That you can do great things without the support of a private school, that you can survive large lecture halls without individual attention, that you can take advantage of research opportunities says a lot to me about the character of someone that make it without the advantages of wealth, race and privilege.
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Bowdoin College to Provide Every Student With a Complimentary MacBook Pro, iPad Mini, and Apple Pencil
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That you can do great things without the support of a private school, that you can survive large lecture halls without individual attention, that you can take advantage of research opportunities says a lot to me about the character of someone that make it without the advantages of wealth, race and privilege.
I am not representing anyone. I am presenting the arguments that selective, private colleges are making for these decisions.
One possible reason you might disagree so strongly is based on using a different definition of “wealthy”. If you can’t drop 200-300k per kid for a college education without batting an eye, then you aren’t wealthy, is usually the argument from the schools.
The main criticism against these tuition policies is that the people who get squeezed out are the middle class.
I agree, it is the middle class who benefit the least with these tuition policies.
We saved up $250K per kid well before they were college age. Were we wealthy? You wouldn't think so if you saw how we lived.
Wealth is looked at as a combination of income and assets but what you need to live isn't really factored in.
There is a lot of financial and time pressure on the targets of these colleges and, of course, you could lose your job at any time. The Great Recession was a really great example of this with lots of people with formerly great jobs, nice houses and a nice lifestyle losing it all. Including the conversation with their college-age kids that they wouldn't be returning.
As someone who attends the school, I feel the need to give my two cents on this initiative. A large majority of the comment section is negative and filled with a lot of misinformation, so let me clear some things up.
1. Bowdoin is not the only private school in the country, there are countless private schools (including LACs like Bowdoin that charge as much for tuition). https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/the-50-most-expensive-colleges-in-america/5/ This list has the tuition for the top 50 most expensive colleges in the US (updated last month), and a lot of these schools charge more than Bowdoin and close to none give students laptops or Ipads.
2. For a lot of people saying tuition will increase- yes it will, it would increase regardless of this program. Bowdoin had already started giving students iPad pro 11' since 2020 and is now expanding the initiative to laptops https://www.bowdoin.edu/bolt/ipad-program/index.html. This expansion was made after an overwhelmingly positive response from the faculty and families. If they are in support of this, I don't get why you should not be?
3. Bowdoin is EXTREMELY generous with aid. They have a no-loan policy, which is entirely replaced with grants (with the exception of the federal loans) https://www.bowdoin.edu/student-aid/types-of-aid/financing.html. Bowdoin is need-blind, meaning your finances will not hinder your admission to the college. Whatever you cannot pay, will BE covered by the college (no matter how much it may be, if they want you, they want you).
4. A large majority of the students at college receive a lot of financial aid and do not have to pay much (avg cost after aid is 22k$ per year). The people who are full pay would surely not mind paying extra for this initiative.
5. Ending on a more anecdotal note, I personally could never be able to pay 75k++ for college. I attend Bowdoin and pay roughly about 10k/year. I am beyond grateful for Bowdoin for supporting digital equity at the college since I could never afford all the tech they give me for myself, as opposed to my friends who are better off. Not to mention, in the 10k I pay, Bowdoin covers my health insurance, winter gear (snow boots, jackets), a ticket to travel home, as well as all the tech I am getting.
After reading all this, think of it what you will.
1. Bowdoin is not the only private school in the country, there are countless private schools (including LACs like Bowdoin that charge as much for tuition). https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/the-50-most-expensive-colleges-in-america/5/ This list has the tuition for the top 50 most expensive colleges in the US (updated last month), and a lot of these schools charge more than Bowdoin and close to none give students laptops or Ipads.
2. For a lot of people saying tuition will increase- yes it will, it would increase regardless of this program. Bowdoin had already started giving students iPad pro 11' since 2020 and is now expanding the initiative to laptops https://www.bowdoin.edu/bolt/ipad-program/index.html. This expansion was made after an overwhelmingly positive response from the faculty and families. If they are in support of this, I don't get why you should not be?
3. Bowdoin is EXTREMELY generous with aid. They have a no-loan policy, which is entirely replaced with grants (with the exception of the federal loans) https://www.bowdoin.edu/student-aid/types-of-aid/financing.html. Bowdoin is need-blind, meaning your finances will not hinder your admission to the college. Whatever you cannot pay, will BE covered by the college (no matter how much it may be, if they want you, they want you).
4. A large majority of the students at college receive a lot of financial aid and do not have to pay much (avg cost after aid is 22k$ per year). The people who are full pay would surely not mind paying extra for this initiative.
