Princeton University

🎓 Academic Program

No standalone Accounting. Economics concentration with finance via Bendheim Center.

🎯 Admissions

📊 Exam Requirements

📅 Deadlines

💰 Financial Aid & Scholarships

📑 Scholarship requirements

• CSS Profile (international families: use Princeton-specific guidance)
• Family financial documents
• No separate scholarship application
• No-loan packages — all grants

🔄 Scholarship maintenance

Annual financial aid renewal. Maintain academic good standing.

⚠️ Conditions & restrictions

• All financial aid is grants, no loans
• Aid adjusts to family income changes
• 89% of recent seniors graduated debt-free

📝 Application requirements

• 2 teacher recommendations
• Counselor recommendation
• Common App essay
• Princeton supplemental essays (2 long + 3 short)
• GRADED ACADEMIC PAPER (unique requirement — submit your best graded essay from school)
• Optional: arts portfolio

✍️ Supplemental essay prompts (2025-2026)

1. A.B. Degree: As a research institution with liberal arts curriculum, what academic areas most pique your curiosity, and how do the programs at Princeton suit your interests? (250 words)
2. OR B.S.E. (Engineering): Why are you interested in studying engineering at Princeton? (250 words)
3. Princeton values community... reflect on how your lived experiences will impact conversations in the classroom. What lessons have you learned? What will your classmates learn from you? (500 words)
4. Princeton has a longstanding commitment to service. How does your own story intersect with these ideals? (250 words)
5. What is a new skill you would like to learn in college? (50 words)
6. What brings you joy? (50 words)
7. What song represents the soundtrack of your life at this moment? (50 words)

⭐ "Why Us?" — Essay hooks & school personality

Eating clubs (unique social institution). Senior thesis required for all students. Junior Independent Work. Princeton-in-Asia program. Bendheim Center for Finance. Center for Information Technology Policy. Lewis Center for the Arts. Strong undergraduate focus despite research stature.

🏆 Unique advantages

Only Ivy with no graduate business school competing with undergrad. Senior thesis is graduate-level. Some of highest endowment-per-student ratios. Beautiful Gothic campus. Smaller (5,200 undergrads) than peers.

💼 Career outlook

Top placements at Wall Street, McKinsey, Bain, BCG. Princeton-NYC bus runs daily. 25%+ go into finance/consulting.

⏰ Work while studying

F-1: 20 hrs/week on-campus. Federal work-study included in aid. Eating club kitchen jobs. Library, lab assistantships. Princeton Tutoring Service ~$20/hr.

🎯 Backup plans

• Apply RD if denied SCEA
• Strong essays compensate for test-optional weakness
• Multiple need-blind alternatives (Harvard, Yale, MIT)
• Princeton interviews available — request one

🔗 Official sources

• admission.princeton.edu
• finaid.princeton.edu
• princeton.edu/admission-aid