College Alumni Giving Rate

Princeton University once again tops the “US News & World Report” ranking for alumni giving rate.

Which university regularly tops the alumni giving rate rankings? Our regular readers may know this answer because we’ve mentioned it a time or eight or ten on the pages of our college admissions blog. As reported by “US News & World Report,” it’s Princeton University. And this year is no different. Over the last two years, an average of 63% of alumni have donated to Princeton, more than any other university in America (this is not to be confused with the total amount given to universities — hi, Harvard). It’s a statistic that speaks to the love Princeton alumni have for their school. It sure doesn’t hurt that Princeton holds reunions for every class every single year (at most highly elective universities, all-class reunions are held every five years or so). Princeton sure does know what they’re doing in this department.

But enough about Princeton. Which other highly selective colleges have high alumni giving rates? Williams College has a 55.8% alumni giving rate over those two years. Bowdoin College has a 55.7% rate, Davidson College a 52% rate, Wellesley College sits at 51.7%, Middlebury College has a 50.9% rate, Carleton College sits at 49.8%, and Amherst College is at 47.9%.

So why don’t more universities host annual all-class reunions? We realize they’re expensive and if you host reunions every year, turnout invariably is going to be a bit lower than if you hold them only twice a decade, but we suspect it sure would help universities climb this ranking. And it’s a ranking that does matter because it speaks to the love alumni have for their alma maters. At least that’s what we happen to think. Don’t you?