Exposing the Gaps in Princeton’s Facade of Economic Inclusivity

When I asked students if they would choose to come to Princeton all over again, knowing now what it is like to be a low-income student on campus, their answers reflected the cycle that low-income students fall into with Princeton: “Princeton was the only affordable option, I think I would have to choose it again.

Princeton beckons low-income students to come to its campus with its robust financial aid, strong diversity statistics (for an Ivy League), and a promise that you will be supported. Low-income students follow that promise, until like me, they come to realize that the campus itself jeers at us that we do not belong here. The programs put in place for low-income students, such as SIFP, are draining, condescending, and hold back resources from low-income students who don’t have the time to meet certain activity requirements for funding. Still, SIFP and its associated programs are a necessary evil– the only thing many of us have to navigate our way through Princeton .