Yeah, that’s for the college. I’m basically saying if ECAS has a lower endowment than comparable CAS and CALs, then its scholarship and fin. aid endowment is probably lower. Luckily the school has many older (40+) alums that are quite wealthy and loyal so I think they’re going to be successful with the scholarship initiatives which is weird and kind of confirms my hunch that Emory has a marketing and message problem Emory has always had a surprisingly high alumni donation rate (even if the gift per person isn’t the highest, the fact that many people give what they can and that many older alumni are still even giving portions of their estates at levels in the millions is impressive) for a place that isn’t as popular or necessarily the first choice upon freshman application time. It means that many people were also pleasantly surprised or at least came to appreciate/care for the future of the school.
I suppose, if I ever became remotely successful, I would give something, but to something more academic if possible. I’m not for giving money to empty recruiting efforts that will attract great students only to join a department in need of serious help like math, CS, or economics. I’d rather help strengthen such programs first so that a great student at that subject can actually do more than just harbor themselves in the department and have a 4.0 GPA. Need more honors level courses, competitions, and a general math culture that some schools have to attract better students in those areas and expect them to enjoy it (the culture in those 3 or at least 2 of them should be radiant much like chemistry is…the hack-a-thons are a start, but those don’t come from the dept itself. Where are the integration competitions and large Putnam participation I hear of at other schools with lots of students taking upperlevel maths? Departmental events and student engagement hint at the strength of depts). Hopefully QSS will contribute (with stuff like its internships, research fellowships, and datafest) but it is too young.
Either way, while scholarships are easier because of the alumni base, need-based aid seems like a more administrative thing and the whole program would have to change so its harder I think.