Class of 2020 Acceptance Rate 77%

[muwarrior69]

Why on earth would you make this political?

Marquette has actually done a very good job fundraising over the past decade.  While a lot of it has been focused on buildings, the market value of the endowment has increased from about $400M in 2010 to $550M last year.  Still below its peer institutions no doubt, but hardly insignificant.

What? So the exchange of ideas in an academic setting is political?

[GGGG]

What? So the exchange of ideas in an academic setting is political?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Maybe, just maybe if Marquette sent a letter to it's freshman like the University of Chicago did; alumni, parents and students would know MU is interested in "education" where all ideas and opinion are welcome for discussion. Then maybe, just maybe donations to the University may increase the endowment.

http://www.npr.org/2016/08/26/491531869/university-of-chicago-tells-freshmen-it-does-not-support-trigger-warnings

I applaud University of Chicago for taking a stand on free speech and education. But they went a step too far. Trigger warnings are critical when discussing certain topics. You wouldn't send a kid with epilepsy into a room with a strobe light. Forcing a rape survivor to have a discussion about sexual assault can be just as dangerous.

I mentioned my feelings on safe spaces in the NFL thread. It was a good idea that has been warped by both sides to a point where it is actually detrimental to students. Wanting to make students feel safe on campus is not a bad thing but if progress is to be made then we need to make them uncomfortable.

The hilarious thing about this to me is that many of the same people who criticize safe spaces are the same ones who are furious that SUNY Binghamton did a program called "stop white people 2k16." Many of these safe space haters don't give a rats arse about educating students. They want to create their own safe spaces where it is ok make bigoted statements and programs and not OK to teach liberal ideas such as social justice.

[Disco Hippie]

While I agree, my concern is that they don't seem to have expanded the group of people they are getting the money from. I believe we're less than 20% of the alumni population donating so I think we're doing good getting money from the "converted" but we haven't seemingly increased the amount of available converts.

It's definitely way less than 20%.  Last I checked it was 6 or 7%.   Alumni giving rate is also a metric that USNWR uses to calculate their rankings.  I don't think it counts for much but it does comprise a small component of the overall ranking.

When MU Alum James Foley passed away, MU established a College of Communication scholarship in his name.  I was not only shocked but downright ashamed to learn that despite the extraordinarily high profile news event his brutal murder was, only about 1370 people out of a living alumni base of almost 80,000 contributed to the cause raising something like $320K I think the university said at the time and yes, I was one of the 1370 who contributed. The scholarship is $8K a semester, $16K annually.  Not insignificant but it why couldn't it have been a full ride?  Not sure how much $$ would have needed to be raised to make it a full ride and I acknowledge I don't work in philanthropy or know the first thing about fundraising generally, let alone in the world of higher education, but to an outside observer, it seems to me those numbers are barely worth mentioning in a press release.  For those that know more about this than I, how do those figures stack up?  Am I wrong to assume those are week results?

[GGGG]

It's definitely way less than 20%.  Last I checked it was 6 or 7%.   Alumni giving rate is also a metric that USNWR uses to calculate their rankings.  I don't think it counts for much but it does comprise a small component of the overall ranking.

When MU Alum James Foley passed away, MU established a College of Communication scholarship in his name.  I was not only shocked but downright ashamed to learn that despite the extraordinarily high profile news event his brutal murder was, only about 1370 people out of a living alumni base of almost 80,000 contributed to the cause raising something like $320K I think the university said at the time and yes, I was one of the 1370 who contributed. The scholarship is $8K a semester, $16K annually.  Not insignificant but it why couldn't it have been a full ride?  Not sure how much $$ would have needed to be raised to make it a full ride and I acknowledge I don't work in philanthropy or know the first thing about fundraising generally, let alone in the world of higher education, but to an outside observer, it seems to me those numbers are barely worth mentioning in a press release.  For those that know more about this than I, how do those figures stack up?  Am I wrong to assume those are week results?

It's not bad.  Look, many, if not most, of the 80,000 alumni aren't engaged in Marquette University in the least.  They don't own MU gear, don't follow the basketball team and don't really care all that much.  And they never donate, nor will they.  My uncle fell into that category.

