2025 College Rankings

Princeton University, like all Ivy League schools, has sunk more deeply into administrative activism over recent years. The school maintains a robust Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) bureaucracy, with more than six DEI employees per 1,000 students. The school also displays several other activist commitments that distract it from its educational mission—most notably, Princeton’s decision to intervene in the Students for Fair Admissions case at the Supreme Court in favor of affirmative action. The school announced in fall 2024 that it would strengthen its policy of “institutional restraint” and wade into public controversy less often, but there is reason for skepticism.

Princeton’s administration failed in its handling of the outbreak of radical anti-Semitism on campus in spring 2024. Activists took the campus by force and set up an encampment in violation of school policy that lasted for 20 days before the administration negotiated with them for its end. The AMCHA Initiative reports that the past few years have seen a troubling uptick of anti-Semitic incidents at Princeton that have drawn national attention. The federal government announced in 2025 that it is investigating the school for inaction in dealing with the problem.

On top of its other failings, the administration at Princeton actively squelches free speech. Students are only tepidly confident that the school values free expression, especially in the case of controversy. The school has adopted a bias-response system, which is designed to police the airing of opinions that some may consider offensive. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) gives the school a “red” speech code rating, meaning that its policies explicitly restrict speech. The faculty is more ideologically diverse than at peer institutions, and certainly other Ivies. Students, when asked to place their professors on an ideological continuum, mark them relatively close to the “moderate” point. More than 4 percent of faculty belongs to the Academic Freedom Alliance—a large number, by our metrics; and 2.4 percent, also a relatively large number, belongs to Heterodox Academy. Both organizations encourage free inquiry on campus.

Students at Princeton are less than tolerant of beliefs other than their own, which are predominantly liberal. Indeed, for every conservative student at Princeton, there are 4.2 liberal ones, and there are almost twice as many liberal student political organizations as there are conservative ones. Generally speaking, students are more open to liberal campus speakers than conservative ones. Nearly 60 percent of Princeton students tell FIRE that they censor themselves at least once per month.

Princeton’s curriculum is middling on our metrics, but with some bright spots. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) gives the school a C in its What Will They Learn? ratings, which assign letter grades based on how many of seven core subjects are required in the core curriculum or general education program. The school requires its students to take classes in DEI to graduate but neglects more academically relevant subjects, such as history or civics. ACTA identifies one area of excellence: a national model, the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, directed by Robert P. George, sponsors courses, hosts lectures, and offers fellowships to further the study of American constitutional law and Western political thought.

Princeton can be an excellent investment in economic terms. In general, it takes only six months to pay back the cost of the education. Princeton graduates tend to do well in their careers, too. Median annual earnings ten years after initial enrollment overperform expectations by nearly $12,000, based on data from SAT scores and Pell Grant recipients.