Class of 2014 contains greatest number of minority students ever

The 1,313 members of the freshman class include 490 students from American minorities, constituting 37.3 percent of the class. There are also 141 international students from 47 countries, representing 10.7 percent of freshmen. The class also contains 208 students, representing nearly 16 percent of freshmen, who come from “low-income” backgrounds, according to a University statement.

The freshman class, which is also the largest in University history, is receiving slightly less financial aid than that received by the Class of 2013 upon matriculation. The University granted financial aid to 58 percent of current freshmen, though a record 60 percent of the Class of 2013 received aid last year. The average grant received by incoming freshmen also decreased slightly this year, to $35,157 from $35,309. In April, the University estimated that roughly 60 percent of the Class of 2014 would receive financial aid, with an average grant of more than $36,000. The cost of attendance for the current academic year is $52,180, according to the undergraduate financial aid office.

The $27 million in financial aid received by the freshman class highlights what Dean of the College Nancy Malkiel called the University’s “core values” of “access and affordability.”

“We are extraordinarily fortunate to be able to hold firm to our commitment to the strongest possible undergraduate financial aid program in a period of significant fiscal stringency,” Malkiel said in the University statement.

“As the data ... make plain, we continue to be tremendously successful in attaining our goal of making Princeton affordable for any student regardless of family financial circumstances,” she added.

The members of the Class of 2014 competed against a record number of applicants and faced a record-low admission rate. Only 2,311 students, 8.8 percent of the 26,247 who applied, were admitted to the class, compared to 10.1 percent for the Class of 2013.

The freshman class had a target size of 1,300 for the second year in a row, reflecting the University’s planned expansion of the student body. The expansion of the student body began in 2005, with the goal of reaching an enrollment of 5,200 students by the 2012-13 academic year.

Also for the second year, 20 admitted students are participating in the Bridge Year Program and will matriculate with the Class of 2015 after participating a year of service projects.