More selective than 99% of New York colleges we cover.
College Scorecard, Fall 2024 entering class
Average after grants for all families receiving federal aid. Pick your income above.
Sticker price $88,140. College Scorecard.
Higher than 99% of New York colleges we cover and 98% of colleges nationwide. U.S. median 54%.
Within 6 years · College Scorecard
Higher than 98% of New York colleges we cover and 99% of colleges nationwide. U.S. median $53,263.
Median, 10 years after starting · College Scorecard
Cornell University acceptance rate & admissions
Of 65,635 applicants, Cornell University admitted 5,358 and 3,537 enrolled (IPEDS, Fall 2023 entering class). The middle half of enrolled first-year students scored 1500–1570 on the SAT or 33–35 on the ACT.
IPEDS Admissions, Fall 2023 entering class
Test scores: College Scorecard, Fall 2024. Other figures: College Scorecard; IPEDS
Cornell University tuition, cost & net price
What families actually pay per year, by income
Average net price after grants and scholarships for students who receive federal aid. Tap your income band.
College Scorecard, latest reported year (federal aid recipients)
Sticker price (before aid)
IPEDS 2023-24 cost items; total from College Scorecard
College Scorecard; Urban Institute Education Data Portal
State aid: New York residents may qualify for the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP): up to $5,665 a year toward tuition at eligible New York colleges, for dependent students with New York net taxable family income up to $125,000. Not included in the prices above. New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC)
What Cornell University costs to finish, and how fast it pays back
Graduates of Cornell University took 4.1 years on average to finish, so the yearly price adds up to the total below. Payback compares former students' earnings with what high school graduates earn in New York. The figures follow your residency and income choices above.
| Family income | Net price / yr | Cost to finish | Years to pay back |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0–30k | $1,776 | $7,282 | under 1 year |
| $30–48k | $4,070 | $16,687 | under 1 year |
| $48–75k | $6,796 | $27,864 | under 1 year |
| $75–110k | $14,311 | $58,675 | under 1 year |
| $110k+ | $49,992 | $204,967 | 3.0 years |
Cost to finish = yearly price × 4.1 years, the average time graduates took (87% finished in 4 years; students who entered fall 2017, IPEDS). Years to pay back = cost to finish ÷ the earnings gain: median earnings of former students 10 years after starting ($104,043) minus $34,633 for high school graduates ages 25-34 in NY (Census ACS 2020-2024), a gain of $69,410 a year. Before taxes, loan interest and earnings given up while in school. Method
College Scorecard (net price, earnings); IPEDS Graduation Rates (time to finish); U.S. Census Bureau ACS (high school earnings). Calculated by EducationGuide.
Cornell University majors, earnings & careers
Cornell University offers 79 bachelor's majors across 11 areas. Earnings below are for this school's graduates of each major, four years after finishing.
- Engineering · 19
- Science & Math · 18
- Humanities & Languages · 13
- Social Sciences & Public Service · 11
- Arts & Design · 6
- Business & Finance · 4
- Health & Medicine · 3
- Technology & Computing · 2
- Communications & Media · 1
- Education · 1
- Trades & Applied Technology · 1
Highest-earning majors at Cornell University
| Major | Earnings, 4 yrs | Median debt |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Science | $223,309 | $14,698 |
| Operations Research | $151,709 | $15,000 |
| Electrical Engineering | $147,241 | $14,750 |
| Agricultural Business | $145,218 | $13,258 |
| Computer and Information Sciences | $144,389 | $15,500 |
| Economics | $137,935 | $15,500 |
| Mathematics | $134,455 | $14,146 |
| Engineering | $128,207 | — |
Quick list of all 79 majors
- Agricultural Business$145,218
- Agricultural Engineering$99,600
- Agriculture$67,954
- Animal Sciences$52,967
- Anthropology—
- Apparel and Textiles$94,967
- Archeology—
- Architectural History, Criticism, and Conservation—
- Architectural Sciences and Technology$71,914
- Architecture—
- Area Studies$96,976
- Astronomy and Astrophysics—
- Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology—
- Biological / Biosystems Engineering—
- Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other$85,883
- Biological and Physical Sciences—
- Biology$69,083
- Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology$124,242
- Biomedical Engineering—
- Chemical Engineering$116,165
- Chemistry$79,311
- City / Urban, Community, and Regional Planning—
- Civil Engineering$91,242
- Classics—
- Communications$88,463
- Community Organization and Advocacy—
- Computer and Information Sciences$144,389
- Computer Science$223,309
- Culinary Arts and Related Services—
- Dance—
- Economics$137,935
- Education—
- Electrical Engineering$147,241
- Engineering$128,207
- Engineering Physics—
- Engineering, Other—
- English$65,089
- Environmental Design—
- Environmental Engineering$103,016
- Environmental Science / Conservation$68,088
- Ethnic / Gender Studies—
- Film and Photography—
- Food Science and Technology$84,147
- Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services—
- Geology / Earth Science—
- German—
- History$82,031
- Hospitality Management$112,289
- Human Development and Family Studies$73,066
- Human Resources$112,713
- International Agriculture—
- Landscape Architecture—
- Liberal Arts / General Studies—
- Linguistics—
- Materials Engineering—
- Mathematics$134,455
- Mechanical Engineering$112,212
- Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies, Other—
- Music—
- Nutrition Science$60,728
- Operations Research$151,709
- Philosophy—
- Physics$118,649
- Plant Sciences$58,960
- Political Science$95,391
- Psychology$78,049
- Public Health—
- Public Policy Analysis$126,767
- Religious Studies—
- Science, Technology and Society—
- Slavic, Baltic and Albanian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics—
- Social Sciences, Other—
- Sociology$73,200
- Spanish / French / Romance Languages$89,275
- Statistics$111,090
- Studio Art$41,784
- Theatre—
- Visual and Performing Arts, Other—
- Zoology / Animal Biology—
— means too few graduates to report earnings.
