From Belarus to Rwanda to Peru, the Class of 2030 includes students hailing from all over the world. They come from private and public schools, they are older and younger siblings, and some took gap years or worked before starting their journey at Princeton.
Among the Class of 2030, 53 percent of respondents identified as White, 35.5 percent identified as Asian, 16 percent as Black or African American, and 11.3 percent as Hispanic or Latine. In terms of sexual orientation, 78 percent of the Class of 2030 identified as straight. More of the freshmen are bilingual than speak only English, with 44.5 percent of respondents speaking two languages.
Around 20 percent of the incoming class had a family member that attended Princeton, with around 6 percent of students having multiple legacy, meaning more than one type of family member attended Princeton. The most common highest degree attained for parents was a masters or other professional degree, at 43 percent. As for birth order, there are slightly more older siblings than younger siblings represented in the incoming class, at 35 and 34 percent respectively.
At 48 percent, around half of the incoming class reported attending a public non-selective high school. 27 percent of students came from a private high school. Around 95 percent of the class did not take a gap year, but the 5 percent that did were about evenly split between Princeton’s Novogratz Bridge Year program, working, a structured program, or something else.
After the University expanded financial aid, only 25 percent of the Class of 2030 reported that they are not receiving any financial aid, a change from the 28 percent of the Class of 2029 who received no financial aid. Almost 37 percent are receiving full financial aid. Additionally, only 5.3 percent reported that they are covering Princeton costs without any family assistance. 7.6 percent of the Class of 2030 reported that they expect to need to take out loans to attend Princeton. An additional 12.3 percent were unsure if they would need loans.
Similar to last year, more international student respondents reported being from the United Kingdom than Canada. Domestically, the largest home state represented for the Class of 2030 is New Jersey, with 90 respondents coming from the Garden State. California is close behind with 64 respondents and New York with 58.