Cornell University
Ithaca, New York
- Private nonprofit
- City
- 15,995 undergrads
- Admit rate
- 9%Source: College Scorecard
- Average net price
- $33,934per year, after grantsSource: College Scorecard
- Graduation rate
- 95%within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $113,53110 years after startingSource: College Scorecard
What's special
Cornell is private, but three of its colleges (Agriculture and Life Sciences, Human Ecology, and Industrial and Labor Relations) are state-supported. New York residents there paid $49,816 in tuition for 2026–27, compared with $73,946 everywhere else.
Source: Cornell Chronicle, Mar 2026
Getting in
- Admit rate
- 9%About 1 in 11 applicants get in.Source: College Scorecard
- Test policy
- Test-optionalScores are considered if you send them, but not required.Source: College Scorecard
- SAT (middle 50%)
- 1500–1570Reading + math, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
- ACT (middle 50%)
- 33–35Composite, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
From Cornell University's own report
These numbers come from the school's Common Data Set for 2025–26, a standard report colleges publish about their applicants and first-year students. Open the report.
- Admit rate in this report
- 8%6,077 admitted of 72,523 first-year applicants
- Early decision admit rate
- 19%1,889 admitted of 10,057. Early decision is binding: you commit to attend if admitted.
- SAT, middle 50%
- 1490–1550First-years who sent scores
- ACT, middle 50%
- 33–35First-years who sent scores
- Top 10% of their class
- 84%97% were in the top quarter. Based on the 12% whose school ranks.
Early applicants often include recruited athletes and students who knew this was their first choice, so a higher early rate doesn't mean applying early raises any one student's odds by that much.
Where you'd stand
Enter your numbers to see where they'd fall among Cornell University's first-year students. This isn't a prediction: it shows how you compare with students who enrolled, using the sources linked below.
Leave out anything you don't have. Your numbers stay in this browser and fill in on other school pages. See my list
Sources: Cornell University Common Data Set 2025–26. Test ranges describe enrolled students who sent scores.
What it really costs
Most families pay less than the sticker price. Net price is what's left after grants and scholarships.
- Average net price
- $33,934full-time first-years who got grant aidSource: College Scorecard
- Total cost of attendance
- $92,093sticker price incl. housing, per yearSource: College Scorecard
- Tuition
- $72,270Source: College Scorecard
After you enroll
- Graduation rate
- 95%first-time, full-time students finishing within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Came back for year two
- 98%full-time first-year studentsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $113,53110 years after starting, for students who got federal aidSource: College Scorecard
- Median debt at graduation
- $12,000federal loans, students who finishedSource: College Scorecard
Students
- Undergraduates
- 15,995Source: College Scorecard
- Receive Pell grants
- 22%a sign of economic diversitySource: College Scorecard
- First-generation students
- 15%parents didn't go beyond high schoolSource: College Scorecard
Similar schools
Similar, and easier to get into
- Syracuse University Syracuse, NY — admits 46%
- Fordham University Bronx, NY — admits 59%
- Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY — admits 67%
- University of Rochester Rochester, NY — admits 40%
Also worth a look
- New York University New York, NY — admits 9%
- University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA — admits 10%
- Boston University Boston, MA — admits 11%
- Northwestern University Evanston, IL — admits 8%
- University of Miami Coral Gables, FL — admits 19%
- Georgetown University Washington, DC — admits 13%
Where these numbers come from
Every number on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard page for Cornell University, which draws on what the school reports to the federal government and on federal student aid and tax records. We last pulled the data on November 4, 2026. Different measures cover different years; here's how each one works.
Spot something wrong? Report a data error.