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WARNING: A COLLEGE DEGREE MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR FINANCIAL HEALTH –– Let the buyer beware when the product is a college degree. Even the most prestigious institutions are offering credentials that will never pay for themselves. Gender studies majors: Caveat emptor. by Garrett Baldwin
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artmouth College, the No. 13-ranked national university by U.S. News & World Report, announced a seismic shift in tuition in June 2022. The school eliminated loans for entrants whose families earn less than $125,000 annually. Instead, they’ll receive scholarships. Students who qualify won’t have to pay most of the $83,802 annual cost for tuition, room, board and other fees. That sounds like a solution to soaring education costs. But consider this: Dartmouth has the 16th largest endowment in the United States. The school had roughly $8.5 billion in its coffers at the end of its 2021 The positive return fiscal year. The school also benefits from on investment for a steep tax exemptions under section bachelor’s in mathematics 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code from Dartmouth and endowment tax thresholds from the Jobs and Tax Cuts Act of 2017. So, is the endowment drawing on its sizable nest egg and tax benefits to fund this scholarship initiative? Nope. The money came from private donors. Roughly 450 students will enjoy the benefits. Condolences to families earning $200 over the cap. Plus, tuition will likely increase for wealthier students because this program doesn’t address the underlying reasons it’s so high in the first place. Yes, Dartmouth is extremely expensive. But is the cost worth it… and for whom?
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PHOTO: REUTERS
$2.68 million
Luckbox | August 2022
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