28/10/2026
Would you cross Princeton off the college list after seeing a price near $94,000 a year? What if your family’s actual cost could be very different?
Princeton says it uses grants rather than required loans to meet demonstrated financial need. That means the school reviews a family’s finances before calculating what parents may be expected to pay.
The number to compare is the estimated net price after financial aid.
Before removing an elite college from consideration, look at:
• How the school calculates financial need
• Which income and assets it reviews
• How much grant aid may be available
• What your family could pay across four years
Admission to Princeton is highly selective, but the published cost shouldn’t answer the affordability question on its own.
Hear Brock Jolly explain why a $94,000 sticker price may not reflect your family’s college cost in the full episode of Little-Known Secrets of Paying for College: https://bit.ly/4iiLZdW