During an annual report presentation to the faculty on the status of undergraduate admissions last week, Dean of the College Nancy Malkiel said last week that the University's change in financial aid policy last January greatly affected the composition of the Class of 2005.
Malkiel noted that 46 percent of the freshman class is receiving financial aid — the highest percentage of all the Ivy League schools and a significant jump from the 40 percent of the Class of 2004 receiving financial aid.
Malkiel also said there was an increase in the racial diversity of the freshman class. The percentage of minority students in the Class of 2005 is 28.9 percent compared to 26.3 percent of the Class of 2004.
According to President Tilghman, however, it is too soon to conclude what the full impact of the University's financial aid policy change will be on "the spectrum of students who apply to Princeton and those who [are accepted]."
It is widely believed that the increased diversity of this year's freshman class is only the beginning of the implications of the University's move.
Princeton is widely recognized for having spurred elite institutions nationwide into expanding their financial aid policies in response to the University's own move last January.
In addition to adjusting its formulas for calculating expected contributions from students and their families, the University replaced all loans in aid packages with grants.
Director of Financial Aid Don Betterton said this helped make the University's financial aid program the "strongest need-based aid program of any college."
The removal of the loans may have been the most revolutionary change, according to Dean of Admission Fred Hargadon, most colleges now make 60 percent of student aid packages loans.
Already the consequences of the University's changes are striking. Harvard announced in February that it would increase scholarships to all students on aid packages, and in June a consortium of 28 private, need-blind admissions colleges signed an agreement for a common financial aid policy that is meant to expand aid to all students. Yale University also announced an increased aid package this month.
Malkiel acknowledged that the University's financial aid plan may have caused even more unofficial repercussions in this year's round of admissions during individual financial aid package negotiations.
Some education experts have hinted that completely tuition-free undergraduate education may lie in the near future.
When asked about the prospect of eliminating tutition costs altogether, Tilghman said she believed that at this point in time, tuition-free education is "wishful thinking."
While the University's endowment per student is the largest in the country, Tilghman noted that it covers less than half the cost of education for all of Princeton's students.
Hargadon concurred, "I think the idea of a future when Princeton is entirely 'free' is a utopia."
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