Cornell University

Cornell University remains one of the most selective private research institutions in the country, maintaining a steady standing in national assessments. In the 2027 US News National University Rankings, Cornell placed 14th, mirroring its position a decade earlier after fluctuating slightly in the intervening years. Securing admission is challenging. For the 2025 cycle, the university posted an overall acceptance rate of 8.8%, which was higher than 57% of thirty similarly ranked private research universities. This acceptance figure reflects intense competition, though its admission rate is slightly higher than the median of its peer group. Admitted applicants demonstrate a strong preference for enrolling once accepted; the university achieved a yield rate of 63.9%, higher than 67% of peer schools. For prospective applicants, this healthy yield rate indicates that a clear majority of admitted candidates choose Cornell over alternative offers, reinforcing the need for candidates to build an application portfolio that stands out in a very crowded applicant pool.

Standardized testing at Cornell University is optional, considered if submitted. For the 2025 score reporting year, enrolled undergraduates who chose to submit test results scored between 33 and 35 on the ACT composite. Looking at institutional peer comparisons among 30 similarly ranked private comprehensive universities, Cornell’s median SAT score of 1540 is higher than 41% of peer schools. Testing participation has shifted in recent years, with 40% of enrolled undergraduates submitting SAT results in 2025. In applicant cases collected by Forward Pathway, which are not official data, admitted international students recorded a median unweighted high school GPA of 3.92. These figures suggest that while testing remains optional during the evaluation process, applicants face an academically competitive selection environment where successful candidates generally demonstrate top-tier secondary school grades and strong testing benchmarks when submitted.

Cornell provides extensive academic options where student enrollment is distributed across diverse disciplines rather than heavily concentrated in a few areas. In 2025, the top three undergraduate programs accounted for 25.4% of all bachelor's degrees. The largest single undergraduate major was Computer Science, which awarded 516 degrees. Academic excellence aligns closely with student demand: in US News rankings, Cornell placed 3rd nationally for undergraduate programming languages in 2027, while its graduate program in veterinary medicine achieved a 2nd-place ranking in 2026. Early career financial outcomes underscore the market strength of its technical programs. Based on 2023 earnings data, median earnings one year after graduation reached $151,551 for Computer Science bachelor's recipients, leading all undergraduate disciplines at the university. For applicants targeting high-earning technical fields, Cornell pairs nationally recognized curriculum quality with proven post-graduate earnings.

Cornell enrolled a demographically diverse student body in 2025 across its undergraduate and advanced degree divisions. Asian and international scholars make up prominent segments of the campus population. Among first-year undergraduate students, Asian students totaled 1,020, representing 28.9% of the entering class, forming the second-largest racial group behind White students. In contrast, the international student presence is heavily concentrated at the graduate level. In the graduate student body, international students numbered 5,287, making up 49.6% of all graduate enrollment. Domestic Hispanic, Black, and multiracial students comprise the remainder of the campus. For students considering Cornell, these figures highlight an academic community with substantial Asian representation at the undergraduate level and an evenly balanced domestic and international mix within graduate study.

Cornell's undergraduate population is predominantly composed of traditional college-age students and younger cohorts. In 2025, students aged 18 to 19 made up 48.2% of all undergraduates, while those under 18 accounted for 42.9%, leaving only a small fraction in older age brackets. This structure means undergraduate campus life centers almost exclusively around young adults embarking on their initial postsecondary experience. By comparison, the graduate student community exhibits a broader age distribution, led by students aged 22 to 24 who represent 28.8% of the graduate cohort, followed closely by scholars in their mid-to-late twenties. The presence of these older graduate students creates a dual campus dynamic, separating early-stage undergraduate social life from advanced research and professional study.

International enrollment trends at Cornell show a clear divergence between undergraduate and graduate divisions. At the undergraduate level, international representation has remained steady over the past decade, standing at 10.3% in 2025. In contrast, the graduate division has experienced notable expansion in its international student presence, rising over time to reach 49.6% of all graduate students in 2025. International degree recipients are distributed differently across degree levels and academic disciplines. Among undergraduate degree earners, international students represent modest shares in popular fields like Computer Science and Hospitality Management. At the master's degree level, however, international scholars make up the vast majority in technical and analytical disciplines, accounting for 84% of degree recipients in Management Science and large shares in Information Technology and Law. For prospective international students, these patterns demonstrate that while undergraduate entry remains highly selective with a limited international footprint, graduate programs maintain an extensive global student base heavily focused on quantitative and professional fields.

Prospective applicants considering Cornell in upstate New York can look into several nearby institutions across varying campus settings. Located 36.2 kilometers away, Binghamton University is a public research university ranked 73rd among National Universities in the 2027 rankings. Also in close range is Hobart William Smith Colleges, situated 38.2 kilometers away and ranked 60th among Liberal Arts Colleges. To the north, Syracuse University is located 44.4 kilometers from Ithaca, holding the 72nd spot in the 2027 National University rankings. For those seeking selective liberal arts options, Colgate University lies 54.6 kilometers away and is ranked 22nd on the Liberal Arts College list.

Campus safety data at Cornell reflects an overall downward trend in reportable incidents over the past decade. The crime rate per 1,000 students declined to 7.2 in 2025, reaching its lowest recorded level in recent years. Looking at specific infractions across the three-year period from 2023 to 2025, disciplinary actions related to alcohol regulations formed the overwhelming majority of all reported events, totaling 1,123 incidents. Other violations occurred with far lower frequency across those same three years, including 106 dating violence incidents alongside smaller numbers of stalking and sexual assault reports. For families and incoming students assessing campus security, the records indicate that safety concerns are largely dominated by university disciplinary referrals regarding substance policy enforcement rather than high rates of violent crime. Students should nevertheless stay familiar with campus security resources and local conduct guidelines while living in Ithaca.