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The basics:

• Princeton broadens free tuition to families earning up to $250K
• Includes aid for tuition, housing, food, books, personal costs
• Record number of lower-income, Pell-eligible students enrolled
• Average financial aid package exceeds $80,000 for undergrads

Princeton University is welcoming its largest number of lower-income students ever with the incoming Class of 2029, bolstered by the Ivy League institution’s seminal financial aid program.

According to an Aug. 7 announcement from the school, most families with incomes up to $150,000 a year will pay nothing for students to attend, receiving aid for tuition, housing, food, books and personal expenses. Additionally, most undergraduate families with incomes up to $250,000 will also pay no tuition.

Beyond that, most families living in the U.S. with incomes up to – and even beyond – $350,000 will receive grant aid. Those funds will also go toward households with higher income levels and multiple children in college. The latest moves build upon significant financial aid updates revealed in 2023.

According to U.S. News & World Report, the average tuition and fees for private ranked colleges grew more than 5% from 2024-2025. The publication noted a 2024 College Ave survey found many families are not prepared to pay for college.

At Princeton, approximately 25% of first-year students in the Class of 2029 comprise lower-income learners eligible for Pell Grants, the school said. The university noted this figure is up more than 21% from last year’s incoming class. It also marks the highest number of Pell-eligible students in university history.

In a statement, Provost Jennifer Rexford said the school is making a Princeton education “more affordable for more students than ever.”

The university said as of July 29, a total 1,409 first-time, first-year students and 69% of freshmen qualify for financial aid. Thirty-two transfer students will also join as undergrads for the 2025-26 academic year.

According to the school, an average aid package for an undergrad in the 2025-26 school year will total more than $80,000. It expects about two-thirds of students to qualify for aid.

The university endowment and alumni contributions make Princeton’s financial aid program possible, Princeton said. It noted endowment payouts dedicated to financial aid cover almost 70% of that dedicated undergrad budget.

Princeton also broke down the diversity of first-time, first-year students joining with the Class of 2029:

• 9.2% self-identify as Hispanic or Latino; 7.7% as multiracial — roughly the same as last year
• 27.1% self-identify as Asian American — up from 23.8% last fall
• 5% of students self-identify as Black or African American — a reduction from 8.9% for last year’s starting class
• 8.2% of incoming students chose not to identify a race — growing consistently with a nationwide trend, following the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to limit consideration of race in admissions decisions