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How to Apply

Application Checklist

  1. Submit
    • A Completed Application. You must submit your application online through either the Coalition Application, Common Application or the Universal College Application. 
    • Princeton's Supplement. In addition to the application provided by the Coalition Application, Common Application or Universal College Application, all applicants must submit the Princeton Supplement. You should submit the Princeton Supplement online through the Coalition Application, Common Application or Universal College Application website. 
    • Application Fee or Fee Waiver. You may submit a fee waiver one of two ways: 1) Select the fee waiver option on the Coalition Application, Common Application or Universal College Application. Your college or guidance counselor must approve your fee waiver request online or submit your fee waiver form by mail or fax. 2) Select one of the following fee waiver options on the Princeton Supplement: Princeton-specific, ACT, College Board, NACAC or Realize Your College Potential. All low-income students are eligible for the Princeton-specific fee waiver. In addition, all applicants who are serving or have served in the U.S. military are eligible for the Princeton-specific fee waiver. If you use the Princeton-specific fee waiver, you do not need to get approval from your college counselor or academic adviser. Students named QuestBridge Finalists should select the QuestBridge fee waiver. Learn more about fee waivers on the How to Apply page.
    • Graded Writing Sample. A paper you have written, preferably in the subjects of English or history.
  2. Request
    • Transcript. An official transcript must be sent by a guidance counselor or school official.
    • School Report (SR). The SR form is available from the Common Application and Universal College Application websites. Please ask your guidance counselor or other school official to complete and submit the SR form. If you are using the Coalition Application, the SR and counselor recommendation are uploaded as one item.
    • Counselor Recommendation. If you are using the Common Application online, please note that the SR and the Counselor Recommendation are separate items. Be sure to 'invite' your guidance counselor or academic adviser to complete both items. If you are using the Coalition Application, please invite your counselor to upload the counselor recommendation and school report.
    • Two (2) Teacher Recommendations. Please ask two of your teachers from different academic areas of study to complete and send the teacher recommendation forms, available on the Coalition Application, Common Application and Universal College Application websites. Choose teachers who have taught you in higher-level courses.
    • Mid-year School Report. Please ask your guidance counselor or other school official to complete and submit this form when your mid-year grades are available. The form may be found on the Coalition Application, Common Application and Universal College Application websites.
  3. Report
    • SAT or ACT. Early action applicants are strongly encouraged to complete their SAT or ACT test before the Nov. 1 deadline. Regular decision applicants should take the SAT or the ACT by the December date. When registering for the SAT or ACT, use the following codes to ensure your scores are sent to Princeton: SAT: 2672 and ACT: 2588. Learn more about standardized testing for admission and review our application dates and deadlines.
    • SAT Subject Tests. We recommend, but do not require, the submission of two SAT Subject Tests, which often assist us in the evaluation process. We have no preference for the specific SAT Subject Tests applicants might choose to take. However, if you apply for the Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree, we recommend that you take mathematics Level I or II, and either physics or chemistry. Learn more about standardized testing for admission and review our application dates and deadlines.
    • TOEFL, IELTS or PTE Academic scores. If English is not your native language and you are attending a school where English is not the language of instruction, you must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Language Testing System Academic (IELTS Academic) or the Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic), in addition to the SAT with Essay or ACT with Writing. You are not required to take the TOEFL, IELTS or PTE Academic if English is your native language or if you have spent at least three years at a secondary school where English is the primary language of instruction. Please have your scores sent directly to Princeton: TOEFL: 2672

Optional Application Components

  • Arts Form, if applicable. If you've excelled in architecture, creative writing, dance, music, theater or visual arts, and would like us to consider your talent, consult Princeton's online Optional Arts Form. Early action applicants must submit digital arts materials by Nov. 6; regular decision applicants must submit digital arts materials by Jan. 8. You can only submit your online Optional Arts Form after we have received the Coalition Application, Common Application or Universal College Application. If you are unable to submit online, please use the paper Optional Arts Form. For a list of acceptable file formats and submission types, review our Optional Arts Form page. For more information on the optional arts supplement, please visit our FAQs page.
  • Interview. Depending on availability, once you have applied, you may be invited to interview with a member of one of our Princeton Alumni Schools Committees. If so, we encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity. Interviews take place after the Admission Office has received your application. Many Princeton Alumni Schools Committees have enough volunteers to offer every applicant an interview. As the interview is not a required element of the application, you will not be at a disadvantage if an interview is not available in your area. We do not offer on-campus interviews. Please visit our FAQs page for more information.

Application Confirmation


You may log in to Princeton's Applicant Portal to verify whether we have received all your required application materials. You will receive a confirmation notice when we have received your application and another notice when we have received all required supporting materials. The confirmation notice will arrive approximately 24-48 hours after you submit your admission application. If your application is incomplete, we will let you know which pieces are missing. Beginning in mid-October, you also may track the completeness of your application online through the Applicant Portal. Please note: You cannot apply for financial aid until you apply for admission. If you submit your admission application on or before Nov. 1 for single-choice early action, there is a grace period until Nov. 10 to allow additional time for you to submit your financial aid forms.