I mean he was charitable.  But to other causes that he found important.  Just not his alma mater. 

And a basic rule of thumb is that an endowment will pay out between 4-5% annually.  So 5% of $320,000 is $16,000.

[Badgerhater]

It's not bad.  Look, many, if not most, of the 80,000 alumni aren't engaged in Marquette University in the least.  They don't own MU gear, don't follow the basketball team and don't really care all that much.  And they never donate, nor will they.  My uncle fell into that category.

I mean he was charitable.  But to other causes that he found important.  Just not his alma mater. 

And a basic rule of thumb is that an endowment will pay out between 4-5% annually.  So 5% of $320,000 is $16,000.

Already gave to MU when I attended.  Have more important things to donate to now.

[Pakuni]

Already gave to MU when I attended.  Have more important things to donate to now.

Same.
I suspect when I'm older and no longer worried about helping to fund my kids' college education, I'll have some more discretionary money to consider donating to MU. Right now, it's just not a priority.
I suspect it's the same with most people, and the majority of donors are older alums (or non alums) not raising a family.

[forgetful]

Already gave to MU when I attended.  Have more important things to donate to now.

I understand the sentiment, but if ratings are important to you as an alumni, a way to help is to donate even $10 a year.

For ranking purposes, it doesn't matter how much they donate, rather just the percentage of alumni that do donate. 

Thats why some Universities are manipulating the rankings by having a big donor agree to lets say 10x match any donations up to $20-50.  It gets people to join the ranks and up the percentage without actually raising much more money.

[GGGG]

I understand the sentiment, but if ratings are important to you as an alumni, a way to help is to donate even $10 a year.

For ranking purposes, it doesn't matter how much they donate, rather just the percentage of alumni that do donate. 

Thats why some Universities are manipulating the rankings by having a big donor agree to lets say 10x match any donations up to $20-50.  It gets people to join the ranks and up the percentage without actually raising much more money.

Some schools also manipulate the rankings by not finding lost alumni.  So the "alumni of record" denominator decreases.

[forgetful]

Some schools also manipulate the rankings by not finding lost alumni.  So the "alumni of record" denominator decreases.

Very true.  Some also don't include all students SAT/ACT scores, but still check the box saying all scores are included.

Lots and lots of deception.

[mu03eng]

Very true.  Some also don't include all students SAT/ACT scores, but still check the box saying all scores are included.

Lots and lots of deception.

Welcome to marketing, politics, and higher education

[Herman Cain]

Same.
I suspect when I'm older and no longer worried about helping to fund my kids' college education, I'll have some more discretionary money to consider donating to MU. Right now, it's just not a priority.
I suspect it's the same with most people, and the majority of donors are older alums (or non alums) not raising a family.

Send them $5 -10 and up our alumni giving count.

[Badgerhater]

Send them $5 -10 and up our alumni giving count.

So the school can spend $100 over the next year sending me solicitations for more donations?

[Herman Cain]

So the school can spend $100 over the next year sending me solicitations for more donations?

Every little bit helps.

[jsglow]

Ok, my 2 cents.

I believe I recall that our most recent contribution rate is around 15%; not nearly good enough.  Mid 20s would be much better.

Second,  very modest contributions are highly prized by Advancements. Marquette truly appreciates even small contributions. Getting the participation rate up is a big deal.

Third, it doesn't take millions to be a rock star. I'm pretty sure all you guys know that chick and I contribute. We get invited to everything. We have access if and when we need it. We're frequently asked to serve on various boards and committees. We feel like we're part of the university.

So my advice,  step up for $100 this year. It's one night out on the town skipped. Get off the bench and in the game. You'll feel Warrior pride writing that modest check.

[vogue65]

I have a friend who has a grandson who could not get into MU engineering but just graduated from Purdue. He really wanted to enroll at Marquette, I even called admissions and all they wanted to know was my status as a Blue and Gold member, what?  They wanted to know if I was a heavy hitter in the contribution race.  They should have asked about my will, ha.

