7 Universities with Largest Endowments per Student in the World

Here, you will find details of universities with the largest endowments per student across the globe. The information here will help you in choosing a university that will support you financially may be in research or tuition.

There are a variety of factors that students are supposed to consider before applying for admission to a higher institution. Such as the quality of programs offered, the schools’ national and international ranking and reputation, endowments, location, and more.

Here, we will kinda ignore the rest and face the “endowment factor” as not many students consider it and you must do.

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What does university endowment mean?

We cannot go on without first telling you what this “endowment” means and what makes it so important that students should consider it before applying for admissions into any higher institution.

University endowments are financial assets or money donated to universities and other higher institutions of learning. These donations may come from charitable organizations or individuals (mostly alumni of a particular school), which are then used to support teaching, financial aid, bursaries, research, and other missions of colleges and universities.

All colleges and universities receive endowments, some higher than others but an older school is more likely to have larger endowments than a more recent one.

The larger the endowment of a school is, the more it can support its students financially and give them the best learning experience. It is through this endowment that universities and colleges can stock their library and equip their facilities which improve students’ learning.

In truth, endowments are even more important to schools than tuition paid by students as they barely get by on that. With endowments, the tuition of universities and colleges are made lower than they already are and the most successful or top higher institutions have larger endowments.

What does endowment per student mean?

After considering the endowment of a school, the next thing is the amount of endowment per student, and here is what it means.

An endowment per student is the amount of money that a college or university can dedicate to her students especially in financial aids such as bursaries, fellowships, and scholarships.

An institution with a larger endowment means more endowment per student and small endowments results in smaller endowments per student.

You have now seen just how much of an important role endowment plays in every higher institution as well as to students and how useful it is when you want to choose an institution. In a university with the largest endowment per student, students get to enjoy a series of financial aid benefits and well-updated facilities.

What prep school has the largest endowment?

Do you think only higher institutions receive endowments? Well, preparatory schools do too and some receive larger endowments than others.

The prep school with the largest endowment is Philips Academy Andover with an endowment of $1.129 Billion followed by St. Paul’s School with an endowment of $614 million.

Popular ranking platforms annually rank universities with the largest endowments per student in the world which may facilitate student admission.

We at Study Abroad Nations have made a list of the 7 top universities with largest endowments per student in the world along with their details. Remember, universities with larger endowments tend to provide more financial support to their students.

With this in mind, click further to learn about these universities with largest endowments per students in the world

Universities with Largest Endowments per Student

Below is the list of colleges and universities with largest endowments per student in the world along with their basic details and direct links should you want to reach out to any of them for admission or scholarship enquiry.

  • Princeton University
  • Yale University
  • Harvard University
  • Stanford University
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Pomona College
  • Swarthmore College

Princeton University

Princeton University is one of the Ivy League universities, famous nationally and internationally for offering world-class academic programs from bachelor and masters to doctoral and other certificates.

Princeton University is the higher institution with the largest endowments per student in the world. Princeton’s endowment is $25.92 billion, which makes it one of the richest universities in the USA and the world, say among the top three with Harvard taking the lead.

The endowment per student at Princeton University is $3,166,813 making it the largest endowment per student. You may think “but Harvard is the richest university in the world, why isn’t it the university with the largest endowments per student in the world”, this is because of how it is calculated.

Endowments per student are calculated by the university’s overall financial strength divided by the number of students.

Harvard has more students than Princeton, Princeton University has a total number of 8,184 students comprising of both undergraduate and graduate students.

The age of Princeton is also another factor that makes it one of the universities with the largest endowments per student as it was established in 1746. The university’s fame and contribution to the world are also other factors that help make it to this list.

Princeton university also offers a number of free online course for all students.

Yale University

It is no big deal that another Ivy League university makes it to the list of universities with largest endowments per student.

Yale University is highly reputable both at home and abroad and is the aspiration of every student to attend and pursue a degree. Her reputation and contribution in providing world-class education has attracted people from all over the world to donate generously and thus has an endowment of $29.35 billion.

This makes Yale one of the richest universities in the USA and the world and has an endowment per student of $2,270,702. The school has more endowment than Princeton’s but so is her enrolment as it has 12,926 students comprising of both undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in her diverse range of academic programs.

