PrincetonUniversity
 

Students work in problem-solving groups in a peer-led organic chemistry course.

photo: Denise Applewhite

About Princeton: Improving financial aid

Princeton has made significant improvements in its financial-aid policies in recent years to make the University more affordable for lower- and middle-income students. The reforms have increased the economic diversity of the student body, with the percentage of students on financial aid rising to 52 percent of the class of 2007 from 38 percent of the class of 2001.

• For undergraduates in need of financial aid, the University has replaced loans with grants that do not need to be repaid. This unprecedented policy began in the 2001-02 academic year.

• Princeton has reduced the size of the parental contribution from families who own their homes by removing the entire value of the family home from the formula that calculates how much parents are expected to contribute to college.

• The amount students are expected to contribute from their savings has been reduced from 35 percent to 5 percent, the same rate that applies to parental savings. This means there is no penalty for parents who save for college in the student's name.

• Both U.S. and international students are admitted on an entirely "need-blind" basis, making Princeton one of only five colleges that admit all students without regard to their financial circumstances.

More information is available on Princeton's undergraduate financial aid Web site. A Q&A with Don Betterton, director of undergraduate financial aid, is available in the Princeton Weekly Bulletin.