Stanford’s budget woes


*The Financial Times* has a short but excellent [rundown](http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f7a858b6-2d43-11de-8710-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1) of the toll that America’s economic downturn has taken on college endowments.

Elite American universities have faced a perfect storm of events in the past year: the number of applications has grown while large swaths of the endowment have contracted.

Here are the facts:

• Elite colleges’ endowments have declined “an average of 24%” from June to December of last year.

• Applications for the Stanford Class of 2013 were up 20%. A record-setting 30,428 students applied for 2,300 spots. A 7.6% final admission rate.

• According to Provost Echemendy, **Stanford is committed to pay $110m in financial aid next year, $10m more than last year. **

• **The University has needed to cut $300 million dollars from its $3.5 billion operating budget **due to declines in endowment.

• **Stanford has frozen staff salaries.
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• **Stanford has ended a $1.3bn capital works program. **

• Stanford will lay off about 350 people in this fiscal year.