Princeton's class of 2009 represents continued success in the
University's efforts to diversify its undergraduate student body. This
year's freshman class includes record totals and percentages of
financial aid recipients, low-income students and minorities.
A record 55 percent of the 1,229-member class is on financial aid, Dean
of the College Nancy Malkiel reported at the Sept. 19 faculty meeting.
That is the highest percentage at any Ivy League institution based
on preliminary reports. Last year's freshman class included 52 percent
of students on financial aid.
Of the 675 freshmen on financial aid, 196 come from low-income
households (defined as below $50,900 per year), up from 161 last year.
The figures represent a substantial increase compared to the class of
2001, the last class admitted before Princeton began revamping its
financial aid practices. In that freshman class, 432 students -- or 38
percent of the class -- received financial aid, and 88 students were
from low-income households.
"As the data … make plain, we have been tremendously successful in
attaining our goal of making Princeton affordable for any student
regardless of family financial circumstances," Malkiel said. "The
changes in financial aid policy have had a dramatic effect on the
economic diversity of the undergraduate student body."
In 2001, Princeton eliminated loans for all students who qualify for
aid, expanding a program instituted three years earlier in which loans
were replaced with grants for low-income students. The groundbreaking
"no loan" program is part of a series of enhancements to Princeton's
aid program that began in 1998, including the adjustment of formulas
for determining need to reduce the amounts that both students and
families are expected to contribute.
The University received a record 16,510 applications for the class of
2009 -- an increase of nearly 21 percent from the previous year -- in
response to growing awareness of its financial aid advantages, as well
as enhanced recruitment efforts and the introduction of Web-based
application forms. Princeton also for the first time accepted
submissions of the Common Application, a standardized form used by
colleges and universities across the nation.
Reflecting the University's efforts to attract a broader pool of
applicants, the number of minority students in the class of 2009 rose
to a record 433, or 35 percent of the class, from 321, or 27 percent,
in the class of 2008.
"Building a strong multicultural community is a high priority for the
University, and we will continue to concentrate on the recruitment,
selection and yields of minority students in the applicant pool for the
class of 2010," Malkiel said.
The class of 2009 is Princeton's largest freshman class, due to the
University's decision to start the planned expansion of its student
body sooner. With the opening of Bloomberg Hall in 2004 and additional
housing capacity currently available, the University was able to
accommodate more students beginning this year rather than waiting until
the opening of Whitman College in 2007.
The University will gradually increase the size of incoming classes
over the next few years, with the undergraduate population projected to
reach 5,200 students in the fall of 2012. Including the class of 2009,
Princeton currently enrolls about 4,740 students.
The figures for the class of 2009 do not include 24 undergraduates who
have been temporarily enrolled as visiting students at Princeton
because they have been displaced from colleges and universities
affected by Hurricane Katrina.
For additional figures on the class of 2009, see "By the Numbers" in the Sept. 11 issue of the Princeton Weekly Bulletin.