Admission is need-blind for all applicants, including international students.
Princeton financial aid is awarded solely based on need; there are no merit scholarships. (If you are good enough to get in, they will ensure that you will be able to afford it)
The full need of every admitted student is met through grants.
The link also has a breakdown of how much aid is provided depending on the student’s gross family income.
In terms of economics, such elite and wealthy institutions are playing a different game—Their endowments are on the orders of tens of Billions of US Dollars, and so they are not trying to make money off their students, but instead trying to admit students that they think will be promising and capable enough to boost the institution’s prestige and network much later down the line. This means that the focus is on the admissions office (instead of the finance office), which you can also guess is subject to no small amount of scrutiny and drama as well.
I wanted to substantiate and boost this comment with some data from the Princeton’s admissions office article on its aid program :
Admission is need-blind for all applicants, including international students.
Princeton financial aid is awarded solely based on need; there are no merit scholarships. (If you are good enough to get in, they will ensure that you will be able to afford it)
The full need of every admitted student is met through grants.
The link also has a breakdown of how much aid is provided depending on the student’s gross family income.
In terms of economics, such elite and wealthy institutions are playing a different game—Their endowments are on the orders of tens of Billions of US Dollars, and so they are not trying to make money off their students, but instead trying to admit students that they think will be promising and capable enough to boost the institution’s prestige and network much later down the line. This means that the focus is on the admissions office (instead of the finance office), which you can also guess is subject to no small amount of scrutiny and drama as well.