College Scorecard field of study, latest release
All majors by area with earnings 1 and 4 years out, and debt →Computer Science → Software developer
Median annual wage for all workers in this job, not only new graduates. U.S. jobs projected to grow 10.2% from 2025 to 2035.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35
Human Resources → HR specialist
Median annual wage for all workers in this job, not only new graduates. U.S. jobs projected to grow 6.4% from 2025 to 2035.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35
Living in Ithaca
Overall prices in the Ithaca, NY area.
BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
2 bedrooms $1,709. Housing costs 28% above the U.S. average.
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027
January and July average highs. 38 inches of rain a year, 63 inches of snow.
NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020
No hazard rated high.
FEMA National Risk Index, Tompkins County
Campus & students
IPEDS fall enrollment; Carnegie Classification; EADA via Urban Institute
Tompkins County at a glance
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year 2024
Compare Cornell University with similar schools
Similar private colleges in New York by selectivity, graduation rate and size. Tap “Why?” to see where the price difference comes from.
| School | Acceptance | You'd pay | Graduation | Earnings, 10 yrs | Price gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornell University | 9% | $28,690 | 95% | $104,043 | This school |
| Columbia University in the City of New York | 4% | $21,590 | 96% | $102,491 | |
| Barnard College | 9% | $28,800 | 93% | $80,516 | |
| New York University | 9% | $37,050 | 88% | $82,509 | |
| The Juilliard School | 9% | $43,571 | 93% | $37,827 |
College Scorecard, latest reported year. “You'd pay” follows your residency and income choices above.
Why the price is different
Cornell University would cost you $7,100 more per year than Columbia University in the City of New York, on average.
- Lower sticker price at Cornell University, mostly from lower tuition & fees (−$2,531).
- Columbia University in the City of New York gives aided families $8,432 more in grants, on average.
| Per year, New York resident | Cornell University | Columbia University in the City of New York | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuition & fees | $69,314 | $71,845 | −$2,531 |
| Books & supplies | $1,354 | $1,392 | −$38 |
| Housing & meals | $18,554 | $16,800 | +$1,754 |
| Personal & travel | $2,218 | $2,350 | −$132 |
| Living-at-home adjustment | −$3,300 | −$2,915 | −$385 |
| Sticker price | $88,140 | $89,472 | −$1,332 |
| Average grants | −$59,450 | −$67,882 | +$8,432 |
| You pay | $28,690 | $21,590 | +$7,100 |
“+” means Cornell University costs more; “−” means it costs less. Grants are the sticker price minus the net price. Cost items: IPEDS, on-campus budget. Sticker and net price: College Scorecard, latest reported year; the adjustment reconciles the two. Net price is an average for first-time, full-time students receiving federal aid, not a quote.
Common questions about Cornell University
What is the Cornell University acceptance rate?
Cornell University accepts 9% of applicants (College Scorecard). In the latest IPEDS admissions year, 5,358 of 65,635 applicants were admitted. The middle half of enrolled first-year students scored 1500–1570 on the SAT or 33–35 on the ACT.
How much does Cornell University cost per year?
The sticker price (cost of attendance) is $88,140 a year. After grants and scholarships, students receiving federal aid pay $28,690 a year on average; families earning $0–30k pay $1,776 and families earning $110k+ pay $49,992.
How much do Cornell University graduates earn?
Former Cornell University students earn a median $104,043 ten years after starting college, compared with a U.S. median of $53,263 across the colleges we cover.
What is the Cornell University graduation rate?
95% of first-time, full-time students graduate within six years, and 98% return for their second year.
How long does a Cornell University degree take to pay off?
For a family earning $48–75k, finishing at Cornell University costs about $27,864 after grants ($6,796 a year for 4.1 years, the average time graduates took). Former students earn a median $104,043 ten years after starting, $69,410 more than high school graduates in New York ($34,633), so the cost is repaid in under 1 year of that gain, before taxes and interest (EducationGuide calculation).
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Sources on this page: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS; U.S. Census Bureau (ACS); Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections); Bureau of Economic Analysis; HUD; NOAA; FEMA; Urban Institute Education Data Portal (ODC-By); Wikidata. “Colleges we cover” means colleges awarding bachelor's degrees to at least 100 undergraduates. Averages are not quotes; confirm costs with the school. How we score
Data: download this school's data (JSON) · Markdown · all datasets
Cite this: “Cornell University: cost, admissions and outcomes,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/colleges/cornell-university (College Scorecard and IPEDS data).