Fiddling while our lead burns

Last week, Stanford University joined the growing number of universities that are increasing financial aid for students from lower- and middle-income families. Despite aid policy overhauls by peer institutions such as Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Penn and Cornell, Princeton has declined to make any substantial changes to its financial aid program.

Princeton has long been the leader in financial aid. The University deserves praise for pioneering policies that did not consider home equity when evaluating assets and substituting grants for loans in aid awards. The strength of these policies is evident as schools around the country move to adopt them. The plans recently unveiled by our peer institutions, however, not only "catch up" to but surpass Princeton's current policy, and the University must act now to regain its former position as the nation's leader in financial aid.

Maintaining a level of aid comparable or superior to that offered by our peers is necessary to continue to draw the very best applicants. While some students will choose to attend Princeton regardless of better aid awards from other institutions, the University must recognize that aid figures prominently in many students' decisions regarding where to matriculate. The University is at risk of losing its edge with middle- and upper-middle-class applicants as the cost of an elite education rises.

To better assist students and families in middle- to upper-income brackets, the University should reevaluate its policy on the use of assets to calculate financial aid awards. The weight given to assets in Princeton's aid formula primarily penalizes responsible saving decisions and encourages families struggling to foot the University's bills to eliminate liquid assets.

The University is well positioned to support an increase in total aid awarded. The recently proposed gap-year plan demonstrates that the sufficient financial resources are available to support up to 10 percent of each incoming class for five years. Princeton can increase financial aid by reallocating existing funds, raising new money or increasing endowment spending.

The University should not dismiss recent aid overhauls at America's other leading schools as simply "catching up." Princeton's financial aid plan must improve to stay competitive in admissions. The University must be cognizant that paying for an education whose sticker price is nearing $50,000 a year creates hardships for students whose families' incomes extend well into six figures, not just for students from low-income backgrounds.  Our peer institutions have recognized this fact, and Princeton cannot continue to rest on its laurels and think that it will not be left behind.