Princeton University

Located in Princeton, NJ; Princeton University is one of the original eight east coast Ivy League colleges known for their high academic standard and lengthy history.  The rest are Brown University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University.  Founded in 1746, as the College of New Jersey, and originally to train ministers; during the American Revolution, George Washington fired on the campus in order to rout out the British soldiers.   

Princeton went co-ed in 1969, admitting women for the first time in its history.  With an endowment of $17.1 billion, Princeton is among the wealthiest universities in the world.  Princeton's undergraduate program is highly selective, admitting 7.86% of undergraduate applicants in 2011.  In 2001, Princeton became the first university to eliminate loans for all students who qualify for financial aid.  All demonstrated need is met with combinations of grants and campus jobs.  In addition, all admissions are need-blind. U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review both cite Princeton as the university that has the fewest of graduates with debt even though 60% of incoming students are on some type of financial aid. Kiplinger magazine ranks Princeton as the best value among private universities, noting that the average graduating debt is $4,957, "about one fifth the average debt of students who borrow at all private schools."

Princeton has consistently ranked number one among the best schools in the world; conceding that title to Harvard only once in ten years.  Needless to say, it is really, really, really hard to be admitted as a freshmen.  It strikes me as very odd why they would have a grade deflation policy in place (since 2004).  What is Princeton's grade deflation policy?  The instructors are prohibited from awarding a grade of A to more than 35% of the students in their class.  That means even if all 100 students in the class is turning in A level work, only 35 of them will be receiving As.  The only conceivable point is that too many As have been awarded in the past.  In order to show a range of grades, administration has had to institute this grade deflation policy; that not only does a disservice to the students, but also demoralizes the entire organization.  Nonetheless, Princeton has many notable alums include Michelle Obama, the current First Lady of the United States.

Students who applied to Princeton University, also looked at Harvard University, Columbia University, and University of Pennsylvania.

For more information on Princeton University, visit  http://www.princeton.edu/main/

Princeton University is located at Princeton , NJ  08544 (609) 258-3000