The University of Michigan got $3.1 billion dollar since 2000 due to a major fundraising campaign called the “Michigan Difference.”
I want to add that as an alumni from the University of Michigan, I love that school and it forever changed my view on the world in a positive way that I probably will never receive anywhere else. But I also know from first hand experience that Michigan gives very limited financial aids to students – and we’ll see in light of this especially vast amount of money they’ve just received – how are they going to justify consistently raising tuition.
Most of student aids come in the form of loans.
This is especially true for students who are out of state – Michigan has the highest tuition rate of any public University in the US but gives the least amount of money compared to not only private Universities, but other comparable Public Universities such as Berkeley. That, unfortunately, is also the Michigan Difference.
There is an non-existing support system for students who are not #1 or #2 in their class but still are working hard and achieving great grades. One can count the # of substantial scholarships they give to Michigan students on two hands. The examples they use to say “so and so received a full scholarship thanks to your generous donation” applies to only a handful out of thousands. This is not aid.
My parents make a combined income of $60,000 a year and I was labeled “middle class” and received no scholarships and about only 10% in the form of financial grants, compared to 80% I received from Boston University and 100% from my in-state college. My family had to pay over $1400 a month, a huge burden that I don’t know if I should go through had the chance to do it again, despite this great education.
One year my dad’s monthly payment was late because the check got rebounded, the University disenrolled me within that same week and would not enroll me in any class and threatened to kick me out of my dorm if I don’t send in a check within the same week. By the time the check came in, all the classes I wanted to take have been filled and books were sold out.
Given the fact that this University claims to be a nonprofit organization that receives money tax-free and are supposedly serving students’ interests first, I see these messages as hypocritical to reality. The reality is that this University is being run like any other cold-blooded businesses – they put money first before anything else “sympathy” or “humane” exceptions are not allowed under this structure.
Therefore, when they do get this $3.1 billion dollars, I can guarantee you that the vast majority of that money is going toward a better building for the administrators, for research facilities that really don’t serve the student body directly (such as the UM Hospital), a private dining room for athletes, for Mary Sue Coleman to travel to Africa, and for professors to conduct more research.
This money , however, is NOT going to go toward lowering the already ridiculous tuition and other fees they charge (tuition has been raising at an average of 10% per year for 5 consecutive years), it is not going to upgrade the crappy career center that doesn’t get students jobs, it is NOT going to give more scholarships to those that wish to travel abroad for a summer but can’t afford to, and it is NOT going to lower your books or decrease your expensive housing cost either.
So yes, Michigan received $3.1 billion, but like all companies, it is going to serve its own interests first, and its constituents, the students, probably NEVER.
“As the president of the University of Michigan, I don’t care if you can’t pay for your tuition, I only care about the bottom 0.5% of the poorest and top 0.5% of the smartest, that way Michigan an be called both prestigious and diverse – when in fact it may be neither. Oh, and I’m definitely going to continue sleeping in 5-star hotels when I travel around the world promoting Michigan, whatever that means because there is really no oversight on whether or not these trips actually help promote Michigan, and I may or may not be required there, but oh well, I just loves to travel too much. Screw biochemistry, I am a Politician!”
