<p>Overrated by USNews. </p>
<p>This appears to reflect the wealth of the student body, the wealth of the graduates, and the effort the college puts into getting at least minimal contributions from as many people as possible. This really tells nothing about how much the students got out of their college experience.</p>
<p>It is easy to waste development funds on collecting tiny contributions. If any colleges really do try to get $1 donations from most of their alums so they can report a high giving rate to USNews, they should stop. They would be better off devoting those resources to getting substantial donations from people who can give a meaningful amount of money. My alma mater contacts me many times each year asking for money. This in spite of the fact that I give them money every year, so all the mail and phone calls would be better spent courting someone with a lot more money. In any case, my lifetime total is trivial in the context of this institution’s resources and needs. I wonder whether it does this so that my insignificant contribution can be listed as one more alum donation, not because it is worth the effort for them to cash the check. I hope they have a better reason for this behavior than trying to impress USNews.</p>
<p>The vast bulk of fundraising dollars come from a few big donors, not from the rest of us who give more for the principle of the thing than because we thing the money actually matters.</p>
<p>So the alumni giving rate means nothing to me. It is not evil, misleading, or elitist. It just does not matter.</p>