I shit you not. A graphic was part of the email that included a score. It's not clear how the score was derived. Could be the number of years that I've given, I'm not sure.
I cannot believe this is real. This is downright Orwellian. Somebody actually thought this was a good idea. They really didn't think this one through.
Here's the text:
Hello Nigel Tufnel,
Passion. Generosity. Loyalty. Each of these describes the powerful force that is the Notre Dame family. Whether it's playing the Victory March at a wedding reception, maintaining a tailgating tradition with friends and classmates, or ensuring that blue and gold (and green) make up the majority of your wardrobe, there are so many ways that you can exemplify what it means to be NDLoyal.
On top of it all, you have demonstrated your own loyalty by paying it forward to the students who have followed in your footsteps. Nigel, you have been one of Notre Dame’s most committed alumni by making a gift to your alma mater over the course of x academic years. Thank you for your loyalty! Your generosity provides the next generation of Domers an unparalleled undergraduate education and a student experience unlike any other.
You are a part of the 42,644 ND alumni who give back to Notre Dame on an annual basis. Notre Dame ranks 3rd in all of higher education in terms of the number of alumni that are called to give back to their alma mater each year!
To speak to more than just your years of giving back, you have been an even greater champion for Notre Dame by furthering your impact through matching gifts.
Thank you for all the ways you love Notre Dame - including this incredible show of generosity and loyalty. We look forward to continuing to share your story and celebrate all the ways that you are ND Loyal.
Some Dude ‘07
Senior Director, Annual Giving
The problem is that not nearly enough of the money you and I donate finds its way to students. Ivy League schools charge tuition based on the financial situation of its students and their families -- if your family has money, you pay more, if it doesn't, you pay less. Yale, Princeton, Harvard etc. have determined they aren't going to lose students based on economics. Notre Dame has the 9th or 8th or 11th (take your pick) largest endowment but still charges everybody the rack rate. It's an outmoded system, and it's causing me to consider whether I will break my streak of giving for X years this year.
They absolutely give need-based financial aid on a sliding scale based on a collection of household metrics for each student. Now, unlike the Ivy schools that you mention, it's not built into the base price - you actually have to apply for this and end up getting some combination of grant/loan aid offered to you, but close to half of the undergraduate students get some kind of aid.
What I have been told second-hand about why they've never moved to changing this model is that they don't want students choosing Notre Dame from among a list of their elite acceptance options. They want the students that truly want to attend Notre Dame. As such, they do tend to give just enough so that the average accepted student's family can afford it, but they don't want to be considered as a competing option among Duke, Tulane, Dartmouth, Stanford, etc.
One can argue about the merits or even arrogance of this approach, but it's what I've been told.
I think I read somewhere that around half the students qualify for this financial aid.
Link: https://admissions.nd.edu/aid-affordability/
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When I have raised this issue with University people, the response always is that the size of the endowment is misleading because so much of it is restricted and not available for tuition relief. I have always had a hard time accepting that.
Financial aid, in the form of student loans (which is mainly what is given to non-athletes), is not the same as tuition relief. I think the model is outdated and should be addressed.
But it would also not be entirely true to say that real tuition relief isn't given. The average amount of debt that a Notre Dame graduate comes out with doesn't vary that much across all Household Income ranges, but the average annual cost of attendance by Household Income range varies A LOT. They don't just give loans - they give grants, as well. The issue is that they really tend to give only just enough so that you feasibly afford it. They don't give so much that there is zero cost of attendance burden on the student or his/her family, however.
I do agree with you that with the size of the endowment, there is no excuse not to do more with this, since it would essentially pay for itself.
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My university used to send a list of alums from my class who had given, saying it was a proof of the one that would be sent out to everybody and there was still a little time to get my name added to the list. As if that would motivate anyone. I sent back a very calm letter saying that if they ever tried that stunt again I would never give them another dime.
American universities are a really, really dumb focus for anyone's philanthropic efforts.
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with a touch of greed.
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uh, they were only off by 21 years. otherwise it was just a waste of the money i sent in all that time.