At 7 p.m. EST on March 26, the University announced that it has offered admission to 1,823 students for the class of 2024, from a pool of 32,836 applicants — representing a 5.55 percent acceptance rate. The 1,032 regular decision acceptances supplement the 791 Single-Choice Early Action (SECA) acceptances that the University released on Dec. 12, 2019.
Seventeen percent of accepted students are first-generation college students. Sixty-one percent of students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents are students of color, up from 56 percent last year.
Over 20 percent of the admitted students come from low-income backgrounds, and the University predicts that about 60 percent of the Class of 2024 will receive financial aid, on par with the Class of 2023.
Ten percent of admitted students are children of Princeton alumni, the lowest percentage since the Class of 2019.
Sixty-three percent come from public high schools, the same percentage as that of students admitted to the Class of 2023.
Admitted students come from 48 states, as well as Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico; international admits hail from 64 different countries.
Fifty-one percent of admitted students identify as women and 49 percent as men.
Eleven percent of admitted students indicated that they were undecided about concentrations, while 15 percent showed an interest in humanities. Nearly 24 percent are interested in engineering.
Harsimran Makkad / The Daily Princetonian
This year’s acceptance rate is down from 5.77 percent for the Class of 2023 and up from its most selective year with 5.5 percent for the Class of 2022.
In the University’s press release, Dean of Admission Karen Richardson ’93 lauded the diversity and strength of this year’s applicants.
“I was very impressed by the talent displayed in the overall pool. We had to make some very difficult decisions in the process of admitting a class that will come to Princeton, form a community and use what they learn to do amazing things,” she said. “These students are artists, scientists, athletes, musicians, caregivers, debaters and much more. Most importantly, through their applications, they showed a real desire to engage with others in the types of critical yet respectful discussions that make Princeton a dynamic place.”
The applicants came from 161 different countries and 10,897 different high schools.
Accepted students will have until May 1 to make a final decision on which college or university to attend in the fall, at which point students placed on the waiting list might be offered spots in the Class of 2024. The University expects a class size of 1,296 students.
Transfer applicants, who had a March 1 application deadline, will receive their admission decisions in mid-May. Princeton reinstated the transfer program in 2018, specifically to attract U.S. military veterans, students from community college, and students from low-income backgrounds.
With one year behind Richardson as Dean of Admission, students should expect new approaches to attracting diverse applicants.
“The mission of the University is to attract high-achieving students from a wide array of backgrounds. This means building or maintaining partnerships with community-based organizations and implementing a range of communication and outreach methods to recruit prospective students. With Dean Richardson closing in on her first year at Princeton, new approaches to these methods will begin to take shape,” Deputy University Spokesperson Michael Hotchkiss said in an email statement to The Daily Princetonian.
This includes working with programs like QuestBridge, Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America (LEDA), and the Princeton University Preparatory Program to expand college access to high-achieving, low-income high school students.
Princeton is currently also a member of the American Talent Initiative, which seeks to give more low- and moderate-income students access to high-graduation-rate colleges.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Princeton decided to cancel Princeton Preview, an event that typically invites all accepted students to campus for a weekend in April to get a sense of the University.
The University still has programming planned for accepted students.
In the University statement, Richardson said, “While the current world health situation does not allow us to hold our on-campus programs for admitted students, we will continue forward with an engaging virtual program, complete with panels, video tours, and digital meet and greets between current and admitted students. Faculty, staff and students have come together as a community to help the Admission Office create a meaningful and immersive Princeton Preview program for the Class of 2024.”
All Princeton Preview content will be available for students and their families on an online portal so they can watch live or return to the material later.
Current undergraduates will still be part of the experience through social media, and the Undergraduate Financial Aid Office will be available through phone consultations.
The statement assures that the University will adapt to the demands of COVID-19.
It reads, “The University will continue to assess how best to fulfill its academic mission while it responds to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and is committed to communicating about any changes with the community when decisions about the 2020-21 academic year are made at a later date.”
In an Office of Admission blog post released on March 26, titled “A Year Like No Other,” Richardson expressed her gratitude that admissions was able to discuss applicants before disruptions due to the coronavirus.
“We are thankful to have finished our committee meetings and to have had the chance to discuss the amazing talent we found in the applicant pool,” she wrote.
Richardson reminds all students to take their admission decisions with some perspective.
“My advice at this angst driven time is to stop, breathe, and recognize that no matter what decision you receive, it’s not a judgement on who you are or what you will accomplish,” she wrote.
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