Princeton University will allow all students who requested leaves of absence or deferrals to return to campus next year. In all, 713 student requests for leaves of absence or deferrals have been approved by the university. Princeton’s fall enrollment will thus be down about 13% as compared to the typical enrollment. To put this figure in perspective, fall enrollment figures at Harvard University and Yale University were off by about 20%. So a greater percentage of Princeton’s students have chosen to enroll this fall as compared to at least a couple of its peer institutions.

As Albert Jiang reports for The Daily Princetonian in a piece entitled “All students who requested deferrals or leaves of absence approved to return in one year, U. confirms,” “Two-hundred seventeen first-year students were approved to defer their enrollment, around twice as many as in a normal year, according to [Dean of the College Jill] Dolan’s memo. The current Class of 2024 class size is 1157, down from the ‘more typical’ 1296. Furthermore, 496 continuing students originally from the Classes of 2021, 2022, and 2023 have elected to take leaves of absence from their studies…Using 5,300 as a typical undergraduate size, Dolan wrote that the enrollment number for the 2020–21 academic year will be around 13 percent lower than usual. First-year students approved for a one-year deferment will not be permitted to rescind that request, according to a past statement from Dean of Admission Karen Richardson ’93.”

Does it surprise our readers that more Princeton students chose to enroll this fall as compared to Harvard and Yale students? Does it surprise our readers that twice as many first-year students chose to defer their admission this year as compared to a typical year? Let us know your thoughts on Princeton’s enrollment figures by posting a Comment below. We look forward to hearing from you!