What’s important to remember about the “sticker price” of a Thiel education is that most don’t pay it. That is because price differs from cost in this situation. The actual cost to educate each of our students is much higher than the price Thiel charges, which is also different from what each student actually pays to attend. College education cost and financing can be confusing, so let’s break it down:
): 2013 2 1 (20 ition u t l Thie nt: tude s r e p enue v e r Net
8
20 , 4 2 $
81 3 , 0 $1
Yearly budget to educate Thiel’s students: $20,204,641
How do education costs break down?
Institution Support: 25%
$11,620 On average what a student will pay out of pocket.
Where does the money come from? FUNDING SOURCES
Student Services: 19%
Instruction: 56%
What does all this mean for our students and their families? There’s a significant problem looming for all American colleges and universities: the tuition gap. Wealthier schools can cover the gap with endowment income while less wealthy schools like Thiel fund it through financial aid or discounts (the aid is in the form of a reduced price). Having a larger endowment would give
Thiel more options to deal with the tuition gap in the short term and we of course continue to watch our bottom line and steward our resources in the most cost-efficient manner possible. Thiel’s goal remains what it has always been: to provide affordable access to the high-quality liberal arts education for which we have been known for almost 150 years.
100% of The Thiel Fund funds operating costs
$23,766,667 Size of endowment—College draws 6% each year = $1,544,833. Endowment draw helps close the gap between tuition and costs. The Bell • Spring 2013
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