Problem $7-9$

A wealthy graduate of a local university wants to establish a scholarship to cover the full cost of one student each year in perpetuity at her university. To adequately prepare for the administration of the scholarship, the university will begin awarding it starting in three years. The estimated full cost of one student this year is $$36,000$ and is expected to stay constant in real terms in the future. If the scholarship is invested to earn an annual real return of $8$ percent, how much must the donor contribute today to fully fund the scholarship?

Note: Negative value should be indicated by a parenthesis.

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