Undergraduates will pay more to attend Princeton University starting in September.
Tuition, room and board at the Ivy League school will climb by a combined 3.8 percent to $53,250 for the 2013-14 academic year, the University announced Monday. By comparison, the cost this academic year is $51,280.
The breakdown is tuition at $40,170, room at $7,220 and a full meal plan at $5,860, the university announced. The increases were approved Friday by the University trustees.
At the same time, the university announced a 4.6 percent increase in financial aid for undergraduates, part of the overall $1.58 billion budget that Trustees approved.
Students who are receiving financial aid will not see an increase in the amount they pay because aid packages are automatically adjusted to compensate for changes in fees. The average aid package for a student admitted to the Class of 2016 is $39,700.
”Once again Princeton’s financial aid expenditures will rise faster than its fee package,” Provost Christopher Eisgruber said. “The growth of the scholarship budget to $121.4 million will maintain Princeton’s commitment to making its education affordable to any student who is admitted, regardless of ability to pay and without the need for loans.”
The university’s no-loan financial aid program, which enables Princeton students to graduate with the lowest student debt among national universities, meets the full need of students on aid, and extends to some families making more than $250,000 per year. Sixty percent of the student body receives financial aid.
For the past 16 years, Princeton’s average annual fee package increase has been among the lowest in the nation while its scholarship spending has outpaced fee increases for a decade.
As a result, the average “net cost” for Princeton students today is lower than it was in 2001, even before adjusting for inflation.
The total undergraduate fee package increase of 3.8 percent includes the 3.9 percent tuition increase to $40,170; a 3.9 percent increase in room charges to $7,220; and a 3.2 percent increase in board rates, to $5,860 for a full meal plan.
Eisgruber said that while the increase in the total fee package ensures the university maintains excellence and its education remains a good value for all students, it will still keep Princeton at the bottom of its comparison group, with its fees for next year falling about $1,000 below this year’s fee package of its closest competitor.
The budget proposal, which was presented to the trustees by President Shirley M. Tilghman during a meeting Jan. 26, was based on the recommendations of the Priorities Committee of the Council of the Princeton University Community. The committee reviews the university’s operating budget each year. The provost chairs the committee, whose membership includes faculty, students and staff.

