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interesteddad · 02-15-2008, 11:05 PM

The current alumni giving rate at Swarthmore (fiscal year 2006-07) is 59.2%

http://www.swarthmore.edu/Documents/...n/ir/Gifts.pdf

The 51% figure USNEWS reports is five or six years old. I have no idea where they got that number. It's not reported on the Common Data Set.

One other point, whenever you see Duke at the top of a category, keep in mind that most USNEWS categories can be are and are gamed by certain schools. The LACs I've looked at, including Swarthmore/Williams/Amherst, appear to be scrupulously honest in their reporting. But, all a university has to do to boost their alumni giving percentages is "lose" the addresses of alumni who refuse to give. Just like they "lose" the SAT scores of basketball recruits. Not calling out Duke or anything, but I always take Duke's "stats" with a big grain of salt.

02-15-2008, 11:05 PM	#58
interesteddad Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: USA Threads: 144 Posts: 6,681	The current alumni giving rate at Swarthmore (fiscal year 2006-07) is 59.2% http://www.swarthmore.edu/Documents/...n/ir/Gifts.pdf The 51% figure USNEWS reports is five or six years old. I have no idea where they got that number. It's not reported on the Common Data Set. One other point, whenever you see Duke at the top of a category, keep in mind that most USNEWS categories can be are and are gamed by certain schools. The LACs I've looked at, including Swarthmore/Williams/Amherst, appear to be scrupulously honest in their reporting. But, all a university has to do to boost their alumni giving percentages is "lose" the addresses of alumni who refuse to give. Just like they "lose" the SAT scores of basketball recruits. Not calling out Duke or anything, but I always take Duke's "stats" with a big grain of salt.