<p>A record 55 percent of the 1,229-member class is on financial aid, Dean of the College Nancy Malkiel reported at the Sept. 19 faculty meeting. That also is the highest percentage at any Ivy League institution based on preliminary reports. Last year's freshman class included 52 percent of students on financial aid.</p>
<p>Of the 675 freshmen on financial aid, 196 come from low-income households (defined as below $50,900 per year), up from 161 last year. </p>
<p>The figures represent a substantial increase compared to the class of 2001, the last class admitted before Princeton began revamping its financial aid practices. In that freshman class, 432 students -- or 38 percent of the class -- received financial aid, and 88 students were from low-income households.</p>
<p>"As the data make plain, we have been tremendously successful in attaining our goal of making Princeton affordable for any student regardless of family financial circumstances," Malkiel said. "The changes in financial aid policy have had a dramatic effect on the economic diversity of the undergraduate student body."</p>
<p>In 2001, Princeton eliminated loans for all students who qualify for aid, expanding a program instituted three years earlier in which loans were replaced with grants for low-income students. The groundbreaking "no loan" program is part of a series of enhancements to Princeton's aid program that began in 1998, including the adjustment of formulas for determining need to reduce the amounts that both students and families are expected to contribute.</p>