Princeton University Offers Early Admission to Nearly 700 Students

Princeton University has offered admission to 697 students from a pool of 3,810 candidates who applied through early action for the Class of 2017, the University announced on Tuesday.

The undergraduate admission office mailed notification letters to students on Tuesday, Dec. 18 and the decisions were also available to applicants via secure online access.

This is the second year since 2006 that the University has offered an early application round for prospective students whose first college choice is Princeton. Applicants may apply early only to Princeton, and if admitted, they can wait to decide whether to accept Princeton's offer until the end of the regular admission process in the spring.

"The early action pool was 11 percent larger than last year's pool, and we were more selective, admitting 18.3 percent of the candidates compared with 21.1 percent last year," Dean of Admission Janet Rapelye said. "The admission committee was impressed with the intellectual rigor of the admitted students in addition to their talents, leadership and personal qualities. We hope to have more places available in the regular decision round by taking a slightly smaller group in this cycle than we did last year."

Of the students accepted through early action this year, 9 percent are international students, and 40 percent are U.S. students from diverse backgrounds. Fifty-one percent of the prospective students are men, and 49 percent are women. They represent 27 countries and 42 states, plus the District of Columbia.

Fifty-four percent of the admitted students come from public schools, and 12 percent are the first in their families to attend college. Fifteen percent of the admitted students are sons or daughters of Princeton alumni. Twenty-five percent of the admitted students indicated they want to study engineering.

Princeton's groundbreaking no-loan policy provides students who qualify for aid with grants that do not need to be repaid. Candidates deferred during the early action process will be reconsidered during the regular decision application process.

Regular decision candidates must apply by Jan. 1 and will receive notification of their decision by late March.