When high school students dream about their futures in college, they think about a lot of different things. Probably at the top of everyone’s list is the social scene and reputation of the school, location, and job placement. Something else that they may consider important in determining which school to attend is the school’s wealth, particularly their budgets. After all, the higher the budget, the better the educational experience the student will receive.
Ivy League universities with a multi-billion dollar per year budgets are going to be able to offer the students more value, simply because they can afford to provide the things that a school with a $200,000 budget can’t. This is one of the reasons we see so many of the world’s most brilliant individuals come from one of the schools on this list. And it’s also why getting an education at a school like Yale or Harvard is so much more expensive than going to community college. Just take a look at how much money these schools are shelling out each year – and how much they’re being given.
Harvard University: $38.3 Billion
This Ivy League school has one of the most competitive application processes in the United States, with an acceptance rate that’s second only to Stanford University. But as far as wealth is concerned, Harvard leads the charge, with an estimated endowment of over $38 billion.
The school has come a long way since it opened its doors in the 1630s. Originally named New College, it was then renamed after its main benefactor, John Harvard. Harvard had donated just over $1,000, along with a large collection of books to get the ball rolling at the university. The first year saw less than a dozen graduates, and they now have over 35,000 students. Several former US leads have graduated from Harvard over the years, from the 2nd president, John Adams, to 44th president, Barack Obama.
