Cornell University: Statistics

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#5 of 14,131 In the World
#4 of 2,597 In North America
#4 of 2,496 In the United States
#1 of 221 In New York State
#1 of 2 In Ithaca
#1 of 4,448 For Agricultural Science
Top1-3 For 11 other topics
Subject rankings

Quick Review

Acceptance rate
9%
Average SAT
1535
Average ACT
34
Avg. cost to attend
$26,361 /y
Aid receiving
56%
Undergraduates
16,128
Graduates
10,665
Male:Female Ratio
47:53
Control
Private
not-for-profit
Highest Degree
Doctor's degree
Website
www.cornell.edu

Cornell University Acceptance rate and admissions statistics

Cornell University has an acceptance rate of 9% and is among the top 2% of the most difficult universities to gain admission to in the United States. The university reports the admission statistics without distinguishing between local and international students.

Total Men Women
Acceptance Rate 9% 8% 10%
Applicants 62,993 32,321 30,643
Admissions 5,516 2,529 2,987
Freshmen enrolled full time 3,525 1,648 1,877

1,572 students enrolled in some distance education courses.

527 enrolled exclusively in distance education.

SAT scores

Among admitted applicants
1,424 or 40%
submitted SAT

25% of them
had 1500
or below

75% of them
had 1570
or below

Typical SAT scores of first-years in Cornell University are 1500-1570 (middle 50% range).

ACT scores

Among admitted applicants
455 or 13%
submitted ACT

25% of them
had 33
or below

75% of them
had 35
or below

Typical ACT scores of first-years in Cornell University are 33-35 (middle 50% range).

Admissions requirements

Recommendations Required
Secondary school record Required
TOEFL Required
College-preparatory program Considered but not required
Formal demonstration of competencies Considered but not required
Other Tests Considered but not required
SAT/ACT Considered but not required
Secondary school GPA Considered but not required
Secondary school rank Considered but not required

Enrollment demographics by race or ethnicity

White 7485 (28%)
Nonresident Alien 6943 (26%)
Asian 5451 (20%)
Hispanic 2760 (10%)
Black or African American 1484 (6%)
Race or Ethnicity unknown 1422 (5%)
Two or more races 1171 (4%)
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander 28 (0.1%)
American Indian or Alaska Native 26 (0.1%)

Costs per year: Tuition, Housing, Fees

The average net cost to attend Cornell University is $26,361 per year, calculated as the sum of the average cost of tuition, room and board, books, and supplies, reduced by the amount of average financial aid received.

The final cost of attendance varies for each student based on household income, residency, program, and other factors.

Net average cost to attend
$26,361/year
Average aid awarded
$61,779
Students receiving aid
56%

Average costs by household income

<$30K $1,776
$30-48K $4,070
$48-75K $6,796
$75-110K $14,311
$110K+ $49,992

Tuition and fees

UndergraduatesGraduates
Tuition in-district $68,380$29,500
Tuition in-state $68,380$29,500
Tuition out-of-state $68,380$29,500
Fee in-district $934$660
Fee in-state $934$660
Fee out-of-state $934$660

Room and board costs

Dormitory capacity 9,271
Combined charge for room and board $19,428
Room charge $12,296
Meal charge $7,132

Cornell University majors

Cornell University has granted 3,875 bachelor's degrees across 75 programs, 3,705 master's across 87 programs, and 851 doctorate degrees across 73 programs. Below is a table with majors that lead to degrees at Cornell University.

