Cornell University
About
Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since its founding, Cornell University has been a co-educational and nonsectarian institution. As of fall 2024, the student body included 16,128 undergraduate and 10,665 postgraduate students from all 50 U.S. states and 130 countries.
Admissions & acceptance rate
First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Non-Pell students graduate at a 4.0-point higher rate than Pell recipients.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 239 Title IV programs, 61 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 178 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing61 · 25.5%
- No Data178 · 74.5%
- Failing0 · 0.0%
Severity spectrum
Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.
Earnings premium gap
Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
Middle States Commission on Higher Education
New York State Board of Regents, and the Commissioner of Education
Programmatic accreditations · 6
Action history · 21
- Sep 2025Renewal of AccreditationCouncil on Education for Public Health · Public Health Programs (PHPG) - Graduate level program offered outside a school of public health
- Jul 2025Renewal of AccreditationAcademy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics · Didactic Program in Dietetics
- Jul 2025Renewal of AccreditationAcademy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics · Dietetics (DIETI) - Dietetic Internship
- Mar 2025Renewal of AccreditationAmerican Veterinary Medical Association, Council on Education · Veterinary Medicine (VET) - Programs leading to a D.V.M. or D.M.V. degree
- Jan 2024Approved for Distance EducationAcademy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics · Didactic Program in Dietetics
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 3,578 students received $22.3M in Pell grants, alongside $125.9M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 2,554 borrowers who entered repayment, 12 (0.4%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.
Academic programs at Cornell
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Athletics & Title IX gender equity
How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.
Men vs women · spending splits
Sport-by-sport · 21
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
- On campus85
- Non-campus3
- Public property1
Includes 53 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
- Ethnicity6
- Race1
- Gender identity1
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
- Flora Rose House2 firesThere were burnt paper towels found in Room 223 restroom trashcan and black marks on the wall above.Damage $100-$999
- Flora Rose House2 firesMachinery/IndustrialDamage $1,000-$9,999
- Mary Donlon Hall9 firesBurn marks were found on door decorations and on the sprinkler water line.Damage $0-$99
- Mary Donlon Hall9 firesBurn marks were found on the 2nd floor bathroom door and bathroom sign.Damage $0-$99
- Mary Donlon Hall9 firesBurn marks were found on the 5th floor bathroom sign.Damage $0-$99
- Mary Donlon Hall9 firesBurn marks were found on room 310 door.Damage $0-$99
- Mary Donlon Hall9 firesBurn marks were found on posters on doors for rooms 624 and 629.Damage $0-$99
- Mary Donlon Hall9 firesBurn marks were found on the plastic dome and light fixture base in the stairway between 1st and 2nd floors.Damage $0-$99
- Mary Donlon Hall9 firesBurn marks were found on a light fixture and handrails in the stairway between 2nd and 3rd floors.Damage $100-$999
- Mary Donlon Hall9 firesFire damage was found on the east stairway ceiling.Damage $0-$99
- Mary Donlon Hall9 firesBurn marks were found on the bottom steps in the south stairway ground floor and at the 4th floor.Damage $0-$99
- North Campus Townhouse A1 fireCookingDamage $0-$99
- Ganedago Hall2 firesBurn marks were found on a plastic sign inside the elevator.Damage $0-$99
- Ganedago Hall2 firesA sofa in the 4th Floor lounge had a small burn mark in the fabric.Damage $0-$99
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hall1 fireClothing and trash was set on fire in 4th floor hallway. Sprinkler activated to control fire.Damage $10,000-$24,999
- The House1 fireCookingDamage $250,000-$499,999
Data quality: 2 reports were later determined unfounded across the reporting period and are excluded from the totals above.
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Cornell vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Cornell selected for federal comparison reporting.
