United States · Ithaca, New York
Cornell University
The Ivy League's broadest undergraduate menu: engineering, agriculture, hotel management and arts under one roof
Photo: sach1tb · CC BY-SA 2.0
- QS World Ranking 2027
- #16
- Founded
- 1865
- Students
- 20,000
- Bachelor's degree
- 4 years
- Acceptance rate
- 8.4% overall; 3.6% international (Fall 2025 entry, CDS 2025-26)
- Typical IB offer
- No points cut-off published; subject requirements vary by college
- How admission works
- SAT or ACT required for all first-year applicants; English proficiency exam if English was not your language of instruction for the past four years (most competitive minimums: IELTS 7.5, Duolingo 130, TOEFL 100 for tests taken before January 2026 or 5.0 on the new scale, 5.5 recommended, from January 2026).
- Language of instruction
- English
The university publishes no A-level requirement and no IB points threshold. Cornell reads each applicant in the context of their school and curriculum.
Worth knowing
Cornell received 18,566 applications from international first-years for Fall 2025 and admitted 664. The 63% yield means most admitted students do enrol, so there is little slack on the waitlist: 254 people were admitted from it.
How hard is it to get in, and why
In the Common Data Set for Fall 2025 Cornell reports 72,523 first-year applicants and 6,077 admitted (8.4%); of 18,566 international applicants, 664 were admitted (3.6%). The SAT or ACT is required, along with the Common App, a Cornell writing supplement, two teacher recommendations and a counsellor recommendation. You apply to one college or school directly, so the bar and the essay depend on that choice. Admission for international students is need-aware.
What it costs
Tuition
$74k per year
2026-27 tuition of $73,946 applies to every international student in all colleges (the lower $49,816 rate is for New York State residents in four contract colleges only). The living figure is Cornell's own estimate: mandatory fees $1,024, housing $13,744, food $7,604, books $1,234 and personal expenses $2,182; it leaves out travel and the Cornell health plan, which is billed separately unless you have equivalent cover.
Living costs
$26k per year
Scholarships and financial aid
Cornell is need-aware for international applicants. If admitted, you receive Cornell grants, a work-study award and loans scaled to family income; the university says it meets 100% of demonstrated need. No aid can be requested after enrolment unless it was requested with the application.
How to apply
Apply through the Common App with the Cornell supplement. Early Decision (binding) closed on 1 November in the current cycle (other materials were due 13 November); Regular Decision closes on 2 January with other materials due 19 January. SAT or ACT scores are required, plus two teacher recommendations, a counsellor recommendation and school report. International students who need aid must apply for it at the same time: the CSS Profile is due by the admission deadline and cannot be added later.
Official websiteWhat makes it special
- You apply directly to one undergraduate college or school, each with its own essay and course expectations.
- About 10% of students come from more than 125 countries.
- Fall 2025 first-year class: 3,827 students, a 63% yield from 6,077 admits.
- Cornell meets 100% of demonstrated need for admitted international undergraduates with grants, work-study and reasonable loans.
About studying in United States
Four-year degrees and holistic admissions: universities read essays, recommendations and a record of what you have built or led, not only grades. Applications go through the Common App by early November (early rounds) or early January; most top universities have brought back SAT or ACT scores. Sticker prices are the highest in the world, but Harvard, MIT, Yale, Princeton and a few others admit international students without looking at family income and then cover the full demonstrated need.
Teaching staff
The dossier on teaching staff for this university is still being written.
The campus in photographs
Photographs come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences; the author and licence are shown on each image.
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