Fee Package to Rise 4.9% for 2018–19

Undergraduate tuition, room, and board will increase 4.9 percent in 2018–19 as part of a $2.26 billion operating budget approved by the trustees in April. The University said that even with the increase — the largest in 12 years — Princeton’s $65,810 fee package will continue to be the lowest among its peer institutions.

The financial-aid budget is projected to increase 7.7 percent next year to $174.2 million. Roughly 60 percent of all undergraduates receive aid, and next year’s average grant is projected to be $54,950. The University noted that while the percentage of Pell Grant recipients has risen to 22 percent of the current freshman class, 18 percent of families receiving aid have annual incomes above $180,000 and about 7 percent have incomes of $240,000 or more.

For graduate students, tuition will increase 4.9 percent, housing fees will rise 2.25 percent, and graduate stipends will increase 3 to 3.1 percent. 

The budget calls for a 7.6 percent increase in spending, and the endowment is expected to contribute 55 percent of the funding.

Undergraduate Costs, 2018–19 

Tuition: $49,450 (+4.9%)

Room: $9,520 (+6%)

Board: $6,840 (+3.2%)

Misc. expenses: $3,500 (est.)

Total: $69,310

Among the initiatives supported by the budget are the following: 

•  the expansion of benefits for graduate students with children, which will be especially helpful to international students and single parents;
•  a sixth-year fellowship program for graduate students in the social sciences and humanities;
•  tuition matches to faculty for graduate-student support on their grants;
•  about 25 new positions in the University’s development office in preparation for an upcoming fundraising campaign. 

Princeton is in a “solid budgetary position, with strong long-run endowment returns, AAA credit rating, sufficient liquidity, and a loyal and generous base of donors,” the University’s Priorities Committee said. The committee said there is still some uncertainty about how the 2017 federal tax-overhaul plan — which levies a 1.4 percent tax on the net investment income of colleges with assets valued at more than $500,000 per student — will affect Princeton.