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• Through our groundbreaking financial aid, we offer grants instead of loans. Most undergraduate families with incomes up to $250,000 will pay no tuition.
• Our students are curious about the world around them and use the skills they learn here to make real differences in their communities.
• Our informal motto is, "Princeton in the Nation’s Service and the Service of Humanity."
• Our low student to faculty ratio encourages our undergraduate students to form close intellectual relationships with world-class faculty.
• Our residential communities provide a strong network of support and is available to guide students through their college experience.
• Students are required to complete a senior thesis, an original piece of scholarly work. This ensures that every student has the tools to ask good questions and apply what they have learned to solve challenges in the world.

During the admission process, our goal is to find students who will:

• Thrive in Princeton’s rigorous academic environment.
• Demonstrate their readiness to benefit from the incredible academic and nonacademic opportunities Princeton has to offer.
• Meaningfully contribute to the Princeton community.

At Princeton, we are proud of our diversity and committed to it. Our undergraduates come from a variety of ethnic, racial, religious, geographic, socioeconomic and ideological backgrounds. For the Class of 2029, 16.7% of the students are the first in their families to go to college, 25% are Pell Grant recipients and approximately 69% of students qualify for financial aid. In addition, students come from around the globe, with 65 countries represented in the first-year class. With a low student to faculty ratio, robust campus resources and a close-knit residential community, students thrive academically and socially at Princeton. Our graduation rate is 97 percent, which is among the highest in the nation.

Your recommendation will tell us about:

• Your student;
• Their personal qualities;
• What they've accomplished in the classroom and in your community.

We will also ask you for your school profile, which should include a description of your curriculum and the progression of courses. We want to understand your program of study and whether you offer Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, honors or dual enrollment courses. This will help us to better evaluate your student’s transcript in the context of your school setting. We understand that because of these few unprecedented years, students may have a pass/fail transcript. We will honor all curriculum changes as approved by the school. As always, we will continue to review each applicant holistically. 

We encourage you to submit the required forms by the application deadline your student has selected. If this is not possible, please reach out to us by email at uaoffice@princeton.edu.

Dear Colleague,

I hope your academic year is off to a great start.

Below you’ll find several exciting updates about Princeton, including our continued enhancement to our ground-breaking financial aid program. Most families with incomes up to $150,000 a year will now pay nothing for their student to attend Princeton. 

But first, I want to share that Princeton will return to requiring standardized testing for undergraduate admission beginning with the 2027-28 admission cycle. First-year and transfer applicants seeking to enroll in fall 2028 will need to submit either SAT or ACT scores. Please note that active military personnel will not be required to submit testing due to lack of regular access to testing facilities that may prevent them from testing at times aligned with Princeton’s application deadlines.

The decision to resume testing requirements follows a review of five years of data from the test-optional period, which found that academic performance at Princeton was stronger for students who chose to submit test scores than for students who did not. The review concluded that standardized testing is among the tools that can be helpful in indicating potential for academic success at Princeton.

For first-year and transfer applicants seeking to enroll in fall 2026 or fall 2027, Princeton remains test optional. Students who opt to apply in the 2025-26 and 2026-27 admission cycles without an SAT or ACT score will not be at a disadvantage in our process. Please visit our website for more information.

As always, if you have any questions, I encourage you to contact the admission officer who oversees your region. And thank you for your partnership and the work you do with your students as they prepare to take the next steps in their educational journey.

Best wishes,

Karen L. Richardson ’93
Dean of Admission and Financial Aid

Admission, 2025-26 Cycle

• We accept the Common Application and QuestBridge Application; we no longer accept the Coalition Application.
• Beginning this admission cycle, we are accepting the Duolingo English Test (DET) for English-language proficiency.
• The application fee is now $75 (up from $70). All low-income students are eligible for the Princeton-specific fee waiver.
• On Oct. 21, we are hosting our virtual Why Princeton? Open House. This program highlights the academic, co-curricular and community offerings and resources at Princeton. Why Princeton? is open to all students and may be of particular interest to first-generation students and students from lower-income backgrounds. For other campus and virtual offerings, check out our Visit Us webpage.
• As always, You can view admission officers’ territory assignments under “Meet the Admission Team” on the Counselor section of our website. 

Financial Aid

Princeton continues to enhance its groundbreaking financial aid program as it welcomes a first-year class with the largest-ever number of Pell-eligible students. 

The financial aid enhancements reflect Princeton’s national leadership in access and affordability, and they apply to eligible new and returning students. Most families with incomes up to $150,000 a year will now pay nothing for their student to attend Princeton, receiving aid to cover the total cost of attendance, including tuition, housing, food, books and personal expenses. Most undergraduate families with incomes up to $250,000 will pay no tuition.

