From India · 2026–27
Applying to Princeton University from India
Free. Your plan checks it against the rest of your list.
What's specific to students from India
Your school system
Princeton reads your record in the context of your education system. It should include your internal grades and external exam marks, such as Std X and Std XII in India. If leaving exams are part of graduation, ask your school to send predicted or achieved results as they become available. No GPA conversion is expected if your school doesn't use one.
Official source · read on September 25, 2026
For every international applicant
Financial aid
Princeton is need-blind for international applicants and meets their full need as it does for US students, with grants rather than loans. It offers no academic or athletic merit scholarships.
Official source · read on September 25, 2026
English test
If English isn't your native language and your school doesn't teach in English, Princeton requires the TOEFL, IELTS Academic, Duolingo English Test or PTE Academic. You don't need one if English is your native language or you've spent at least three years at a secondary school that teaches in English.
Official source · read on September 25, 2026
The basics for 2026–27
- Application fee
- $85 (international applicants)
- Common App fee waiver
- Accepted
- SAT / ACT
- Optional
- English proficiency tests accepted
- Listed on the university's site
Your essays
Leave the board-exam essay behind
Board exams reward a thesis, a plan and a conclusion. A personal statement starts in a moment and lets the reader follow you through it. Watch for Indian-English phrasing such as “do the needful”, “prepone” or “I am having”, and explain things like JEE coaching in half a sentence: your reader may never have heard of it.
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