Major Bachelor Master Doctoral
Computer Science 467 312 35
Business Administration and Management, General 537 6
Information Technology 206 155 15
Labor and Industrial Relations 286 58 5
Hotel & Motel Administration & Management 271 66
Management Science 286
Biology & Biological Sciences, General 264 1 18
Mechanical Engineering 152 94 26
Electrical and Electronics Engineering 72 153 25
Agricultural Economics 243
Econometrics and Quantitative Economics 139 65 21
Operations Research 56 149 13
American & U.S. Law & Legal Studies & Jurisprudence 205
Law 195
Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering 55 107 14
Architectural and Building Sciences & Technology 67 69
Public Administration 129
Systems Engineering 124 5
Political Science and Government, General 106 8 7
Veterinary Medicine 116
Chemistry, General 34 44 36
Human Biology 96
Environmental Science 95
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods, Other 94
Animal Sciences, General 66 13 8
Chemical Engineering 35 40 11
Information Technology Project Management 86
Statistics, General 16 67 2
Communication, General 75 5 4
Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other 83
Materials Engineering 26 49 8
Agriculture, General 56 26
Mathematics, General 60 9 13
Engineering & Industrial Management 80
Civil Engineering, General 33 39 7
Health & Health Care Administration & Management 70
Physics, General 31 23 16
Public Policy Analysis, General 64 5
Food Science 20 24 23
Psychology, General 63
Research and Experimental Psychology, Other 62
Environmental Health 55
Sustainability Studies 53
Business Statistics 52
English Language and Literature, General 28 14 9
Engineering Physics & Applied Physics 29 11 10
Landscape Architecture 16 22
Philosophy 19 6 8
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical & Space Engineering, General 28 4
Nutrition Sciences 20 5 7
Sociology, General 22 7 3
City & Urban, Community, and Regional Planning 27 2
Hospitality Administration & Management, General 29
Fine & Studio Arts, General 26 2
History, General 21 2 5
International Public Health & International Health 28
Environmental & Environmental Health Engineering 26
Plant Sciences, General 20 6
Biometry & Biometrics 25
Human Resources Management & Personnel Administration, General 25
Biological & Biosystems Engineering 24
Apparel and Textiles, General 23
Astronomy 8 4 10
Real Estate 21
Computer and Information Sciences, General 20
Geological and Earth Sciences & Geosciences, Other 20
Rural Sociology 15 2 3
Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics 12 7
Entomology 10 2 7
General Studies 18
Agricultural Engineering 13 4
Developmental and Child Psychology 11 5
Linguistics 8 4 4
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General 10 6
Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General 6 5 4
International Relations and Affairs 15
Anthropology, General 6 5 3
Genetics, General 13
Horticultural Science 8 5
Molecular Biology 2 11
Asian Studies & Civilization 5 7
Natural Resources & Conservation, General 6 6
Applied Mathematics, General 6 5
International Agriculture 11
American & United States Studies & Civilization 10
Comparative Literature 6 3 1
Health Policy Analysis 10
Music, General 5 1 3
Biophysics 8
Agronomy and Crop Science 1 6
Archeology 3 4
Art History, Criticism and Conservation 6 1
Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, General 7
Biochemistry 7
Creative Writing 7
Drama and Dramatics & Theatre Arts, General 3 4
Fashion & Apparel Design 5 2
Human Development and Family Studies, General 7
Visual and Performing Arts, Other 7
Viticulture and Enology 7
African-American & Black Studies 4 2
Botany & Plant Biology 3 3
Development Economics and International Development 6
Geology & Earth Science, General 5 1
Microbiology, General 6
Spanish Language and Literature 6
Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Breeding 1 4
Behavioral Sciences 5
Historic Preservation and Conservation, General 5
Near and Middle Eastern Studies 1 4
Plant Pathology & Phytopathology 2 3
Science, Technology and Society 4 1
Textile Science 5
Musicology and Ethnomusicology 3 1
Parasitology 4
Computational Biology 3
Engineering, General 3
Evolutionary Biology 3
Gay & Lesbian Studies 3
Medieval and Renaissance Studies 3
Social Sciences, Other 3
Architectural History and Criticism, General 1 1
Community Organization and Advocacy 2
East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General 2
Ecology 2
Engineering Mechanics 1 1
German Studies 1 1
Neurobiology and Behavior 2
Plastics and Polymer Engineering Technology & Technician 2
Cognitive Science, General 1
Religion & Religious Studies 1
Grand Total 3,875 3,705 851

Cornell University has a graduation rate of 95%, which is among the 3% highest for universities in the US.

Total Men Women
Graduation rate 95% 94% 96%
  • Full-time retention rate - 98%

Publications & Citations

Cornell University is a world-class research university with 418,439 scientific papers published and 19,201,353 citations received. The research profile covers a range of fields, including Biology, Medicine, Chemistry, Engineering, Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, Genetics, Physics, Computer Science, Environmental Science, and Biochemistry.

