Satisfactory Academic Progress

This standard measures the quality of a student’s academic achievement. Since Princeton University does not calculate official grade point averages, Undergraduate Financial Aid considers students to have the equivalent of at least a C-average if they have received satisfactory grades in at least half of their attempted courses each semester. An unsatisfactory grade is anything less than a C for the qualitative measure for federal financial aid.

Students who have fallen below the minimum qualitative requirement can regain eligibility once they have earned satisfactory grades in at least half of their cumulative courses.

AB

Students who have fallen below the minimum quantitative requirement can regain eligibility once they have completed the number of required courses for their term in progress. Courses that are transferred in will be included in the next UFA SAP evaluation process.

Federal regulations dictate that the maximum timeframe for students to complete their degree is 150% of the published length of the program. Due to Princeton’s academic policy, students will never meet the federal maximum timeframe. This will be confirmed during each UFA SAP review process.

• Transfer Students: Incoming undergraduates through Princeton’s Transfer Admission Program declare their degree type (AB or BSE) and go through a credit review to determine their class year. The class year then determines the appropriate SAP quantitative measurements toward degree completion and maximum timeframe.  Courses that are approved for transfer are included in the qualitative and quantitative standard reviews.  
• Transfer Courses: Princeton academic policies permit continuing students and unenrolled students on leave to transfer a maximum of three courses for AB or four courses for BSE taken elsewhere in the summers during their time at Princeton. No more than two courses can be transferred in one summer. All transfer credit accepted into the program are evaluated in the next scheduled UFA SAP review and count as attempted and completed courses evaluated using quantitative and qualitative standards. Courses taken during a study abroad semester are also reviewed in the following UFA SAP review and are treated the same as transfer courses.  
• Advanced Standing: Students that take advanced standing will have the additional courses factored into the quantitative component. The qualitative component is not impacted.
• Withdrawals:  Withdrawals that occur prior to add/drop period are not counted as attempted courses and are not included in the qualitative or quantitative measures. Withdrawals that occur after the add/drop period and have a recorded grade of “W” are counted toward the qualitative and quantitative measures.
• Repeated Courses: If a student repeats a course that was not completed satisfactorily, all course attempts are considered in the qualitative measure, but only the satisfactorily completed course counts in the quantitative measure.
• Incomplete Grades: Courses that are incomplete at the end of the semester are excluded for UFA SAP. The final grade will be evaluated during the next UFA SAP review.
• Grade Changes: UFA SAP determinations are based on grades at the time of review. Grade changes completed after UFA SAP review are considered in the next scheduled review.
• Pass/D/Fail Courses: Courses taken as Pass/D/Fail count toward the quantitative measure. D and F grades count toward the qualitative measure, but P grades do not.
• Audited Courses: Audited courses are excluded from both the qualitative and quantitative measures.
• Program Changes: If a student changes from BSE to AB or vice versa, all courses from the original major remain in the quantitative and qualitative measures.
• Remedial Coursework: Princeton University does not offer remedial coursework.