The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College and The Short List: Grad School to find data that matter to you in your college or grad school search.
There’s good news for colleges’ coffers.
Financial endowments grew an average of 11.7 percent in the 2013 fiscal year, according to the National Association of College and University Business Officers. Early data show that the 2014 fiscal year may have brought even greater gains, the group says.
Find out which [colleges and universities claim to meet full financial need.]
In the 2013 fiscal year, the 1,165 ranked universities that reported endowment figures to U.S. News in aggregate had a gain of 7.6 percent in the size of their endowments. The average endowment among them was about $355 million at the close of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, up from about $330 million the previous year.
The average among the top 10 schools with the largest financial endowment was about $14 billion, also up from the previous year.
The three universities with the highest endowments are U.S. News’ three highest-ranked National Universities, but in a slightly different order. Harvard University, ranked No. 2, has the largest endowment, nearly $32. 7 billion. Yale, ranked No. 3, follows, with more than $20.7 billion in endowment dollars. Princeton, ranked No. 1, had nearly $18.8 billion at the end of fiscal year 2013.
Discover the 10 [most and least pricey private colleges and universities.]
Below is a list of the 10 universities that had the most money in their endowments at the end of fiscal year 2013. For the purposes of this list, endowments were examined by campus, not across public university systems. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not considered for this report.
| School name (state) | End of fiscal year 2013 endowment | U.S. News rank and category |
|---|---|---|
| Harvard University (MA) | $32,689,489,000 | 2, National Universities |
| Yale University (CT) | $20,708,793,000 | 3, National Universities |
| Princeton University (NJ) | $18,786,132,000 | 1, National Universities |
| Stanford University (CA) | $18,688,868,000 | 4 (tie), National Universities |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | $10,857,976,000 | 7, National Universities |
| University of Michigan–Ann Arbor | $8,272,366,000 | 29, National Universities |
| Columbia University (NY) | $8,197,880,000 | 4 (tie), National Universities |
| Texas A&M University–College Station | $8,072,054,790 | 68 (tie), National Universities |
| University of Pennsylvania | $7,741,396,000 | 8 (tie), National Universities |
| University of Notre Dame (IN) | $6,959,051,000 | 16 (tie), National Universities |
Don’t see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News College Compass to find data on college endowments, complete rankings and much more. School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights.
U.S. News surveyed nearly 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2014 survey of undergraduate programs. Schools self-reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News’ data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Colleges rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News’ rankings of Best Colleges or Best Graduate Schools. The tuition and fees data above are correct as of Jan. 13, 2015.
More from U.S. News
10 Resolutions to Keep Student Loans in Check for 2015
10 Colleges Where Students Pay the Most for Room and Board
Where to Find the Highest and Lowest In-State Tuition in Each State
10 Universities With the Largest Financial Endowments originally appeared on usnews.com
