Princeton University

In the 2027 U.S. News rankings, Princeton University ranked 2nd. Gaining admission is selective, with an overall admit rate of 4.6% in 2025. Once admitted, students demonstrate a very strong commitment to enrolling. The university recorded a yield rate of 75.5% in 2025, a figure higher than 87% of peer schools among 30 similar private universities. This high yield confirms that the school remains a top destination for admitted applicants, who rarely decline their offers. For families planning an application, these measures underscore that securing a place requires standout credentials, as Princeton denies tens of thousands of candidates each cycle while successfully converting most of its admitted cohort into enrolled undergraduates.

Applicants to Princeton encounter extremely rigorous testing and grading thresholds. In 2025, the middle range of enrolled composite ACT scores fell between 34 and 35. Most enrolled students also achieved near-perfect high school grades, with the vast majority presenting straight-A records. In unofficial applicant cases collected by Forward Pathway, admitted international applicants recorded a median unweighted GPA of 4.0 alongside a median SAT score of 1510. Denied candidates in those unofficial records presented slightly lower academic metrics, underscoring how thin the margin is in this evaluation process. For prospective international applicants, these statistics demonstrate that competitive standardized test results and top academic transcripts are standard baselines. Families planning an application should recognize that while stellar numbers do not guarantee admission, they are essential to stay competitive within this applicant pool.

Princeton's undergraduate degree completions are heavily concentrated in quantitative and policy fields, with the top three bachelor majors accounting for 32.7% of all undergraduate degrees in 2025. The largest program is Computer Science, which produced 194 graduates that year, followed by Econometrics and Quantitative Economics and Public Policy Analysis. These popular fields directly align with the university's academic reputation: in the 2027 U.S. News rankings, undergraduate Economics ranked 1st and Computer Science ranked 5th. Early career financial outcomes for these programs are strong. Based on 2023 earnings data, bachelor graduates in Computer Science earned median first-year earnings of $155,162, while Economics graduates had median earnings of $108,471. International students are well represented in these technical disciplines, comprising about one-sixth of graduates in both computer science and economics. For applicants, this alignment between top national rankings, heavy student enrollment, and robust post-graduation compensation makes Princeton particularly appealing for quantitative study.

In 2025, Princeton enrolled 9,137 total students across its undergraduate and graduate programs. Asian American and international students constitute significant segments of the campus community, though their distributions vary by level of study. Among incoming first-year undergraduates, Asian students represented 23.7% of the cohort, while international freshmen made up about an eighth of entering students. White students formed the largest group among new undergraduates, followed by Asian, multiracial or Pacific Islander, and international students. At the graduate level, the demographic makeup shifts noticeably toward international representation. International students numbered 1,485 scholars, comprising 44.7% of all graduate students and forming the single largest graduate demographic group, while Asian graduate students accounted for about one-tenth. Gender balance is roughly even among undergraduate cohorts, whereas graduate divisions enroll a modest male majority.

Princeton's age distribution highlights two distinct student communities. Among its 5,813 undergraduates in 2025, 46.3% were aged 20 to 21, and nearly a third were aged 18 to 19, with the remainder primarily aged 22 to 24. Virtually all undergraduates fall into the traditional college-age bracket, sustaining an undergraduate campus life focused on full-time residential study. In contrast, the university's 3,324 graduate students represent an older scholar community: 53.7% were aged 25 to 29, followed by about a quarter aged 22 to 24 and roughly one-sixth in their early thirties. This profile reflects Princeton's heavy emphasis on multi-year doctoral education and research training rather than mid-career executive programs.

International enrollment at Princeton has grown over the past decade, with international presence differing substantially between undergraduate and graduate levels. Among undergraduates, the international student share rose from 2016 to reach 12.9% in 2025. Graduate programs have seen similar expansion, with international students comprising 44.7% of graduate enrollment in 2025. Degree completion patterns highlight this division as well: international students earned roughly one-tenth of bachelor degrees, compared to more than two-fifths of master's and doctorate degrees. At the undergraduate level, international graduates concentrate primarily in quantitative subjects such as Computer Science, Econometrics and Quantitative Economics, and Operations Research. In contrast, international graduate students are heavily concentrated in engineering and quantitative finance. For example, international students accounted for 86.5% of master's degree recipients in Financial Mathematics, as well as clear majorities in electrical and mechanical engineering. For prospective foreign applicants, these figures show that while undergraduate admission remains tightly limited, advanced degree programs heavily recruit international scholars.

Families exploring Princeton University can consider several other selective institutions within a 40-kilometer radius in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Located just 15.3 kilometers from campus is Rutgers University-New Brunswick, a large public research university ranked 44th among National Universities in the 2027 U.S. News rankings. Also in New Jersey, New Jersey Institute of Technology is situated 37.1 kilometers away and ranks 85th on the National Universities list. Across the state line in Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania is an Ivy League peer located 39.4 kilometers away and ranked 7th among National Universities. In addition, students interested in a smaller undergraduate-focused setting can look at Lafayette College, which sits 37.7 kilometers away in Easton, Pennsylvania, holding the 30th rank among National Liberal Arts Colleges.

Campus safety data at Princeton show a steady overall rate alongside distinct category patterns. The crime rate per 1,000 students was 14.4 in 2025, remaining essentially flat compared to a decade earlier. Across the three-year period from 2023 to 2025, the overwhelming majority of recorded safety actions were disciplinary referrals for alcohol violations, which reached 537 incidents. Property crime represented the primary category of law enforcement reports, led by 133 motor vehicle thefts and a modest number of burglaries over those three years. Interpersonal violent crimes were reported far less frequently, including 22 incidents of rape and a small number of stalking cases between 2023 and 2025. These figures demonstrate that campus safety activity is primarily driven by internal alcohol policy enforcement and vehicular property offenses rather than severe violent crime.