ones you had the best classes at?

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

I had good classes at all the schools and bad classes at all the schools where I took a lot of classes.

I graduated from two schools.

I do identify with one school more than the others, though not much because it's far away.

Another idea is to contribute to the schools that would use the money most efficiently, not that I know how to measure that.

On supporting one's alma mater

[fraeuleinchen.livejournal.com]

I went to a small, private, liberal arts college. The thing about not paying attention to tuition when applying for college also rings true with me; my family was poor, and I would have had to pay the same for the state school as for my private education, which was preferable to me because of size, mostly. I didn't want to go to a big school. Raw tuition at my school was about $24,000 annually, back in 1993. I had to pay my EFC (expected family contribution calculated by the FAFSA) of about $2000 per year out of pocket (i.e. cash due before the school year) plus the max on each of two kinds of federal student loans (totalling about $17,000 over four years)); the rest was made up in grants from the school. If I had gone to the state school, I would have paid the same EFC, and taken the same max-out on loans, and the rest would have been less but made up by the school. By the way, I have heard that a good measure for college loan burdens is making it through four years with less than one year's (unaided) tuition in loans; I did that. I paid off my loan aggressively, even though investing money might have been wiser had I been savvy enough to find an investment that would make me more money than I was paying in interest. Nonetheless, I don't regret paying them off ASAP because of the emotional weight that was lifted when I was free of debt.

After I graduated, even though I wasn't making a *lot* of money by most standards, I began contributing almost immediately to my alma mater. At first it was only $25 or $50, usually once a year, but then my employer matched contributions (of $100 or more) to educational organizations at a rate of 200% and so I increased my contribution to $100. I guess I did it because I like to think of the other needy students who will receive grants as I did. However, I realize that my contributions are a drop in the bucket; most of the money probably comes from rich alumni who make far larger donations than I. Another point you made also rings true with me; I like to influence the percentage of supporting alumni. I still read my alumni newsletter, and keep in touch with professors I had; I attended my five-year reunion but don't know if I'll attend the ten-year reunion this May.

I did put the contributions on hold while I was back in school, but will probably restart when they 'find' me again; you're right - they do hunt one down! I also intend to get back to supporting the public radio stations I listen to (KMFA and KUT), now that I'm back in the working full-time world. I do use those resources and appreciate their presence in my life.

Re: On supporting one's alma mater

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

Wow, we have very similar numbers. My small, private liberal arts college cost $10,000 per year for everything (tuition, housing, books, etc.). My parents were also expected to contribute $2000 per year, which they did one of the three years. (The second year, I paid that off with a loan from the third year, and the fourth year I paid that off with savings I had claimed I didn't have from the third year. I figured if they could lie about what my parents could afford, I could lie about what I had saved.)

The first year, I had only a small loan ($1,000), but by the fourth year of Reagan in office, I was expected to take two medium loans ($1,500 and $2,500). I took only the small one and lived my most frugal year ever instead. I still graduated with $7,500 in loans--I think tuition at one of my schools was $6,000 and at the other I know it was $900: more than one year either way you look at it!

I also paid my loans aggressively and now realize I should have been saving more, at least after having paid off my higher-interest loans.

Reunions only make sense to me for my first school. I haven't been to one, but I'm thinking I might one day. I mean, Boston!

(I still live with a bunch of people I went to grad school with, so I get reunions at least once a month!)

Avoidance, and how do you know where it is going?

[indigo-rose99.livejournal.com]

Oddly, my last and largest U seems to have lost my address. I think it was my extremely detailed letter that further contact with me using a last name that was not mine would result in a lawsuit. They spontaneously decided to change my last name on all mailouts about 10 years ago. My letter said that if I asked for a transcript and my real name didn't show up on it... Instant lawsuit. I don't think I yelled or used bad words. But I strongly implied both. Yes, I was beyond irate. I mentioned casually at the end that they would get my money when the sun explodes. Or something to that effect.

Yes, the name thing just blew it for me. Before that I didn't care one way or another about getting the requests. No, I would never give them money -- I always figured that I disapprove of the way they are spending the current money they are given. Why should I give them more?

Re: Avoidance, and how do you know where it is going?

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

Um, I thought "lawsuit" was a bad word!

And I take it the new last name did not suit you? Some last names are cool.

Good point about the spending. If your last and largest U is the same as my state college #2, you are totally right about that. I'm not close enough to my first university to really know what I think about their spending.