A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.
| Carnegie | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectCornell University | 95% | — | 26,793 | $32,337 | R1 Research |
Brown University | 96% | 5.4% | 11,956 | $26,572 | R1 Research |
Columbia University in the City of New York | 96% | 4.0% | 35,173 | $20,148 | R1 Research |
Duke University | 97% | 5.7% | 17,499 | $34,454 | R1 Research |
Harvard University | 98% | 3.6% | 30,259 | $16,816 | R1 Research |
Johns Hopkins University | 94% | 6.4% | 30,210 | $18,161 | R1 Research |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 96% | 4.5% | 11,886 | $19,813 | R1 Research |
Northwestern University | 95% | 7.7% | 23,856 | $27,143 | R1 Research |
Princeton University | 98% | 4.6% | 9,137 | $10,555 | R1 Research |
Stanford University | 92% | 3.6% | 18,625 | $12,136 | R1 Research |
University of California-Berkeley | 93% | 11.0% | 45,882 | $14,979 | R1 Research |
University of California-Los Angeles | 93% | 9.0% | 47,335 | $14,013 | R1 Research |
University of Chicago | 96% | 4.5% | 18,566 | $18,967 | R1 Research |
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 85% | 42.4% | 59,238 | $15,201 | R1 Research |
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 93% | 15.6% | 52,855 | $14,832 | R1 Research |
University of Pennsylvania | 97% | 5.4% | 29,109 | $31,229 | R1 Research |
University of Wisconsin-Madison | 90% | 45.2% | 51,044 | $16,928 | R1 Research |
Washington University in St Louis | 94% | 12.1% | 16,357 | $22,117 | R1 Research |
Yale University | 96% | 3.9% | 15,564 | $27,818 | R1 Research |
| Peer group median | 95% | 5.6% | 26,793 | $18,967 |
Cornell Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
The mission of Institutional Research & Planning (IRP) is to provide official, accurate, and unbiased information and analysis about the university in support of institutional planning, decision-making, and reporting obligations.
Visit IR office page- Marin ClarkbergAssoc Vice Provost, Institutional Research & Planning
- Jason HechtSenior Research & Planning Assoc, Institutional Research & Planning
- Monique HarrisonSenior Research & Planning Assoc, Institutional Research & Planning
Common Data Set (17)
The institution's official annual Common Data Set publications — the most detailed reference for enrollment, admissions, and outcomes.
Reports & documents (5)
Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.
- DashboardDashboardirp.cornell.edu
- Data definitionGlossaryThis glossary provides definitions for select terms on the Cornell Data Services website that may be unfamiliar to users. It is not intended to be comprehensive, but rather a resource for understanding key concepts related to data management and research.data.research.cornell.edu
- DFR reportIPEDS Data Feedback Report 20242024nces.ed.gov
- FactbookUniversity Factbook - Institutional Research & Planning2026The Cornell University Factbook, published by the Office of Institutional Research & Planning, offers official, accurate, and unbiased information about various key metrics, including student enrollment, faculty and staff numbers, and degrees conferred. The Factbook provides detailed insights into undergraduate and graduate admissions, human resources, and tuition, covering the university's core structural and academic aspects. It also includes various reports and data sets to support institutional research and accreditation processes.irp.cornell.edu
- GlossaryGlossaryThis glossary, hosted by Cornell Data Services, provides definitions for select terms associated with data management and related topics. It serves as a resource for understanding key concepts such as archiving, attribution, data stewardship, legal issues, privacy, and technical specifications in the context of data management. Emphasis is placed on defining terms relevant to maintaining the integrity, accessibility, and reusability of data, underscoring principles like FAIR and open access.data.research.cornell.edu
Notable alumni of Cornell (24)
A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.
- Pearl S. BuckLiterature
- Toni MorrisonLiterature
- Junot DíazLiterature
- Kurt VonnegutLiterature
- E. B. WhiteLiterature
- Claudia GoldinEconomics
- Ann CoulterPolitics
- Harold BloomLiterature
- Richard MeierArchitecture
- David DuffieldBusiness
- NoViolet BulawayoLiterature
- Edwin W. KemmererEconomics
Frequently asked questions about Cornell University
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Cornell.
What is the graduation rate at Cornell University?
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