A brush-back pitch

Can Princeton afford to eliminate tuition?

It can't afford not to. Princeton has money for which it has no use, literally. If in the year 2004-2005 Princeton had eliminated net tuition (that is gross tuition charged minus scholarships and fellowships) its revenue would have been reduced by $34,000,000. In the same year (2004-2005) Princeton had $1,636,000,000 (that's $1.6 billion) investment return on its endowment (which is more than $11 billion). Of the $1.636 billion investment return the university used only $349 million, which means that it reinvested $1.287 billion. If tuition had been eliminated, Princeton would have reinvested $1.253 billion. That would be a reinvestment rate of 12.7%, in a year when the national rate of inflation was only 3.4%. Thus the bottom line is that if Princeton had eliminated tuition entirely for 2004-2005 its endowment nevertheless would have grown in "real dollar" terms, indeed it would have grown at a rate nearly four times greater than the rate of inflation.

Why should Princeton eliminate tuition?

There are many reasons, but only one important one. It would be dishonest and dishonorable not to.

Why has Princeton not eliminated tuition?

I have no idea. Although for several years I have been requesting that Princeton eliminate tuition, I have not received any explanation that I consider to have merit.