5. Ending on a more anecdotal note, I personally could never be able to pay 75k++ for college. I attend Bowdoin and pay roughly about 10k/year. I am beyond grateful for Bowdoin for supporting digital equity at the college since I could never afford all the tech they give me for myself, as opposed to my friends who are better off. Not to mention, in the 10k I pay, Bowdoin covers my health insurance, winter gear (snow boots, jackets), a ticket to travel home, as well as all the tech I am getting.
After reading all this, think of it what you will.
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LOL, Bowdoin ranks in the top 50 schools in the entire country for highest pay after graduation.
Endowment is way over 2 Billion. It's almost 3 Billion, with fewer than 1,800 students that's a LOT of money per student.
Because it does not necessarily mean direct money spent in aid, it includes the investment they make in facilities.
The same has been asked of H which has enough to provide free college for all of its students while not having to draw down its endowment. Colleges just like to have a lot of money around.
As someone who attended a NESCAC school that is a direct competitor with Bowdoin, and an Ivy League graduate school, and who now works in education, I know that the price of education (whether private or public) is never as high as the actual cost. There is a term for that. It is called, "the gap." This is the amount each attendee gets for free. The larger a school's endowment, the larger the gap they can provide their students. So, if it costs $300K for four years of education at a school, but the school only charges $250K to attend, that $50K gap is a freebie to everyone. Additionally, if you simply use the endowment to fund the current students so no one pays tuition, the school falls behind. You don't want schools to maintain the level they have now, for the next 50 years. Finally, society as a whole benefits from educational institutions. America continues to lead the world in quality of higher education. It's not even close. We benefit by having a more highly educated population. We benefit by having a platform upon which to spread our democratic ideals to the rest of the world, but perhaps most importantly, the research being done at universities leads to advances that improve the world. Without great support of their endowments, that simply would not continue at the level it currently does. No one would deny that.
Sure, I would. Having large amounts of cash without accountability leads to bloat. A lot of that research is also government-funded and can be and is done at public universities as well with lower costs to students and lower budgets overall.
Exactly, if no one is paying the tuition, the college would fall behind. Usually, people who attend these schools and pay full tuition are way too rich to even care how much the school is charging. So in the end, it depends on what kind of education you want. But I can guarantee small LACs like Bowdoin are extremely generous when they admit if you are of low income.
All you have to do is grow your endowment faster than the run rate for the school.
So you're OK with taxpayers paying the money to support these schools, just not the people attending them? OK, I can't really argue with that. My only argument would be that having the attendees support the school prevents government involvement determining the agenda of those schools.
I'm fine with taxpayers funding research. Does it necessarily have to be done in universities? Lots of research is done in the private sphere and at other institutions. Universities also don't have to pay property taxes which is a very nice benefit that the local area has to fund despite universities using city or town resources.
I have no objection to them growing it by investment and then full funding of student costs.
Yep, not really sure what the argument here is anymore? If you have a problem with elite institutions with absurd fees, that's a problem with the system itself since Bowdoin is not the only one. The important thing here is how they are utilizing their endowment on digital equity (while charging the same fees as other institutions that do not seem to have such initiatives)
How can they fully fund every student? They still need students to pay an amount to keep running smoothly. No one is going to hold anyone against their will to pay 75k++ a year and go to debt for education, that's a decision you have to make.
They do make enough to fund students who require it. Their need-blind policy guarantees that they meet the price the student cannot pay. I advise you to look at the net price calculator for the school to have a good idea of their aid https://www.bowdoin.edu/student-aid/estimate-aid/. Obviously, they will not give grants to people whose parents make 300k++ per year, they simply don't require it.
H has $50 billion in their endowment. They could easily pay tuition for a whole class and not make the slightest dent.
In-state tuition in 2020 for UVA was $19,000. In-state tuition at William and Mary was $23,000. Two quick examples that took a moment to confirm on Google.
19K > 22K?
Perhaps you know these off the top of your head but I haven't run into any personally.
I am not sure what your argument is anymore? Everyone who attends these colleges is well aware of what they must pay, and it's a conscious choice they make. If you do not wish to attend pricey schools, apply for aid if you qualify or just look for cheaper options (there are plenty).
It would be beyond ideal if education was free for everyone but that can never be achieved, especially in the US. In the end, private colleges are businesses, and colleges like Bowdoin do a hell of a good job in providing their services. If you do not wish to attend it, no one is forcing you to. But these places do make it possible for students of low income to attend with their amazing financial services, I suggest you read my earlier post on the help I get from the college.