The number of students in a university greatly affects the endowments per student, so you may want to choose a school with lesser students for the endowment to be reasonable.

Princeton and Yale universities are such, but you already know just how competitive they are to enter as well as the humongous tuition fees. But then, with the large endowment, you can enjoy some financial aid opportunities and also quality facilities and other amenities.

Just like Princeton, Yale Universty also offers free online courses.

Harvard University

Another Ivy League university, it is much expected, after all it does have all the pecks of being on this list. It is internationally recognized, offers renowned programs as well as degrees that are recognized worldwide, and generated well-established alumni.

Harvard University is the richest university in the USA and the world with an endowment of $38.30 billion.

Through her billion-dollar endowment, the Ivy League member can provide an endowment of $1,826,580 to each of her 20,970 students. This makes Harvard University one of the top universities with largest endowments per student, although both Princeton and Yale beat it but only due to Harvard’s enrollment.

Since her establishment in 1636 – making it the oldest university in the United States and one of the world’s oldest too – it has not wavered in providing students with the necessary resources to make them excellent students.

This involves a wide range of financial aid opportunities and world-class education and you already know just how competitive Harvard is. The acceptance rate is 5.4%.

Stanford University

You thought only the Ivy League universities will take the whole spot? Stanford University is not one of the Ivy League universities but holds an unmatched reputation in offering quality education to all and sundry.

Her reputation in providing renowned academic degree programs is recognized nationally and internationally and is every student’s dream to be part of it.

Stanford University ranks amongst the richest universities in the world and her home – The United States of America – with an endowment of $26.46 billion.

The university also has one of the largest endowments per student at $1,606,661 which 16,472 undergraduate and graduate students from all parts of the world enjoins.

Stanford University gets her endowment from donations but more comes from her Healthcare services, sponsored research, and return on endowment investments. Which are then channeled to providing a top learning experience to her students and aiding them in every way possible.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

At $16.53 billion, Massachusetts Institute of Technology is the only university so far with an endowment below $20 billion but it has a small student populace which makes the money go further. MIT is also ranked among the top richest universities in the world and in the the United States.

With her billion-dollar endowment, the endowment per student is at $1,465,895 making MIT one of the universities with the largest endowments per student.

MIT is a private research university and has since been in existence and produced top alumni who are now giving back to the school through monetary and research means.

Pomona College

Established in 1887 and ranked as the 11th top school in the United States, Pomona College has an endowment of $2.33 billion.

Pomona is certainly not the richest school right after MIT and besides, the endowment seems little; but the college also has a smallee student capacity which makes the $2.32 billion endowments go further per student.

Pomona College endowment per student is $1,486,314 million making the college one of the schools with the largest endowments per student.

This college has just 1,500 students which is why the endowment can go round. This should help you in choosing a school to attend just as you have seen with this, the student population matters even more than the school’s endowment.

With Pomona’s large endowment per student, it can provide students with a quality learning experience including top facilities and aiding in finance as well.

Swarthmore College

With an endowment of just $2.2 billion, Swarthmore College is quite far from the richest universities in the world but ranks top in the universities with largest endowments per student.

The student populace is what made it top other rich universities that are unable to make it to this list.

The endowment per student is $1,370,157 which provides a variety of scholarships, bursaries, fellowships, and other financial aid.

The College was founded in 1864 and is currently ranked as the 17th top school in the United States

It has a small student body which makes the endowment provide enough resources for her students.

Swarthmore College has produced world-renowned alumni who contribute both knowledge and financial assets to the development of the institution and her students.


These are the 7 to universities with largest endowments per student in the world featured along with their details. Do well to carry out further research if you are interested in applying for any of these schools.

Topic conclusion: Universities with Largest Endowments per Student

It is no wonder that all of these universities are in the United States, the region holds the oldest and top institutions in the world which are factors that make an institution get large endowments.

Another factor is that these institutions don’t accept large number of students as they are very competitive.

Countries like Canada, the UK, Australia, etc. can barely apply to this list because their schools accept larger number of students annually which makes the endowments per student considerably low.

The endowments per student listed here are in million dollars but for universities in Canada, the UK and Australia are in thousand dollars which does not make them qualify for this subject matter.

Since you are already interested in the schools here, go on to do further research through the links provided and learn about the admission requirements, process, and scholarship opportunities.

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