Princeton, NJ · Private · 5,709 undergraduates · urban
Princeton University
Extremely selective
Princeton is the Ivy that never built a medical school or a business school, so nothing competes with about 5,700 undergraduates for the faculty’s attention. That shows up as a requirement, not a slogan: every A.B. candidate writes junior papers and then a senior thesis, which means real research is something the degree hands you rather than something you have to go hunting for. A student who does not want to write at length will feel that in sophomore year.
Institutional profile
Top tier Exceptional in career outcomes, and exceptional in academic standing.- Admission
- 4.5% admitted
- Price by income
- Varies across five income ranges
- Completion
- 98%
39,644 applicants in the reported year
Compare recent average annual costs by household income
$110,066 median earnings 10 years after enrollment
What sets Princeton apart
Original work is structural
For A.B. students, junior papers and the senior thesis make sustained original inquiry part of the degree rather than an optional add-on.
A residential home for four years
Princeton guarantees four years of campus housing; residential colleges provide advising, activities, and an intellectual community across class years.
Aid can materially change the comparison
Princeton directs families to evaluate its need-based package against public alternatives rather than infer affordability from the published price.
The Princeton sequence
Original work is built into the degree
Princeton turns undergraduate research from an optional opportunity into a progression every A.B. student is expected to complete.
Build disciplinary command
The first half of college develops the methods and background needed to frame worthwhile questions.
Write the junior papers
Departmental original work moves you from taking courses to producing an argument of your own.
Complete the thesis
A sustained original project becomes the capstone and a tangible piece of work for employers or graduate programs.
Can I get in?
4.5% admitted
Princeton looks for intellectual curiosity and academic excellence, but it also asks applicants to show the responsibilities, the commitments, and the personal voice behind the record. Polished credentials without an individual point of view are not the whole case.
Recent applicant pool
39,644About 5 in every 100 applicants were admitted.
Academic range
Of admitted students, 57% submitted an SAT, and 20% submitted an ACT. Decide by comparing your score with the published range and the rest of your academic record.
In the season card
Where your GPA sits in the entering class
The full entering-class GPA distribution for Princeton, in nine bands from 4.0 down, with your own record marked on it.
See where I landIn the season card
What Princeton weighs when it reads a file
See how this college describes the role of grades, testing, essays, recommendations, activities, and demonstrated interest.
- Course rigor
- GPA
- Test scores
- Essay
- Recommendations
- Extracurriculars
- Demonstrated interest
What moves the application
The evidence that separates a strong file
Academic excellence with direction
The record should show both command of demanding work and an emerging intellectual direction—not high achievement with no discernible center.
Self-directed curiosity
Projects, reading, research, creative work, or sustained questions can show readiness for Princeton’s culture of original inquiry.
Authentic personal voice
The writing should sound recognizably like the applicant and reveal how you think, not imitate an idealized admissions persona.
Responsibility and contribution
Jobs, family obligations, community commitments, and sustained service help explain how you act when other people depend on you.
How to apply
Rounds, route, and required materials
Princeton offers Single-Choice Early Action and Regular Decision. The written application should connect intellectual direction, personal voice, sustained commitments, and readiness for self-directed work rather than present four unrelated strengths.
Fee waiver: accepted
Can I afford it?
Compare annual cost by household income.
Princeton’s aid can put the real cost far below the published one. Average debt among borrowers is low, and Princeton itself directs families to its estimator rather than to the sticker price.
College funding
Scholarships and financial aid
Review available aid, application requirements, and renewal terms.
In the season card
Average annual cost by household income at Princeton
Compare recent average net prices across five federal income ranges and estimate a 4-year cost for yours.
- $0–30k
- $30–48k
- $48–75k
- $75–110k
- $110k+
Is it worth it?
Completion, debt, and earnings
Completion is near-total and borrowing is restrained. The thesis requirement also means every graduate leaves with a piece of sustained original work they can put in front of an employer or a graduate committee, which a transcript cannot do.
Degree completion across the reported entering cohort
First-year students who return for year two
And what that comes to against what they earn.
Reported 10 years after enrollment
Academic portfolio
Largest bachelor’s fields
How many students finish in each field, and median earnings four years after completing the program.
Computer Science
Admits separately
Economics
Public Policy Analysis
Operations Research
Admits separately
History
What is campus life like?
Princeton beyond the classroom
Princeton is smaller and more concentrated than many research-university peers. Residential colleges provide a home base across class years, while junior papers and the senior thesis give the academic experience a strong one-to-one character. The campus reads as cohesive and undergraduate-first.
Residential colleges create an early home base
Residential colleges concentrate advising, events, and dining for younger students, while campus housing keeps upper-level life close to the academic center.
The social structure changes after sophomore year
Residential-college dining defines the first half of college; eating clubs become an important dining and social option for many juniors and seniors.
A compact campus supports high participation
Arts groups, publications, service, athletics, debate, entrepreneurship, and academic organizations are easy to reach without a sprawling-campus commute.
Eating clubs are more important than Greek life
Fraternities and sororities are not the organizing center. The distinctive upper-level institution is the eating-club system, alongside residential colleges and student groups.
Cohesive, traditional, and undergraduate-focused
The campus is quieter than a major city university, with traditions and repeated face-to-face contact carrying more of the social experience.