Fees to Increase by 4.4%

Undergraduate tuition, room, and board fees will increase 4.4 percent to $62,750 for the 2017–18 academic year as part of a $2.1 billion operating budget approved by the trustees in April. The University said the increase is the largest in five years, but that Princeton’s fee package will still be the smallest among Ivy League schools.

Financial aid is projected to increase 8.7 percent to $161.2 million. Roughly 60 percent of undergraduates receive aid; next year’s projected average grant is $51,180. Princeton will begin covering the $810 residential-college fee for freshmen and sophomores who receive financial aid and will increase support for health insurance.

Graduate tuition will increase 4 percent, and housing fees for graduate students will rise 3 percent. The $201 million budget for graduate-student financial support includes increases of 3.2 percent for fellowships, 3.1 percent for research-assistant stipends, and 3 percent for teaching-assistant stipends.

The budget calls for a 9.7 percent increase in spending. The endowment will provide 51 percent of the funding, providing more than half of total revenues for the first time. The University said $173 million from the endowment, along with anticipated fundraising, will support initiatives stemming from the recently completed strategic plan. 

Princeton expects to spend between 5 and 5.6 percent of the endowment’s total value next year, compared with 5 percent this year.