U. punts on releasing total operating budget after funding cuts, says it will support financial aid

Following funding cuts, a hiring freeze, and increased scrutiny from the federal government, the Board of Trustees did not announce the total operating budget for the University in its budget plan press release for the 2025–26 academic year. However, the University did commit to “projected” increases in undergraduate financial aid and graduate student stipends.

This annual announcement typically updates the campus community on important information regarding the operating budget, financial support for students, and how costs have changed. The missing operating budget marks a departure from the past three years, as the University has shared it in these announcements since the 2022–2023 academic year, and may reflect continued uncertainty about future funding.

According to the article from the Office of Communications, the projected increase in total Undergraduate financial aid is intended to support the University’s commitment to access, affordability, socioeconomic diversity, and the expansion of the undergraduate population. The University plans to augment the undergraduate aid budget by eight percent, from $279 million to $306 million. Graduate student support, which assists in degree and research funding, will increase by seven percent, from $335 million to $365 million.

The University has steadily increased its financial aid offers since 2001, when it became the first university “in the country to eliminate loans from undergraduate aid packages, enabling students to graduate debt-free,” according to the University’s statement.

In the 2001–02 academic year, the average grant awarded to students covered 65 percent of total student charges; the average award is now projected to cover 90 percent of total student charges. The University’s financial aid program was revamped in 2023 to cover all costs for just over 25 percent of the undergraduate population, and Princeton is widely regarded as having one of the most generous financial aid programs among higher education institutions.

Currently, families with incomes up to $100,000 are eligible to receive full attendance assistance, covering all costs of attendance, including tuition, dining, and housing, while families with incomes up to $200,000 can receive aid that covers the full tuition cost.

Two-thirds of all undergraduate students currently receive assistance, including those from families with incomes up to $300,000. In 2024–25, the total cost for undergraduates was $82,650, and the cost for the average aid recipient was $13,000; for 2025–26, the total cost for undergraduates is set to be $86,380, and the average aid recipient is expected to pay $10,380.

These changes to undergraduate financial aid also accompany the changes to graduate funding. Under the newly approved budget, there will be a “3.2 percent average increase in graduate fellowship and stipend rates,” the University’s statement said. This change is expected to support graduate students as uncertainties around funding and internship opportunities arise following multiple executive orders pausing federal funding and hiring.

However, these changes are mostly funded by the endowment, which covers 70 percent of the undergraduate financial aid budget and 60 percent of the overall operating budget. The University has faced endowment challenges in recent weeks, and is currently considering issuing bonds for the first time since 2022.

The University did address the issue of recent federal funding concerns in its statement, and noted that the operating budget is susceptible to change. “While the total size of the 2025–26 operating budget may change due to uncertainty about federally sponsored research funding, which represents almost one-fifth of Princeton’s overall annual spending, the Board of Trustees at their late March meeting approved primary budget parameters and affirmed the University’s unwavering commitment to financial support for students,” the statement read.

The Daily Princetonian reached out to University Communications to confirm when an operating budget would be finalized; the University declined to answer.

Luke Grippo is a senior News writer and Features contributor for the ‘Prince.’ He is from South Jersey and usually covers administrative issues, including Undergraduate Student Government, the Council of the Princeton University Community, and institutional legacy.