Entering at a tumultuous time for higher education, the Class of 2029 dishes on the Trump administration, Supreme Court justices, affirmative action, and other hot campus issues.
The Class of 2029 leans strongly left, with over two-thirds identifying as somewhat or very left-leaning. Donald Trump was the most unpopular politician, with over 75 percent viewing him strongly unfavorably, while Bernie Sanders drew the highest favorability. A majority of students said the stance of University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 on the Trump administration did not impact their decision to attend Princeton, though nearly 40 percent did report a positive influence. Legacy admissions was a polarizing topic across the political spectrum, with the most unfavorable reactions to legacy as a factor in admission coming from very left-leaning students.
Among Princeton’s famous alumni, the Class of 2029 most favorably viewed Michelle Obama ’85, with over 80 percent of frosh reporting their view of Obama as either somewhat favorable or strongly favorable. Views on Pete Hegseth ’03 were almost evenly split between a lack of information and strongly to somewhat unfavorable views. Of the almost 57 percent of people who had enough information on Hegseth to form an opinion, 43 percent had either strongly or somewhat negative views on him. Almost 60 percent of students reported not having enough information about Associate Justices of the Supreme Court Elena Kagan ’81 and Samuel Alito ’72, while just 31 percent reported not having enough information about Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor ’76.
Racial diversity in the Class of 2029 seems consistent with previous years based on survey responses. However, according to Princeton’s Class of 2029 data, only 5 percent identify as Black or African American, the lowest since 1968. Among the freshman class, 24.44 percent of respondents viewed using race in admissions as somewhat unfavorable, and 21.48 percent viewed it as strongly unfavorable. With regards to legacy admissions, 64.29 percent viewed legacy admissions strongly or somewhat unfavorably; 13.8 percent of the Class of 2029 are legacy students, and 6.2 percent hold multi-generational legacy status. 46.47 percent of the class saw the expansion of Princeton’s undergraduate class as somewhat or strongly favorable. When thinking of their time after Princeton, 71.9 percent of the Class of 2029 described their career aspirations as being in the nation’s service or in the service of humanity, closely followed by the 70.1 percent who aspire to make money.
The Class of 2029 generally believes Princeton students genuinely seek to serve humanity, with only one percent of the class finding this statement “very untrue.” Twenty-two percent believe strongly that Princeton is not a place where students are always partying, compared to the 31 percent who feel students are always studying.
Social Issues
While almost 80 percent of the incoming class views abortion services somewhat or strongly favorably, there is less consensus on issues like gender-affirming care, divestment, and marijuana legalization. Concerning the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” and the University’s response, 43 percent and 63 percent, respectively, reported not having enough information to form an opinion. Student opinions on AI, meanwhile, generally reflected their level of use of the tools. Among the first-years who said that AI is revolutionary, almost 80 percent use AI recreationally and over half use AI for school work assistance and administrative tasks like email writing and drafting cover letters.