Students ponder a free Princeton

"So the administration, not too many days ago, they changed the situation. Now all can afford to go. Princeton is free!"

Or so the Nassoons tell us in their popular song.

The reality of the situation, unfortunately, is different. Tuition, room and board runs about $45,000 a year, roughly the equivalent of purchasing a new Mercedes every year for four years.

Does it have to be this way?

At a Rockefeller Fellows Dinner last night, students tackled this question and others, discussing everything from the higher education systems of Europe to the consequences of going free on student motivation.

The Fellows Dinner program, which began this year, is intended to be a way for the college's freshmen, sophomores and graduate students to interact and discuss pertinent topics. Last night's dinner was led by Tim Attanucci, a graduate student in the German department.

Attanucci began by discussing current systems in France, where fees hover at only $250 a year per student.

Cheaper does not necessarily mean better, however — the universities in France are notoriously underfunded, leaving many students without libraries, dining halls and extracurricular opportunities.

A free education could also disconnect students from their studies and leave them less invested in their work, some attendees felt.

Going free, however, would allow students to take more academic risks and explore topics they may have avoided if they were comparing the benefits of the classes with their costs.

But, as Attanucci asked, "Is education something that you can buy, something that has value?"

The participants also addressed how a free tuition program might change the school's atmosphere. Having severed financial ties to their parents, students would have more freedom. While a free tuition system would aim at increasing the caliber and diversity of students accepted to Princeton, there was little agreement as to whether the change would have its desired effect.

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Princeton economists David Linsenmeier, Harvey Rosen and Cecilia Rouse recently studied this issue in a working paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research. They argued that when a university changes its financial aid policy from loans to grants, it has little effect on the yield of low-income applicants overall. Low-income minority applicants, however, accept more offers after the change.

In an interview, University Vice President and Secretary Bob Durkee '69 noted that 22 percent of the University's annual budget comes from student fees, and "removing those dollars from the budget would very significantly reduce the quality of the education we can offer our students."

"Those dollars help make it possible for Princeton to offer the best undergraduate education in the world," he said.

Second, Durkee said, is the "issue of fairness."

"Society benefits in many ways from the education we provide at Princeton, but so do individual students, and it has always seemed only fair that students who benefit from the opportunities and resources we provide should help contribute to the costs of providing their education — to the extent to which they are able, and recognizing that even those paying full tuition don't even cover half the cost of their education."

At the discussion, participants expressed satisfaction with the opportunities afforded by the University's need-blind admissions and no-loan financial aid. Currently 55 percent of Princeton freshmen receive aid, with the average being a $30,000 grant per year. The average parental contribution for a student receiving financial aid is $13,600, roughly comparable to a state university.

"Princeton has the most generous need-based program in the country," Durkee said.

As the debate ended, the overwhelming decision was to leave the system as it was, offering grants to those who cannot afford a Princeton education, but maintaining fees for those who can — particularly since tuition covers only half the cost of education.

"I think Princeton offers essentially a free education to those who need it," Lena Qiu '10 said.