What much does MU now charge as an application Fee?  The driver is the number of applications not the number of acceptances.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

What much does MU now charge as an application Fee?  The driver is the number of applications not the number of acceptances.

Marquette uses common ap so they don't charge anything.

[forgetful]

I have a friend who has a grandson who could not get into MU engineering but just graduated from Purdue. He really wanted to enroll at Marquette, I even called admissions and all they wanted to know was my status as a Blue and Gold member, what?  They wanted to know if I was a heavy hitter in the contribution race.  They should have asked about my will, ha.

What much does MU now charge as an application Fee?  The driver is the number of applications not the number of acceptances.

Marquette, and other schools, do not see it this way anymore.  MU's applications are down, because they intentionally tried to target individuals more likely to actually attend.

To get people to enroll, you need to sway them, offer resources etc. If you are spending money to try to woo 20,000 when only 15,000 would even remotely consider your institution then you are wasting resources.  MU last year tried to target the 15,000 that would consider MU.  Right call in my opinion.

[GGGG]

Which is why they don't send counsellors to public high schools 1,000 miles from campus.

[Herman Cain]

Which is why they don't send counsellors to public high schools 1,000 miles from campus.

Except they send the admission reps to the catholic school .5 miles from 4 great public schools in the same area...

[GGGG]

Except they send the admission reps to the catholic school .5 miles from 4 great public schools in the same area...

Gee.  I wonder why the difference?

[warriorchick]

Except they send the admission reps to the catholic school .5 miles from 4 great public schools in the same area...

When chick jr. was in high school, a bunch of Jesuit Schools held their own college fair at the Oak Brook (suburban Chicago) Marriott.  Most of them were the Midwest schools, but there were a few outliers (Regis from Denver, as I recall).  I wonder if they hold similar events in larger cities that Marquette attends (or could attend).

As a member of the Parents Council, they did have someone from admissions talk to us a couple of years ago, who told us that they are expanding their geographic focus, but more towards where the growth areas of the U.S. population are (the Southwest and South).  They realize that if they continue to rely on students in the Midwest, the demographic trends are not in their favor.

[4everwarriors]

Doesn't take much for a kid ta apply, if so inclined, wit da common app, ai na?

[rocket surgeon]

What? So the exchange of ideas in an academic setting is political?

Whaaaaaaaat?  Did I miss something?  What was political about MU's comments.  The only reason I axk is do we need a referee on the side so we don't get CHICO'D?

[Herman Cain]

When chick jr. was in high school, a bunch of Jesuit Schools held their own college fair at the Oak Brook (suburban Chicago) Marriott.  Most of them were the Midwest schools, but there were a few outliers (Regis from Denver, as I recall).  I wonder if they hold similar events in larger cities that Marquette attends (or could attend).

As a member of the Parents Council, they did have someone from admissions talk to us a couple of years ago, who told us that they are expanding their geographic focus, but more towards where the growth areas of the U.S. population are (the Southwest and South).  They realize that if they continue to rely on students in the Midwest, the demographic trends are not in their favor.

Sometimes MU will invite kids who are interested to a presentation at one of Jesuit schools in NYC which is helpful. However, I think what would be far better would be to make a commitment to showing up year after year at the public high schools and private schools in the area.  Some of the markets are pretty dense so it is not hard to get from one school to the next. Kids may or may not show up at the presentations, but at least the Marquette name is on the college visit roster at the beginning of the school year, and you get an audience with a guidance counselor etc. Over time this will yield fruit, as we have a valuable product .

One of the positive things MU did was to institute the Lacrosse program and not necessarily for sports reasons. In the NY/CT/NJ/ Phil/ Baltimore/DC area the games are on local TV and the announcers are constantly mentioning MU commits , in addition these kids  and MU are touted in the local media.  We are definitely seeing the visibility benefits with kids who are not athletes, but have a friend who is one, and are starting to look at MU as a viable option. Frequently these MU Lacrosse kids have alternatives that are attractive schools. So the message is getting out there that we are among the academic leaders.