Manhattan’s Upper Eastside university was founded in 1901 and originally began as an institute for medical research. The school still is known for its biological and medical research and has the motto “Science for the benefit of humanity.”
The university was established by famed industrialist John D. Rockefeller. In 2012, his grandson, David, donated a whopping sum of $100 million to the school. The University has produced a particularly high number of Nobel Prize–winners.
The University of Rochester : $2.197 Billion
The University of Rochester is made up of 158 buildings (six schools!) Founded in 1850, the university is distinguished for its many programs, most prominently, their science, medicine and music programs. As a whole, it ranks s the 79th–best college in the world.
Kaplan/Newsweek recently dubbed The Eastman School of Music as the “Hottest School for Music.” The school also has some groundbreaking faculties such as The Institute of Optics - the first school of its kind. In addition, Rochester’s medical program and hospital, the Strong Health System, has the single biggest employer of health workers in the area.
Boston University: $2.194 Billion
This well respected private college is listed #66 among the best universities in the world. The Institution enjoys a lot of donations from a long list of alumni donors, some of which include Nobel Prize winners, Pulitzer Prize recipients, and even Oscar, winners.
While there are many generous donations, much of BU's wealth comes from the property, as the two large urban campuses are on prime real estate. In 2017m the college received $115 million, in 2017 from Rajen Kilachand.
Swarthmore College : $2.105 Billion
Originally founded by Quakers in 1864, Swarthmore College has long been respected as one of America's finest institutions and is known as the first college to produce a female graduate. It was also one of the first co-educational schools in the country.
U.S. News & World Repor lists it as the third-best liberal arts college in the country and it's nearly 400–acre campus was dubbed Travel+Leisure’s as the nation's most beautiful college campus.
Wellesley College: $2.091 Billion
The private women's liberal art college in Massachusetts is made up of 720–acres of several Elizabethan–inspired buildings. The institution has produced countless poets and filmmakers over the years.
As for donations, the college has received financial aid from many distinguished women and several organizations. Most notable was the gift from alumna Kathryn Wasserman Davis, who gave $11 million to persevere the Russian Studies program. The largest donation however was a sum of $50 million, came from an anonymous source in 2015.