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Since tuition can be quite costly, it’s easy to understand why the average person might assume that tuition fees are what keeps a college’s lights on. But college finances can actually be fairly complex, and running a college is a bit like running a small city. Public and private college budgets differ, but tuition often only makes up a portion of a college’s budget. Many colleges also rely on state and federal funding, grants, and endowments to maintain operations.

Check out our relevant Data Visualizations:

• How Do Colleges Make Money? A Deep Dive into College Revenue Sources
• Following the Money: Understanding College Spending Patterns

Government funding and grants are more self-explanatory, but endowments can seem mysterious at first glance. So, what are they? You can think of college endowments as a savings account that colleges can use to pay their bills, support students and faculty, and maintain growth. Funded by donations and investments, endowments can be large sums of money that colleges carefully spend and grow to ensure the long-term success of their school.

Although it’s just one thing to consider when you’re researching schools, colleges with large endowments can potentially offer their students more resources and perks. Curious to learn more about what endowments can mean for your college search? Below, we’ll cover everything you need to know:

• Where Do College Endowments Come From?
• How Do Colleges Spend Their Endowments?
• Should I Apply to Colleges with Large Endowments?
• The 2024 Endowment Report at a Glance
• 25 Colleges with the Largest Endowments

25 Colleges with the Largest Endowments—Where Do College Endowments Come From?

College endowments funds come from a variety of sources, including donations and investments.

• Donations: Philanthropists, alumni, students, and parents can donate to a college’s endowment. Colleges typically run donation campaigns and build relationships with potential donors, asking for funds that support educational and student support initiatives.
• Investments: Colleges invest their accrued donations, receiving returns on their investments that grow over time.

Since these funds are typically there to support a college’s stability and long-term goals, most universities prefer slower growth over risky investments, though universities like UT Austin, , and Stanford have recently invested in Bitcoin. Typical endowment investments also include commercial real estate, venture capital, and hedge funds.

How Do Colleges Spend Their Endowments?

So, where does the money go? Most colleges with large endowments invest their funds directly into students. According to a report issued by the , almost 50% of endowment spending was allotted for student financial aid in 2024. Here’s the full spending breakdown:

• Student financial aid: 48.1%
• Academic programs and research: 17.7%
• Endowed faculty positions: 10.8%
• Facilities operation and management: 6.7%
• All other purposes: 16.6%

Many colleges also use their endowments to give back to the communities they’re a part of. Harvard’s endowment, for example, helps fund elementary school field trips to the . In 2024, it would invest $5 billion into grants for child and family well-being, health care, higher education, and rural United Methodist churches and communities over the next 15 years. Stanford’s endowment helps support the . University initiatives like these often give students opportunities to learn through service, volunteer, and take on leadership roles.

25 Colleges with the Largest Endowments—Should I Apply to Colleges with Large Endowments?

Endowment size might be something to consider when applying to college, depending on what you’re looking for in a school. Endowment size can impact a college’s 1) resources and financial aid packages, 2) its stability, and 3)its prestige and admissions competitiveness.

Resources and Financial Aid

Colleges with large endowments are able to hire top tier faculty at the forefront of the field, invest in innovative research, and maintain lab and classroom spaces equipped with the newest technology. On top of that, bigger endowments also give colleges more room to provide financial aid to their students. Stanford, Harvard, and Emory, for example, are among a longer list of colleges that meet 100% of admitted students’ financial needs.

Stability

Endowments also give colleges financial stability, which is certainly something to consider in 2025. In recent weeks, the Trump Administration has declared its intentions to abolish the Department of Education and has and . It’s still uncertain what this will mean for colleges in the long run, but it’s wise to anticipate changes to higher education as usual. Since colleges with large endowments are more stable, they are more likely to stay afloat and continue providing students with resources even through financial change.

Prestige and Competitive Admissions

It’s important to note, though, that the colleges with the most money in the coffers also happen to be some of our country’s most prestigious universities. Ivy League schools like Princeton, Harvard, and Yale typically rank in the top 5, and other sought-after schools like the University of Virginia, Duke, and MIT also have high-ranking endowments.

Admission to schools that have made it onto the list of 25 colleges with the largest endowments can be highly competitive. When deciding what schools to apply to, consider your educational goals and your financial needs, as well as your own academic qualifications and accomplishments.

The 2024 Endowment Report at a Glance

Every year, the National Association of College and University Business Officers gathers data from 658+ universities in the United States and Canada. The quick facts below, as well as our list of 25 colleges with the largest endowments, come directly from their recent 2024 report.

According to their study:

• The list of colleges with the biggest endowments looks very similar to lists from previous years. Harvard ranks first with an endowment of $52 billion. The University of Texas System’s $47.5 billion endowment puts them securely in second place. And Yale takes third place, with an endowment of $41.4 billion.
• The value of college endowments as a whole grew by 4% in 2024.
• Donor gifts to endowments jumped from $12.7 billion in 2023 to $15.2 billion last year.
• While the colleges with the biggest endowments have holdings high into the billions, the median endowment of the 658 schools that responded to the survey was $243 million.

25 Colleges with the Largest Endowments

Rank	School	School Type	Endowment at end of 2024 Fiscal Year
1	Harvard University	Private	$51,977,208,000
2	University of Texas System	Public	$47,464,820,000
3	Yale University	Private	$41,441,700,000
4	Stanford University	Private	$37,631,000,000
5	The Trustees of Princeton University	Private	$34,052,327,000
6	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Private	$24,572,716,000
7	Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania	Private	$22,347,945,000
8	The Texas A&M University System & Related Foundations	Public	$20,381,028,000
9	University of Michigan	Public	$19,166,266,000
10	Regents of the University of California	Public	$19,103,077,000

List (Continued)

11	University of Notre Dame	Private	$17,897,379,000
12	Trustees of Columbia University	Private	$14,782,492,000
13	Northwestern University	Private	$14,209,710,000
14	Johns Hopkins University	Private	$13,063,073,000
15	Washington University	Private	$11,981,486,000
16	Duke University	Private	$11,889,994,000
17	Emory University	Private	$11,043,532,000
18	Cornell University	Private	$10,658,170,000
19	Vanderbilt University	Private	$10,247,727,000
20	University of Virginia	Public	$10,217,170,000

List (Continued)

21	The University of Chicago	Private	$10,104,952,000
22	Dartmouth College	Private	$8,273,316,000
23	University of Southern California	Private	$8,145,120,000
24	Rice University	Private	$8,065,768,000
25	The Ohio State University	Public	$7,931,714,000

25 Colleges with the Largest Endowments—More Resources

Looking for more resources to help guide your college search? You’ve come to the right place. Check out College Admissions section of our blog to learn more about topics such as:

• 25 Colleges with the Best Student Life
• 50 Largest Colleges in the US
• 40 Colleges with Full-Ride Scholarships
• 100 Top Public Universities in the U.S.
• 50 Best Colleges on the East Coast