I read this article today that highlighted protests students held regarding the high price of tuition at their college. Check it out. It got me thinking.
Last year, Liz and I were talking and discussing donating a certain amount of money to charity. She mentioned Virginia Tech as an option, and my initial reaction was to nix it completely. It brought to the forefront an opinion I've held for a long time. Is there any less worthy cause to donate to than a college?!
Maybe a political party? You might as well shred your money in that case. You're not changing the world, you're not starting a movement, buy a bike instead.
But back to colleges, where to start?
- Who is less fortunate than a 20 year old in college? Absolutely no one. 20 year old's who are succeeding in life are in college. They neither need your money to be there nor will they leave if you don't give it.
- Let's say you don't donate and they didn't get that biggity scholarship they were hoping for. They are going to borrow the money anyway, after all, it's the American way. Who is more prepared to pay off that debt than a very fortunate 24 year old college graduate? Your money that goes towards that scholarship doesn't benefit them now (although who's to say it doesn't go towards beer). It benefits them in 4 years when they are equipped with a salary that can pay it off anyway.
- You are not benefiting the football team. They are doing just fine without your donation. A good football team doesn't attract the best and the brightest. I'd actually argue it attracts the exact opposite students.
- When was the last time colleges charged a reasonable amount for a student to go to school? Virginia Tech is now up to $10K per in-state student and $23K per out-of-state student. You know what it costs for a Vet Student after they are done with their undergraduate degree? $160K. They've got a pretty good cash-cow working for them already.
- I guess this portion of my argument is partly why I think voting is worthless, but unless you are a millionaire, whatever you give is a drop in the bucket and probably doesn't matter anyway. Believe me, $500 is a lot more important to you and other charities, than it is to that college.
Alright, so those are the reasons why donating to a college is worthless, but let's flip the coin. Do you honestly think it's the best use of your money? There are county SPCA's that are killing their dogs because they can't afford the food. That pales in comparison to the situation at Sayulita Animals, the rescue shelter we visited in Mexico.
Every Christmas, Liz and I create boxes for Operation Christmas Child. Kids in Africa are given shoe boxes full of gifts. Let's say no to those children in order to send an already fortunate teenage to a college so they can make millions once they are done.
I'm being harsh, but I'm being real. When it comes down to it, there's almost no comparison between causes. Colleges just aren't the logical choice when it comes to donating money.
5 comments:
The only organization worse than a college at managing money is the Government. I'll never forget the guy across the hall from me my Freshman year. He had a serious drug problem, was lazy, and flunked out after his first year. While I was working my tail off he had a full scholarship because the university wanted to increase the number of minorities on campus. If we ever had a significant amount of money that we wanted to donate to education, I think a good plan would be to find a deserving senior in high school and give it to them.
By: Scott on February 18, 2011 at 12:21 AM
Ha! I was going to tell Scott's story, but he got to it first. :)
A girl called from Miami a few years ago, asking us to donate to the new student center. I told her Scott's story and that his story was our reason for not donating to Miami. Ever. Period.
But, I have my own reasons, too. While I was teaching there, athletes were getting a new student center of their own while I taught, get this...public speaking WITHOUT a room prepped for Power Point. How well can one expect to prepare students for the real world if you're teaching public speaking without teaching students to use presentation software?
I know the arguments about how spending on athletics trickles down to other areas of the university, but for a school like Miami (which will always be 2nd tier in athletics) I don't think that is the case.
On the other hand, I have donated to Semester at Sea. Tuition for SAS is sky-high and it doesn't cover the costs of the program. The program had such a huge impact on my life and is such a unique program that it seemed a worthwhile recipient for a modest donation. Plus, I think SAS students witness poverty and, therefore, are more likely to donate to organizations that do something to alleviate poverty.
By: Hillary on February 18, 2011 at 6:45 PM
I always thought the point of donating money to your college was to improve the program, thereby increasing the (perceived) value of your personal degree.
That said, I've never been able to justify donating to a college over our other causes (Doctors Without Borders, Innocence Project, the V Foundation, Passage Home, etc), so we've not donated yet.
Since both Jacob and I received scholarships from the alumni association, we do plan to pay forward that money eventually.
By: Lynn Garcowski on February 20, 2011 at 2:25 PM
You can actually earmark money when it is donated to a college. For example... I've donated back to both USD and Virginia Tech...and said what the money was for. It wasn't much, but at least I knew it went to somewhere that matters to me. I would NEVER advise sending money to a college to be used for their general fund. That is worthless. If you do decide to give money to tech, you should say this money is for library or the police, etc. There are a lot of general departments that are not fully/well funded by the school. So just keep that in mind.
That being said...I'm a fan of the make a wish foundation.
And finally...I would advise to not give to the United Way. You might as well light your money on fire. Chances are your money went to pay one of their many overpaid administrators.
By: Big CM on February 22, 2011 at 6:10 PM
I totslly agree...now how can we get them to stop calling us four times a night. We don't answer but it is getting old. Love Mom
By: Susan on February 26, 2011 at 11:47 PM
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