I was ashamed to read in The New York Times (“The Top U.S. Colleges With the Greatest Economic Diversity,” Sept. 8, 2023) that with the highest per-student endowment in the Ivy League, Princeton ranks sixth in the Ivy League in low-income freshmen (those receiving Pell Grants), at 18%. I was even more ashamed after looking up the numbers for my own employer, the George Washington University: a similar freshman Pell rate (17%), but with a per-student endowment of only 1/35th (less than 3%) of Princeton’s. I wonder if 18% is where the University wants to be, and if not, what is standing in the way of raising it.

Donald Clarke ’77, professor, George Washington University Law School
Washington, D.C.