Undergraduate Costs and Financial Aid
Here is what it costs for an undergraduate to study in 2009–10:
| Expense | Amount |
| Tuition | $35,340 |
| Room | 6,340 |
| Board | 5,340 |
| Miscellaneous expenses (books, supplies, etc.) | 3,600 |
| Total | $50,620 |
Admission to Princeton is need-blind for all applicants, including international students, ensuring equality of opportunity for low- and middle-income students. Princeton provides student grants and campus jobs—not student loans—to meet the full demonstrated financial need of all students offered admission. Currently, about 58 percent of Princeton’s undergraduate students receive financial aid from the University.
Class of 2013
Percent on aid
| Category | % |
| Aid recipients | 59% |
| Non-aid | 41% |
Average aid award ($37,680)
| Type | Amount | % |
| Grant aid | $36,000 | 96% |
| Campus jobs | $1,680 | 4% |
Students who receive financial aid help pay for their education by working in the summer and during the school year. Since they are no longer required to take loans to help pay their basic expenses, the University provides grants to fill any gap between the cost of attendance and the amount a student and his or her parents are able to pay.
The amount parents are asked to contribute varies from family to family based on a review of their financial circumstances. Princeton uses its own need formula to determine parental contributions.
Princeton’s Financial Aid Budget, 2009–10
| Type | % | Amount |
| Number of undergraduates receiving financial aid | 58% | 2,915 |
| Average family income of students receiving aid | $108,000 | |
| Average parental contribution for students receiving aid | $13,500 | |
| Total scholarship budget | $104,200,000 | |
| Provided by the University | 93.6% | |
| Endowed scholarships | 71,520,000 | |
| General funds | 23,070,000 | |
| Yearly gifts to scholarship program | 3,000,000 | |
| Provided by government | 2.8% | 2,910,000 |
| Provided by outside organizations | 3.6% | 3,700,000 |
| Earnings of financial aid students | $2,200,000 |