The Student Achievement Measure is supported by six sponsoring associations, working together to provide a more comprehensive and accurate picture of student progress and completion as students move across institutions and state boundaries.

Princeton University

Princeton is a world-class teaching and research university with a profound and distinctive commitment to undergraduate education and service. Through its commitment to ensuring all students can graduate with little or no debt, all students who are accepted can rely on Princeton’s financial aid program to meet their financial need so they can attend and thrive at the University. More than ever, Princeton seeks to enroll the most talented students from a broad spectrum of cultural, ethnic and economic backgrounds. Students’ experiences inside and outside the classroom prepare them for service, leadership and lifelong learning. Princeton emphasizes creativity, innovation and collaboration with a program of liberal arts in the humanities, arts, social sciences, natural sciences and engineering. Princeton’s low student-to-faculty ratio means students are able to develop close working relationships with professors, who are leaders in their fields. We expect every faculty member to teach, and we expect every student to do original, creative research. Our approximately 5,300 undergraduate students are part of a vibrant campus community, and students stay connected to a Princeton community that spans the globe long after they have graduated. Students are encouraged to explore many academic and extracurricular opportunities while taking advantage of the University’s extraordinary facilities and resources. We are a community of learning that is enriched by the varied experiences and perspectives of and engagement between our students, faculty and staff. Classrooms are filled with students and faculty from a wide range of backgrounds from across the country and around the world, and students benefit from the interdisciplinary connections at the core of Princeton’s curriculum. We invite you to explore more about what makes Princeton special and contributes to the transformative experience that is a Princeton education.

Fall 2017 First-time Full-time Cohort

6-year outcomes for undergraduate bachelor’s-seeking students as of 2023

First-Time Full-Time

First-Time Full-Time Students Starting Fall 2017

Number of students: 1,306

roll over each bar for detail data

97%
1%
2%
WITHIN 6 YEARS
95%
1%
3%
1%
WITHIN 5 YEARS
80%
7%
1%
12%
WITHIN 4 YEARS
view detail data for graph »
Graduated: Reporting institution
Transferred & Graduated: Other Institution
Enrolled: Reporting institution
Transferred & Enrolled: Other Institution
Current Status Unknown

The SAM Full-time Bachelor's Degree model tracks a group of students who started a bachelor's degree program at Princeton University in the Fall of 2017. The students' progress toward a degree is reported within 4, 5, and 6 years. The same group of students is included in the results for every year.

The sections of the SAM chart represent the proportion of students in the original group with the following five outcomes.

  • Students who started at and graduated from Princeton University are represented by the darker purple bar with the solid black bar underneath (). (This section of the chart Within 6 Years is approximately the same as the federal graduation rate, but it may differ slightly for each institution.)
  • Students who started at Princeton University and then transferred to and graduated from another institution are represented by the lighter purple bar with the white stripe underneath ()
  • Students who started at and are still enrolled at Princeton University are represented by the darker aqua bar with two white stripes underneath ().
  • Students who started at Princeton University and then transferred to and are still enrolled at another institution are represented by the lighter aqua bar with the bottom white stripe ().
  • Students from the original group whose status is unknown are represented by the green bar with the top white stripe (). These students may have graduated or still be enrolled somewhere, but their status could not be determined conclusively.

Princeton University | Bachelor's Seeking Model - First-Time Full-Time

OUTCOMES FOR STUDENT STARTING AT
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY IN FALL 2017 BY SUMMER 2023
 
2017-18
 
2018-19
 
2019-20
WITHIN 4 YEARS
2020-21
WITHIN 5 YEARS
2021-22
WITHIN 6 YEARS
2022-23
+ view details
Bachelor's degree from Princeton University 0% 0% 0% 80% 95% 97%
+ Associate and/or Certificate degree from Princeton University 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
= Total Graduated from Princeton University 0% 0% 0% 80% 95% 97%
+ view details
Bachelor's degree from another institution 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 1%
+ Associate and/or Certificate degree from another institution 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
= Total Graduated from another institution 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 1%
Enrolled at Princeton University 98% 97% 96% 7% 3% 0%
+ view details
Enrolled at another 4-year institution 0% 1% 1% 1% 0% 0%
+ Enrolled at another 2-year institution 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
= Total Transferred and enrolled
at another institution
0% 1% 1% 1% 0% 0%
Current Status Unknown 2% 2% 3% 12% 1% 2%