Ithaca, NY · Private · 15,995 undergraduates · urban
Cornell University
Extremely selective
Cornell is the largest and most academically varied Ivy, with undergraduate colleges spanning liberal arts, engineering, agriculture, architecture, hotel administration, human ecology, labor relations, and business. Applicants choose a college at the outset, and that choice changes both the curriculum and the admissions case. Ithaca adds waterfalls, steep hills, and a self-contained college-town life far from a major city.
Institutional profile
Top tier Exceptional in career outcomes, and exceptional in academic standing.- Admission
- 8.2% admitted
- Price by income
- Varies across five income ranges
- Completion
- 95.7%
65,635 applicants in the reported year
Compare recent average annual costs by household income
$104,043 median earnings 10 years after enrollment
What sets Cornell apart
College choice changes the application
Each undergraduate college has its own academic focus and requirements, so applicants must begin with the right door.
Public and private missions meet
Cornell combines endowed colleges with New York contract colleges in one land-grant university.
Specialized fields sit beside liberal arts
Hotel administration, labor relations, agriculture, architecture, engineering, and human ecology coexist with the arts and sciences.
The Cornell map
One university entered through eight colleges
Cornell’s scale becomes useful only after a student chooses a defined academic home.
Choose the college
The first decision sets the curriculum, advising structure, and admissions context.
Build field-specific command
Specialized schools connect classroom work to laboratories, studios, farms, hotels, and organizations.
Use the wider university
Courses and teams across colleges widen the education without erasing its center.
Can I get in?
8.2% admitted
Cornell reads applicants through the undergraduate college they select. Preparation and written purpose must fit that college; a generic Ivy application leaves the central question unanswered.
Recent applicant pool
65,635About 8 in every 100 applicants were admitted.
Academic range
Of admitted students, 37% submitted an SAT, and 12% submitted an ACT. Treat the ACT range as a guide to the students who submitted that test, not to everyone admitted.
In the season card
Where your GPA sits in the entering class
The full entering-class GPA distribution for Cornell, in nine bands from 4.0 down, with your own record marked on it.
See where I landIn the season card
What Cornell weighs when it reads a file
See how this college describes the role of grades, testing, essays, recommendations, activities, and demonstrated interest.
- Course rigor
- GPA
- Test scores
- Essay
- Recommendations
- Extracurriculars
- Demonstrated interest
What moves the application
The evidence that separates a strong file
Select the correct college
The curriculum must match both the student’s preparation and the questions they want to pursue.
Demonstrate field-specific readiness
Use courses, work, projects, or service that make the intended school choice credible.
Explain Cornell’s internal breadth
Name a useful cross-college connection without pretending every resource is equally accessible.
Choose Ithaca deliberately
The application should fit a large, residential university in a remote college town.
How to apply
Rounds, route, and required materials
Cornell offers Early Decision and Regular Decision. The application must name the right undergraduate college and demonstrate why its curriculum fits the work you have already done.
Fee waiver: accepted
Major and program admission
Some fields have their own entry path.
The college admit rate above covers the university as a whole. These requirements apply only to the named program.
Agriculture and natural resourcesAdmits separately
What this program asks for, and when it closes.
ArchitectureAdmits separately
What this program asks for, and when it closes.
BusinessAdmits separately
What this program asks for, and when it closes.
Communication and journalismAdmits separately
What this program asks for, and when it closes.
Computer scienceAdmits separately
What this program asks for, and when it closes.
EngineeringAdmits separately
What this program asks for, and when it closes.
Health professionsAdmits separately
What this program asks for, and when it closes.
Hospitality and hotel managementAdmits separately
What this program asks for, and when it closes.
Can I afford it?
Compare annual cost by household income.
Need-based aid applies across Cornell, while New York contract colleges can have different tuition for state residents. Families must price the specific college, not Cornell in the abstract.
College funding
Scholarships and financial aid
Review available aid, application requirements, and renewal terms.
In the season card
Average annual cost by household income at Cornell
Compare recent average net prices across five federal income ranges and estimate a 4-year cost for yours.
- $0–30k
- $30–48k
- $48–75k
- $75–110k
- $110k+
Is it worth it?
Completion, debt, and earnings
Engineering, computing, business, hospitality, agriculture, design, labor, and the liberal arts create several distinct career pipelines. The value lies partly in their coexistence on one campus.
Degree completion across the reported entering cohort
First-year students who return for year two
And what that comes to against what they earn.
Reported 10 years after enrollment
Academic portfolio
Largest bachelor’s fields
How many students finish in each field, and median earnings four years after completing the program.
Computer Science
Admits separately
Hospitality Administration/Management
Admits separately
Human Resources Management and Services
Admits separately
Agricultural Business and Management
Admits separately
Biology, General
What is campus life like?
Cornell beyond the classroom
Cornell is physically large and hilly. Residential life, Greek organizations, project teams, and the town of Ithaca create smaller circles inside a university whose schools retain strong identities.
North Campus begins the experience
First-year housing creates an initial community before academic colleges and organizations pull students into different parts of campus.
A large campus supports many options
Residential dining, cafés, and Collegetown restaurants follow the university’s broad physical footprint.
Specialized teams match specialized schools
Engineering project teams, agriculture, hospitality, design, publications, performance, service, and entrepreneurship all have serious homes.
Greek life has a visible role
Fraternities and sororities sit alongside residence communities, clubs, teams, and Collegetown in a dispersed social scene.
Hills and weather are daily facts
Long walks, winter, gorges, and the separation between campus zones materially shape the week.