Mental Health & Well-being

The opening of the new Frist Health Center is among several recent projects that advance the University’s commitment to student mental health and well-being.

Over the last few years, Princeton has launched and expanded well-being initiatives that support students to thrive and engage fully in learning, research and service. These include new health and recreational facilities, enhanced University Health Services programs and increased access to mental health care.

Belonging & Inclusion

Princeton is committed to equal opportunity and non-discrimination. To maximize excellence, we seek talent from all segments of American society and the world, and we take steps to ensure everyone at Princeton can thrive while they are here as students, staff and faculty. That is the sole rationale for our diversity and inclusion programs. 

All of our diversity and inclusion programs are voluntary and open to all, and they comply with federal and state non-discrimination laws. 

International Student Support

The Davis International Center is committed to providing services and programs that support the growth, development, and welfare of international students and scholars on multiple levels – immigration advising and processing, cultural adjustment, social enrichment and assistance with practical matters related to living in the U.S. 

New Art Museum Opens

The new Princeton University Art Museum building will roughly double space for the exhibition, conservation, study and interpretation of the Museum’s globe-spanning collections. It will open on October 31, 2025, with a 24-hour open house.

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Spring 2024

As you have witnessed the many protests on college campuses across the country over the past several weeks, I’m sure that the safety and security of your students is front of mind. 

I can say that here at Princeton, the protests have been modest in comparison to some schools, but meaningful in their intent and impact on the community. End-of-the-year academic activities and University events are continuing as scheduled. Outside of the small area directly affected by the protest, life on campus continues normally. My colleague across departments are working diligently to ensure that campus is one where all can feel safe, welcome and can thrive. 

Princeton promotes a culture that encourages mutual respect and free inquiry. These efforts begin from the moment students arrive on campus. Their initial orientation includes modules on both free speech and diversity. The free speech session emphasizes not only the University’s broad protection for academic freedom and debate, but also the responsibility of community members to listen carefully and speak respectfully to one another. The University’s policies on free expression are posted on the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students’ website.

If you have questions, you can connect with an admission officer at uaoffice@princeton.edu or 609-258-3060.

As always, thank you for your hard work and dedication in supporting students through the college admission process. I hope you have a relaxing summer.

Best wishes,

Karen Richardson ’93
Dean of Admission and Financial Aid

Financial Aid:

• Princeton sets 70% financial aid and 22% Pell enrollment goals. The University will aim for an undergraduate student body that is at least 70% eligible for need-based financial aid and at least 22% Pell Grant eligible.
   

Academics:

• Program for Community College Engagement will strengthen outreach partnerships. As part of Princeton’s work to extend its academic outreach and strengthen relationships with New Jersey community colleges, the University has created the Program for Community College Engagement to oversee coordination of Princeton partnerships with two-year public institutions.
• Kenya trip inspires global health projects. In January, the Center for Health and Wellbeing (CHW) sponsored a trip to Kenya for 19 Princeton juniors minoring in global health and health policy. The fully funded experience, supported by the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), was designed to give the students a deeper understanding of global health challenges in a lower-middle income country.
   

Admission:

• A continued pause on standardized testing. Our test optional policy for first-year and transfer applicants stands until the fall 2025 / spring 2026 application cycles. Students who do not submit test scores will not be at a disadvantage during our application review process. Applications without test scores will be considered complete.
• College Fairs. If you would like to invite a Princeton admission representative to a college fair, panel, workshop or other event, please email the invitation to fairs@princeton.edu.
• Group Tours. Group tours of campus are available to students in grades 9-12. Schools and community-based organizations working with students in grades 9-12, as well as transfer applicants visiting with groups of 10 or more students, may submit a visit group request form.
  

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Dear Colleague,

I hope this busy fall season is treating you well. 

It has been a noteworthy year in the field of college admission with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling prohibiting most higher education institutions from considering race, ethnicity and national origin when selecting candidates for admission. However, we remain committed to our mission at Princeton University. In a statement to our campus community, President Christopher L. Eisgruber writes: “[Princeton] will work vigorously to preserve — and, indeed, grow — the diversity of our community while fully respecting the law as announced today.” 

In August, Princeton’s Board of Trustees established an ad hoc committee to examine the University’s admissions policies. The committee’s work will be guided by the two key principles that undergird Princeton’s admission process: merit-driven admission and the imperative to attract and support talented students from all sectors of society, including underrepresented groups. The committee’s recommendations are expected by the end of the 2023-24 academic year.

If you wish to learn more, you can connect with an admission officer at uaoffice@princeton.edu, by phone at 609-258-3060 or visit our website.

As always, thank you for your incredible work preparing students for this next step in their educational careers. I wish you a happy and healthy holiday season.

Best wishes,

Karen Richardson ’93
Dean of Admission and Financial Aid