Endowments of small LACs

[Papa_Chicken]

<p>Here are Moody’s definitions of rating categories…keep in mind that their private college/university list spans categories Aaa (best) to B (weak):</p>

<p>

Municipal Long-Term Rating Definitions
Aaa Issuers or issues rated Aaa demonstrate the strongest creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or
tax-exempt issuers or issues.
Aa Issuers or issues rated Aa demonstrate very strong creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or taxexempt
issuers or issues.
A Issuers or issues rated A present above-average creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or taxexempt
issuers or issues.
Baa Issuers or issues rated Baa represent average creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or tax- exempt
issuers or issues.
Ba Issuers or issues rated Ba demonstrate below-average creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or
tax-exempt issuers or issues.
B Issuers or issues rated B demonstrate weak creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or tax- exempt
issuers or issues.
Caa Issuers or issues rated Caa demonstrate very weak creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or taxexempt
issuers or issues.
Ca Issuers or issues rated Ca demonstrate extremely weak creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or
tax-exempt issuers or issues.
C Issuers or issues rated C demonstrate the weakest creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or taxexempt
issuers or issues.

</p>

<p>Top of Moody’s rating list (“sound” schools):</p>

<p>

Aaa
Amherst College Aaa MA
Berea College Aaa KY
California Institute of Technology Aaa CA
Columbia University Aaa NY
Dartmouth College Aaa NH
Grinnell College Aaa IA
Harvard University Aaa MA
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Aaa MA
Northwestern University Aaa IL
Pomona College Aaa CA
Princeton Theological Seminary Aaa NJ
Princeton University Aaa NJ
Rice University Aaa TX
Stanford University Aaa CA
Swarthmore College Aaa PA
University of Notre Dame Aaa IN
Washington University Aaa MO
Yale University Aaa CT </p>

<p>Aa1
Brown University Aa1 RI
Claremont McKenna College Aa1 CA
Cornell University Aa1 NY
Duke University Aa1 NC
Smith College Aa1 MA
University of Chicago Aa1 IL
University of Richmond Aa1 VA
University of Southern California Aa1 CA
Wellesley College Aa1 MA
Williams College Aa1 MA </p>

<p>Aa2
Bowdoin College Aa2 ME
Bucknell University Aa2 PA
Carleton College Aa2 MN
Emory University Aa2 GA
Johns Hopkins University Aa2 MD
Middlebury College Aa2 VT
Oberlin College Aa2 OH
University of Pennsylvania Aa2 PA
Vanderbilt University Aa2 TN
Vassar College Aa2 NY
Washington and Lee University Aa2 VA
Yeshiva University Aa2 NY </p>

<p>Aa3
Boston College Aa3 MA
Bryn Mawr College Aa3 PA
Claremont University Consortium Aa3 CA
Colgate University Aa3 NY
College of the Holy Cross Aa3 MA
Colorado College Aa3 CO
Denison University Aa3 OH
Earlham College Aa3 IN
Haverford College Aa3 PA
Lafayette College Aa3 PA
Lehigh University Aa3 PA
Macalester College Aa3 MN
Mount Holyoke College Aa3 MA
Occidental College Aa3 CA
Pepperdine University Aa3 CA
Southern Methodist University Aa3 TX
Southwestern University Aa3 TX
Spelman College Aa3 GA
Texas Christian University Aa3 TX
Tufts University Aa3 MA
Wake Forest University Aa3 NC
Wesleyan University Aa3 CT
Wheaton College Aa3 IL
Whitman College Aa3 WA</p>

<p>A1
Agnes Scott College A1 GA
Case Western Reserve University A1 OH
College of Wooster A1 OH
Franklin and Marshall College A1 PA
Furman University A1 SC
Harvey Mudd College A1 CA
Kalamazoo College A1 MI
Kansas City University of Medicine
and Biosciences (formerly University
of Health Sciences) A1 MO
Kenyon College A1 OH
Loyola University A1 LA
Medical College of Wisconsin A1 WI
Muhlenberg College A1 PA
Rhode Island School of Design A1 RI
Rochester Institute of Technology A1 NY
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology A1 IN
Santa Clara University A1 CA
Scripps College A1 CA
St. Louis University A1 MO
Syracuse University A1 NY
Teachers College A1 NY
Thomas Jefferson University A1 PA
Trinity College A1 CT
Union College A1 NY
University of Denver A1 CO
University of Puget Sound A1 WA
University of Rochester A1 NY
Worcester Polytechnic Institute A1 MA

</p>

<p>Bottom of the list where one should do some due diligence:</p>

<p>

Ba1
Bennington College Ba1 VT
Birmingham Southern College Ba1 AL
Centenary College Ba1 LA
Clark Atlanta University Ba1 GA
Clarke College Ba1 IA
Hartwick College Ba1 NY
Heald Colleges Ba1 CA
Lasell College Ba1 MA
Pace University Ba1 NY
Southern California University of Health Sciences Ba1 CA
St. Peter’s College Ba1 NJ
University of Findlay Ba1 OH</p>

<p>Ba2
Texas Wesleyan University Ba2 TX
Touro College Ba2 NY</p>

<p>Ba3
Dowling College Ba3 NY
Franklin Pierce College Ba3 NH
Life University Ba3 GA
New England College Ba3 NH</p>

<p>B1
Daniel Webster College B1 NH
Polytechnic University B1 NY</p>

<p>B3
Benedict College B3 SC
Tougaloo College B3 MS

</p>

<p>there’s more in between! Categories A2, A3, Baa1, Baa2, & Baa3.</p>