Princeton Weekly Bulletin September 21, 1998
More diverse students select Princeton
By Mary Caffrey
A new financial aid policy and new recruiting programs have helped boost the academic credentials and increase the socioeconomic diversity of the Class of 2002.
"We had an extraordinarily successful year," said Provost Jeremiah Ostriker. "We appear to have achieved our goal of making Princeton more affordable, and our competitive position with respect to our peer institutions has never been better."
The incoming class is larger than the Classes of 2000 and 2001, even though Princeton admitted 23 fewer students this year than it did in 1997. Recent figures from the Office of Admission indicated the Class of 2002 would number 1,170, or 41 more students than had committed to Princeton at the same point in 1997. The acceptance rate among admitted students was just under 69 percent, an unprecedented level, and up from just under 66 percent for 1997.
This year, 65 percent of the applicants who received financial aid offers from Princeton chose to enroll, up from 60 percent a year ago, according to the Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid. Forty-three percent of the Class of 2002 will receive financial aid this year, up from 38 percent for last year's incoming class. (This year's number is more in line with the 42 percent average Princeton saw earlier in the decade.) The average scholarship awarded this year to members of the Class of 2002 is $17,287; by contrast, the average amount awarded last year to members of the Class of 2001 was $15,064.
Low, middle-income families
Princeton's new financial aid policy, initiated in February, is designed to make the University more attractive to students from low and middle-income families, and new recruiting initiatives bring to campus students who have been admitted but might not be able to afford visiting Princeton before deciding which college to attend.
"The improved financial aid package was certainly an important element, but comparably important were enhanced recruiting efforts by our faculty and the offices of Admission and the Dean of the College," Ostriker said.
"Together, these factors produced significant increases in the percentage of the class receiving financial aid, the fraction having the highest academic credentials, and the percentage coming from minority groups that have been underrepresented. We were pleased that the additional resources made available for visits to campus seem to have had a beneficial effect."
The new financial aid plan eliminates loans for students whose families make less than $40,000 and reduces the loan portion of the financial aid portfolio for students whose families make up to $57,500. For both groups, loans are replaced with grants.
The plan also reduces the extent to which home equity affects the calculation of the family's ability to pay, thus reducing a family's contribution in many cases. Home equity is removed completely from the calculation for most families making up to $90,000.
Need-blind admission
Princeton continues to maintain its commitment to "need-blind" admission, which means that students are admitted based on academic ability, without regard to their ability to pay. Financial aid packages are then designed to help each family meet the cost of sending a student to Princeton. The new plan further reduces the amount low and middle-income families are expected to contribute.
In announcing the plan in February, President Harold Shapiro said, "We believe that for most lower and middle-income families, these changes will bring the amount they actually pay in line withor belowwhat it costs to attend the major state universities."
Press reports suggest that as many as 40 colleges and universities improved their financial aid programs in one way or another after Princeton's announcement, most notably such schools as Yale, Stanford, MIT, Williams and the University of Pennsylvania.
"Although the timing may have been coincidental for some of the colleges, it is safe to say that not nearly as much would have happened had not Princeton made the first move," said Don Betterton, director of undergraduate financial aid.