Princeton U. Expands Aid, Eliminates Tuition For Families Making $250K A Year

PRINCETON, NJ – Princeton University is expanding its financial aid program. Students from families making $150,000 a year will now pay nothing to attend the university and will receive aid to cover the total cost of attendance, including tuition, housing, food, books, and personal expenses. Undergraduate families with incomes up to $250,000 will pay no tuition, the university announced.

“In addition, many families living in the U.S. with incomes up to and even beyond $350,000 will receive grant aid, including those at higher income levels with multiple children in college,” the University said in a statement.

Previously, the annual income threshold to receive full financial aid was $100,000.

The news comes after the Trump administration suspended dozens of research grants to Princeton University in April.

The financial aid expansion will take effect this fall. The average aid package for an undergraduate in 2025-26 will be more than $80,000, and about two-thirds of students are estimated to qualify for aid.

“Through our increased investment in financial aid, we are making the transformative experience of a Princeton education more affordable for more students than ever,” Provost Jennifer Rexford said in a statement.

Princeton’s financial aid program is made possible by the University's endowment and donations from alumni and others.

Endowment payouts dedicated to financial aid cover almost 70 percent of the undergraduate financial aid budget, the University said.

In the first-year Class of 2029, approximately 25 percent of the class are lower-income students eligible for federal Pell Grants, up from 21.7 percent in the first-year Class of 2028 and the highest number of Pell-eligible students in the University’s history.

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