Publications
418,439
Citations
19,201,353

Publication / Citation count by topic

Biology
260,292 / 13,399,941
Medicine
205,893 / 9,675,403
Chemistry
196,564 / 10,745,278
Engineering
153,162 / 7,421,379
Liberal Arts & Social Sciences
152,528 / 6,909,827
Genetics
150,919 / 8,370,042
Physics
150,103 / 7,357,073
Computer Science
144,022 / 7,447,822
Environmental Science
143,810 / 6,847,222
Biochemistry
128,097 / 7,599,724
Quantum and Particle physics
92,801 / 4,705,018
Pathology
91,387 / 4,440,231
Psychology
89,930 / 4,619,743
Organic Chemistry
82,568 / 4,518,597
Geology
75,513 / 3,827,581
Political Science
69,390 / 2,719,485
Materials Science
68,049 / 3,302,142
Geography and Cartography
65,801 / 3,056,984
Mathematics
64,787 / 3,345,341
Law
64,773 / 2,627,373
Ecology
64,686 / 3,367,474
Philosophy
62,646 / 3,136,850
Surgery
61,422 / 2,376,702
Sociology
60,106 / 2,892,760
Immunology
52,019 / 2,812,841
Statistics
51,789 / 2,698,591
Paleontology
51,093 / 2,683,874
Psychiatry
50,010 / 2,320,734
Business
46,995 / 2,104,497
History
45,106 / 1,796,125
Optical Engineering
44,498 / 2,116,022
Economics
40,563 / 1,777,878
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
39,708 / 2,282,781
Botany
39,279 / 2,026,112
Oncology and Cancer research
37,928 / 2,020,626
Radiology and Nuclear medicine
37,406 / 1,414,756
Neuroscience
37,132 / 2,013,568
Archaeology
35,633 / 1,615,673
Linguistics
31,400 / 1,726,637
Public Health
30,197 / 1,645,820

Annual publication & citation counts

Year Publications Citations
1993 4597 94887
1994 4562 101988
1995 4590 110213
1996 4945 118664
1997 4879 128013
1998 4970 140252
1999 5087 153404
2000 5222 173258
2001 5377 191588
2002 6732 225674
2003 6888 247477
2004 7220 270922
2005 7494 305900
2006 8249 343338
2007 8269 378718
2008 8571 413084
2009 8881 450248
2010 9222 492271
2011 9921 544764
2012 10567 598848
2013 11406 646070
2014 11664 689446
2015 12336 711379
2016 12955 737911
2017 13682 787548
2018 15874 853187
2019 17324 961277
2020 18375 1149496
2021 17695 1283005
2022 18205 1205590
2023 17878 1224601
2024 15004 1190016
2025 12880 1056476
Academic rankings

Cornell University alumni

  1. Christopher Reeve

    Christopher Reeve
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1952-2004 (aged 52)
    Occupations
    voice actorstage actoractortelevision actordirector
    Biography

    Christopher D'Olier Reeve was an American actor, activist, director, and author. He amassed several stage and screen credits in his 34-year career, including playing the title character in the Superman film series (1978–1987). He won a British Academy Film Award, an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He was also known for his activism.

  2. Gillian Anderson

    Gillian Anderson
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1968-.. (age 58)
    Enrolled in Cornell University
    Studied in 1987-1987
    Occupations
    voice actorstage actorhuman rights defendertelevision actorfilm actor
    Biography

    Gillian Leigh Anderson is an American actress. Her credits include the roles of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the series The X-Files, socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's film The House of Mirth (2000), DSU Stella Gibson in the BBC/RTÉ crime drama television series The Fall, sex therapist Jean Milburn in the Netflix comedy-drama Sex Education, and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the fourth season of Netflix drama series The Crown. Among other honors, she has won two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. She has resided in London since 2002, after earlier years divided between the United Kingdom and the United States.

  3. Ruth Bader Ginsburg

    Ruth Bader Ginsburg
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1933-2020 (aged 87)
    Occupations
    juristlawyerjudge
    Biography

    Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton to replace retiring justice Byron White, and at the time was viewed as a moderate consensus-builder. Ginsburg was the first Jewish woman and the second woman to serve on the Court, after Sandra Day O'Connor. During her tenure, Ginsburg authored the majority opinions in cases such as United States v. Virginia (1996), Olmstead v. L.C. (1999), Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc. (2000), and City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York (2005). Later in her tenure, Ginsburg received attention for passionate dissents that reflected liberal views of the law.

  4. Tsai Ing-wen

    Tsai Ing-wen
    Born in
    Taiwan Flag Taiwan
    Years
    1956-.. (age 70)
    Enrolled in Cornell University
    1978-1980 graduated with Master of Laws
    Occupations
    juristlawyeruniversity teacherpolitician
    Biography

    Tsai Ing-wen is a Taiwanese politician and legal scholar who served as the seventh president of the Republic of China from 2016 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), she intermittently served as chair of the DPP from 2008 to 2012, 2014 to 2018, and 2020 to 2022. She was the first woman to hold the presidency in Taiwan's history.

All 100 notable alumni

General info

Founded 1865
Motto I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study
Colors carnelian, white
Academic calendar August to May (August - December; January-May). Also Summer Session (June-August)
Total FTE staff 12,342
Carnegie classification Doctoral Universities: Very High Research Activity

Location and contacts

Address 300 Day Hall
Ithaca, New York, 14853
United States
City population 32,000
Phone 6072552000

Cornell University in social media