Swarthmore has an endowment of $1.1 MM per student. If the the school earned a 5% return that would pay for the annual costs of that student.
I like the one quote from Ghostbusters to speak volumns as to why these well endowed institutions are a problem:
“Personally, I liked the university. They gave us money and facilities, we didn’t have to produce anything! You’ve never been out of college! You don’t know what it’s like out there! I’ve *worked* in the private sector. They expect *results*.”
Dr Ray Stantz