The Class of 2024 comprises a racially and geographically diverse array of students, with survey respondents representing 49 U.S. states and territories, over 40 countries, and all six inhabited continents. Among international respondents, 71.6 percent come from cities, a percentage far higher than that for those within the United States. Among domestic respondents, 74 percent hail from a suburb — a figure that may be upwards of 20 percentage points higher than the national average, according to Bloomberg. Within the United States, New Jersey, California, and New York contributed the greatest number of students, while the United Kingdom, China, Canada, and South Korea led among international matriculants.

Racial and gender diversity helps define the Class of 2024. In keeping with the University’s enrollment demographics since 2015, a majority of survey respondents identified as people of color.

Slightly over 1 percent of survey respondents identified outside of the gender binary or preferred not to disclose their gender identity, while 0.5 percent of those surveyed identified as transgender. Women outnumber men in our sample by 7 percentage points: 53.2 percent of respondents identified as female and 45.6 percent identified as male — a ratio that falls in line with national trends of women outnumbering men at colleges and universities.

ADVERTISEMENT

Around three-quarters of surveyed members of the Class of 2024 were 18 upon entry to the University, while the remainder ranged in age from 16 to 22 years old. Just two respondents had served in a military — one in the United States, and one abroad. Athletes recruited to compete at the varsity level comprise 12 percent of respondents.

Just under one in four surveyed students identified with the LGBTQ+ community, roughly four times the national average. Heterosexual students comprised 77.8 percent of those surveyed, while 6.1 percent identified as bisexual, 5.3 percent identified as gay or lesbian, and 1.9 percent identified as questioning.

The ‘Prince’ permitted survey respondents to select multiple religious identities. At 16.3 percent, more students identified, at least in part, with Catholicism than any other religious tradition. An additional 23.3 percent of respondents identified as agnostic and 13.5 percent identified as atheists, far greater proportions than in the American populace at large. Among those who indicated their religiosity, 16.4 percent identified as “very religious” or “extremely religious.”

Just over 12 percent of respondents reported being only children. Slightly under three-quarters of those surveyed indicated having either one or two siblings, while 1.8 percent said they were one of five or more siblings. One student reported having 13 siblings.

Approximately six in 10 survey respondents graduated from public schools, while 37.6 percent finished secondary school at a private institution, with around 10 percent attending boarding schools. Survey respondents attended private schools at a disproportionate rate — across the United States, just over 12 percent of students graduate from private high schools, a number more than 25 percentage points lower than our survey sample.

Whereas around 13 percent of American adults held an advanced degree in 2018, 65.5 percent percent of survey respondents reported having at least one parent with either a master’s, professional, or doctoral degree.

15.4% first generation
16.3% legacy

Fifteen percent of respondents indicated that they are the first in their family to attend college, a figure roughly equal to the percentage of students who are the children or grandchildren of Princeton alumni.

Around two-thirds of respondents reported receiving need-based financial aid. The University awards aid to students with family incomes up to $250,000. Though the Office of Financial Aid’s website assures that “Princeton’s no-loan policy replaces student loans with grant aid that students do not pay back,” 13.3 percent of respondents anticipated needing to take out loans to cover the costs of their education.

Respondents with a parent or grandparent who attended the University were nearly three times less likely to receive financial aid than their non-legacy peers. Just over one-half of respondents who are recruited athletes received aid, compared to two-thirds of their non-varsity classmates. As the University is one of five undergraduate institutions — and three Ivy League schools — in the nation to offer need-blind admission and full-need aid to international students, a similar percentage of international and domestic respondents receive aid.