Does Princeton meet 100% of demonstrated financial need for admitted students?

Yes. Princeton states that it meets 100 percent of demonstrated financial need for all admitted students, including domestic and international students.

At Princeton, financial aid is entirely need-based, and the university does not package loans into its standard aid awards. That means if you qualify for aid, your package is typically made up of grants and a student contribution from work or summer earnings, rather than borrowed money.

What “meet full need” means is that Princeton calculates how much your family can reasonably contribute based on the financial information you submit, then covers the rest of the cost of attendance with aid. The cost of attendance includes tuition, housing, food, fees, and estimated personal expenses. The key detail is that “demonstrated need” is Princeton’s calculation, not necessarily what your family personally feels it can pay.

So in practice, Princeton may be very generous, but your actual aid depends on your family’s income, assets, home equity, business ownership, number of children in college, and other financial factors.