Princeton offers admission to 6.99 percent of Class of 2019 applicants

Princeton University has offered admission to 1,908 students, or 6.99 percent of the 27,290 applicants for the Class of 2019, in what is the University’s most selective admission process to date. Last year, the University's admission rate was 7.28 percent. The class size is expected to be 1,310 students for the Class of 2019.

The University's undergraduate admission office has mailed letters to students in the regular-decision applicant pool, and applicants will be able to see their decisions via secure online access starting today at 5 p.m. Of the 1,908 students selected for admission, 767 applied through single-choice early action and were offered admission in December.

The University's pioneering financial aid program provides the assistance necessary to make sure that any student who is admitted and needs financial aid can attend. The aid comes in the form of grants, which do not need to be repaid. Approximately 60 percent of all undergraduate students receive aid, and the average grant is more than $40,000 per year. Typically students from families with incomes below $60,000 pay no tuition, room or board, and students from families with incomes below $140,000 pay no tuition. Because no student is required to take out loans, Princeton's aid program makes it possible for students to graduate debt free.

The University's admission process is need-blind for all students, including international students, which means that no student is at a disadvantage for requiring financial aid.

"The students we have admitted to the Class of 2019 are exceptional in every way. We received a record number of applications, so the percentage of students we admitted was lower than any previous year," Dean of Admission Janet Lavin Rapelye said. "In addition to extraordinary achievements in the classroom, these students have demonstrated outstanding personal qualities, skills, interests, talents in the arts, community leadership, athletics and more. I am confident they will contribute in many ways to the Princeton community.  These gifted students come from all over the United States and around the world, and they will further enrich the unique educational and residential environment that Princeton offers.

"We thoroughly reviewed each and every application, and we could have filled several classes with these well-prepared and highly motivated students," Rapelye said.

Of the applicants, 11,245 had a 4.0 grade point average, and 12,481 had scores of 2,100 or higher on the three sections of the SAT. The pool included students from more than 9,500 high schools from 151 countries.

Students receiving offers of admission to the Class of 2019 come from 49 states, plus Washington, D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico, with the largest representation from New Jersey, followed in order by California, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Texas. International students represent 13 percent of the admitted students and are citizens of 66 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Ethiopia, France, Georgia, Greece, India, Jordan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, Romania, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Kingdom.

Of the students offered admission, 48 percent are women and 52 percent are men; 49 percent have self-identified as people of color, including biracial and multiracial students. Sixty-one percent of the admitted students come from public schools, and 15 percent will be the first in their families to attend college. Sons or daughters of Princeton alumni account for 10 percent of the admitted students. Of those offered admission, 23 percent indicated they want to study engineering, and a record 44 percent of those students are women.

In addition to the 1,908 students offered admission to the Class of 2019, 1,207 candidates were offered positions on the wait list. Any students on the wait list who may be offered admission in May or June will receive the same financial aid they would have received had they been offered admission this week.

This is the fourth year that the University has offered an early application round for prospective students whose first college choice is Princeton. Early action applicants may apply early only to Princeton, and if admitted, they can wait to decide whether to accept Princeton's offer until the end of the regular admission process in the spring.

Up to 35 members of the new class are expected to defer their enrollment for a year to participate in Princeton's Bridge Year Program. The University-sponsored program allows incoming freshmen to spend a tuition-free year engaging in international service work abroad in China, India, Bolivia, Senegal or Brazil. Applications for the Bridge Year Program will be due in May from students who accept the University's offer of admission.

Admitted candidates have until May 1 to accept Princeton's offer of admission.