Eeek! I didn’t even think to look at the Forbes financial grade. Now I’m wondering if I should bother, since S25 is really happy with his list…
Personally, I would not stress about it now unless ALL the schools look like they are very very weak…(and I am not even sure C- means they are all that likely to close, etc anyway). I would just take it as a consideration when picking where ot attend in April…
2 cents from a non-expert:)
2 Likes
D25 has applied to so many schools yet she keeps clarifying what she wants in a school and I keep worrying maybe we are missing “the one.” But last night I glanced through the document I made with my notes. She has a school she has been admitted to, that has everything she wants, that is already affordable, and she is listing it right now on top because after visiting she could see herself going there.
TuitionExchange with her gpa and test optional is a long shot so I am happy she found a non TE school that will be affordable that she is happy with.
11 Likes
2 of our schools are a C-. Applied anyway as I said we’d avoid all with Ds. But I’d certainly be happier if we pick one of the Bs.
1 Like
Is the Forbes rating the most influential/helpful to look at? S25’s top choice is rated a C+ on Forbes. However the Moody’s rating is A3 and S&P Global Ratings assigned it an A-. Curious about the difference in these ratings.
The Forbes financial grades are calculated…oddly. I feel (disclaimer: I am not an accountant) like S&P/Moody’s/Fitch ratings, where available, are more reliable, if only because people are betting actual money based on them.
3 Likes
I wasn’t familiar with the Bain analysis. Thank you? (I say that tongue in cheek only bc I now know that one school is “weak (present)/weak (3 years)” even though Forbes has it as a C.) At the end of the day, this will likely not drive our decision entirely, but it will make me ask a few questions of the school before we commit. I am aiming to not have a kid who ends up with a repeat of UArts. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, it closed extremely suddenly and then all these kids were scrambling to find a place to finish off their degrees.
1 Like
My neighbor was one of the UArts students affected. She’s thriving at Temple now luckily. One of the aides at work was in a direct admit PA program at USciences when St. Joes took it over and she’s had to scramble to figure out how to just get her bachelors from StJ since they didn’t accept all her classes directly. Her stats met the requirements to continue to the PA portion for USci but the competitive admissions for the PA programs in the area are so far denying her. She’s thinking about going to an accelerated BSN program instead. Financial health of a school is important to me and now I’ve seen first hand some of the difficulties a closure can cause.
1 Like
Agree. My daughter had a friend that was recruited to play volleyball at Cabrini University. When they suddenly announced they were closing, she was left without a school and a scholarship and started college a semester late.
1 Like
The UArts situation was what caused us to start looking into institutional financial health. That was so sad. We were in Philadelphia this summer staying next to their building and it was heartbreaking to see the messages students had written on the windows.
1 Like
D25’s current top pick (oos public) is in the Forbes top 500 (its around 400) but still on there I guess).
My home institution is rated C+
Bain was new to me. Interesting the mismatch between Forbes and it. A C- school is strong on the Bain and an A- came up moderate.
Is Forbes paid only or can it be accessed without a subscription?
1 Like
I’m sorry, what does C25 mean?
1 Like
3 Likes
A reminder that this site is college CONFIDENTIAL. Many posters refer to their children as “child” instead of son or daughter. Nothing should be inferred and no one needs to clarify how they refer to their child.
24 Likes
This list is weird. Does anyone actually believe than Princeton is less financially sound than the A and A+ schools? What exactly is it measuring?
2 Likes
@TonyGrace , I have the last few years copied and pasted in a spreadsheet if you want me to message you with them. Let me know.
My understanding about Forbes is that a grade can be decreased by taking out a sig loan for buildings, etc. I don’t think anyone is doubting Princeton’s financial stability; it had an A+ for 2023, 2022, 2021.
1 Like
Which is one of the things that makes it suspect to my mind. There is, after all, both good debt and bad debt, and Forbes doesn’t seem to differentiate.
3 Likes
What is your “favorite” tool for comparing financial stability of a school? (I’ve seen you opine on the RIP thread so I figure you’re on top of this.)