The University offered regular decision admission to the Class of 2029 on Thursday, marking the final year of its planned four-year expansion. This is also the second class to be admitted since the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action.
March 27, 2025 marked this year’s Ivy Day, when Ivy League schools release their regular round admissions and when Princeton accepts the majority of the incoming class.
Data for the accepted Class of 2029 has not yet been released. In December 2021, the University announced that it would no longer release admission data during admission cycles, but a more detailed report of the class would follow later in the year.
Princeton has historically maintained an acceptance rate of about five percent, admitting 4.5 percent of applicants to the Class of 2027 and 5.7 percent the year before. The Class of 2025 saw a historic drop in acceptance rate to 4.38 percent alongside a sharp rise in applications — a shift attributed to the University’s adoption of a test-optional policy during the pandemic.
According to data available through state bond filings, both years maintained high application volumes and selectivity rates below six percent, even as enrollment sizes increased in line with the University’s expansion plans.
While several peer institutions — including MIT and Harvard — have recently announced a return to requiring SAT or ACT scores, Princeton has opted to extend its test-optional policy through at least the 2025–26 academic year.
The University has not yet indicated whether it plans to reinstate testing requirements beyond that, leaving future applicants in a state of uncertainty as peer institutions begin to diverge on standardized testing policy.
Maggie Qi, from Beijing, China, who attended boarding school in Pennsylvania, expressed that when she opened her admission letter, she “started screaming” while on the phone with her mom.
“I’m still really shocked. I’m not even sure I’m talking straight,” she said.
When Qi visited Princeton’s campus as a junior in high school after connecting with a current student, she found it to be “the most beautiful campus” she’s visited.
Omar Mahdi, from Israel, received his decision at 2 a.m. “I ran to tell my brother since he’s the only one who was awake, and he hugged me like he never did before,” Mahdi wrote. He said that he is the first in his family to get accepted into an Ivy League school.
Mahdi said that he is “excited about experiencing the American dream,” a dream he says he had since he was six years old.
Skyla May Rowland, a native of Adairsville, Ga., visited Princeton earlier in the year and prayed to God to give her a sign that Princeton is “where [she] was supposed to go.”
“When I walked into the admissions office, they had the first earthquake in almost 100 years happen at Princeton,” she said. Rowland told the ‘Prince’ that she is “definitely” committing to Princeton.
Melissa Alfaro-Zeledon is from Dallas, Texas, where she was heavily involved with SkillsUSA and interned with NASA, where she worked on policy regarding mission operations. She said she enjoyed that the longer supplemental essays allowed her to “explain multiple facets of [her] background.”
She specifically referenced the supplemental essay that asks applicants to “reflect on how your lived experiences will impact the conversations you will have in the classroom, the dining hall, or other campus spaces.” This application question was introduced in the summer of 2023, following the Supreme Court’s ruling that affirmative action policies in college admissions were unconstitutional.
University spokesperson Jennifer Morrill wrote that “before the ruling, race was just one of many factors considered in our holistic admission process that involves a highly individualized assessment of the applicant's talents, achievements, and potential to contribute to learning at Princeton; now race plays no role in admission decisions.”
John Paul Polus from Shelby Township, Mich., shared his relief to be done with the application process.
“Once the reality set in for me, I felt honestly happy for myself but also relieved because I feel like this whole process is always so stressful and daunting,” he said.
Yashvi Modi, from La Grange, Ga., expressed her excitement about Princeton’s study abroad opportunities, specifically in research. She plans to major in computer science.
Rowland also showed interest in academics at Princeton, highlighting the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering program, while Polus spoke about his “desire to cultivate a more sustainable environment for the future.”
While none of the six students have formally committed to Princeton yet, they all expressed that Princeton was one of their top choices as they look to decide in the coming month.
“For me, fit is a big thing,” Modi said. She is excited to attend Princeton Preview in April, where she can decide whether or not she is a good fit for the school.
Alfaro-Zeledon shared a similar sentiment. She is looking forward to admitted student days at each school, where she hopes to interact with multiple students. “They’re really going to help me make that decision, because I’m a very social person, so the social environment of a school is really important to me.
Regular decision is the last in the University’s organized decision rounds for first-year admissions. Early Action and QuestBridge match results were released in December 2024. Transfer decisions will be released in mid-May.
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate News editor, senior Sports writer, and education director for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Glendale, Calif.
Irene Kim is a News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Devon Rudolph contributed reporting.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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