NY · Large private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #47 nationally
Data snapshot · Updated
Azimuth ranks Cornell #47 nationally, driven by a return in the 99th percentile.
Who it’s a good fit for
Cornell University is a private nonprofit university in Ithaca, New York, with a degree mix led by Computer & Information Sciences, Biological Sciences, and Business. Return is among the highest we track.
Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes part of the gap to the factors it measures — field of study, enrollment and the local labor market — while another portion subtracts from it.
Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, so the four-year earnings figure is measured while most are in the workforce. The net price for the lowest income band sits far below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it.
Pell students complete within a few points of the rate for the entering cohort as a whole, and mobility is among the highest we track. The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools, and the degree mix leans toward STEM fields.
Cornell University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]
Cornell University is a private nonprofit university located in Ithaca, New York, with an undergraduate enrollment of 15,995. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, the university sits near the top of the composite ranking (97th percentile).
Cornell University accepts 8.8% of those who apply, while the peer median for comparable institutions of the same type and size is 47.1%. The first-year retention rate is 98.4%, and the six-year graduation rate is 95.4%.
Peer medians for comparable institutions are 90.1% and 80.0%, respectively. An estimated 12.5% of the student body enters as transfers, which means the six-year graduation figure tracks only the first-time, full-time cohort and not the full undergraduate population.
Return is the strongest of the four pillars (99th percentile), and affordability is the weakest (41st percentile). Mobility and access sit close together between those two, at the 93rd and 91st percentiles, which leaves the four pillars spread far apart from one another across the Azimuth framework.
Azimuth evaluates Cornell University across four pillars among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. The return pillar leads at the 99th percentile, reflecting a median earnings figure four years after completion that sits in the 99th percentile nationally.
The mobility pillar follows at the 93rd percentile, and access reaches the 91st percentile. Affordability is the weakest pillar, in the 41st percentile, the only one below the median for nonprofit four-year institutions.
18.4% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. Those students complete at 91.5%, 3.9 percentage points below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole.
Azimuth ranks the university #131 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks the university #99 for mobility. Completers earn about $7,502 more than the model expects for similar students.
Cornell University publishes a cost of attendance of $88,140, an average across living arrangements. Tuition and fees are $69,314 and room and board are $19,428.
The average net price for aid recipients is $28,690, which is below the peer median of $36,211 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $7,521. Aid covers about 67% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, a reduction of $59,450 from the sticker total.
Azimuth ranks the university #828 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.
The published cost of attendance is $88,140. Azimuth ranks Cornell University #828 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.
After grants and scholarships, aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 average $1,776, those earning $48,001 to $75,000 average $6,796, and those earning over $110,000 average $49,992. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $48,216.
Aid covers about 67% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, leaving an average net price—what aid recipients actually pay—of $28,690. That is $7,521 below the $36,211 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).
78.3% of federal aid recipients take out a federal loan. Borrowers who finish carry a median of $14,000 in federal student loans, $9,168 below the $23,168 median for comparable institutions.
If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $159 a month. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $38,000 in Parent PLUS loans.
Your family income
Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.
Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$6,796
After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.
Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.
Borrowing and repayment at Cornell University
Cornell University graduates who borrow federal loans carry a median of $14,000 at completion. That median runs below the $23,168 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $9,168.
About 78.3% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. For a separate population of parent borrowers, the median Parent PLUS loan is $38,000.
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 33% of a 3,606-graduate cohort borrowed from any source, with an average cumulative principal of $25,655 per borrower. Federal loans accounted for an average of $12,191 among the 31% of graduates who held them, while 6% of graduates carried private loans averaging $68,894 per private borrower.
Cornell University sits in the 99th percentile for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions, and the earnings figures bear that out. Four years after completion, graduates earn a median of $113,372, a level that places the university in the 99th percentile nationally.
Graduates earn about $7,502 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome in the 78th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix point to a typical earnings figure of $113,372.
The downside scenario, reflecting lower-earning program clusters, sits at $65,576, while the upside scenario reaches $183,095. On the borrowing side, the median federal student debt at completion is $14,000, which is below the $23,168 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $9,168.
If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment on that median debt comes to $159.
Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $38,000. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $159.
Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.
Estimated student payment · monthly
$159/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$483/mo
Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.
Payment assumptions
Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.
Four years after completing their degrees, Cornell University graduates who are working and not enrolled post median earnings of $113,372. That level is in the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
That figure runs above the peer median of $83,615 by $29,757, among comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth ranks the university's return pillar at the 99th percentile.
Graduates earn about $7,502 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 78th percentile nationally. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $15,505.
The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $8,003. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $6,269.
Graduates of Cornell University earn a median of $113,372 four years after completing a degree, placing the university in the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The figure is drawn from an earnings cohort of 3,486 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled.
Graduates earn about $7,502 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the university's program mix, show a typical figure of $113,372.
The downside earnings scenario is $65,576 and the upside reaches $183,095. An estimated 31.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.
Four years after completion, Cornell University graduates earn a median of $113,372, placing the university in the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure is above the median of $83,615 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $29,757.
Graduates earn about $7,502 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 78th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $15,505.
The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $8,003. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $6,269.
Azimuth ranks Cornell University #17 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $65,576 and an upside of $183,095.
The largest program, Computer Science, awarded 504 degrees and shows median earnings of $223,309 four years after completion, ranking #3 nationally in its field according to Azimuth. Agricultural Business and Management ranks #1 nationally, with median earnings of $145,218, which is 2.18x the national median for its field.
The range between the downside and upside scenarios spans $65,576 to $183,095, reflecting the variation in earnings potential across the university's program clusters. Program-level data underscores this spread: Computer Science, the largest program with 504 degrees awarded, shows median earnings of $223,309, while Biology graduates earn a median of $69,083.
Operations Research completers, a smaller program with 80 degrees awarded, reach a median of $151,709 four years after completion.
Graduates of Cornell University earn a median of $113,372 four years after completion, and they carry relatively little federal debt to get there. The median federal student loan debt for borrowers who finish is $14,000, which is $9,168 below the $23,168 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).
That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $159 a month if repaid over ten years. Parents who borrow through the separate Parent PLUS program hold a median of $38,000.
The published cost of attendance is $88,140 (an average across living arrangements), but the —what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—is $28,690. Aid covers about 67% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, though this is an average and not a personal quote.
The spread between the lowest and highest income bands is $48,216, with families earning under $30,000 paying an average of $1,776 and those earning over $110,000 paying $49,992.
What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$15,505
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$8,003
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$7,502
These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.
Cornell University admitted 8.8% of applicants in the most recent cycle, well below the median of 47.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 72,523 applicants, 6,077 admitted, and 3,827 enrolled first-year students.
SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
8.8%
25th percentile
1490
Median
1530
75th percentile
1550
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
The highest-earning program at Cornell University is also the largest. Computer Science awards 504 degrees a year and its graduates earn a median of $223,309 four years after completion.
Azimuth ranks it #3 nationally within its field. Several other large programs sit at more moderate earnings levels.
Biology graduates earn $69,083 from 290 degrees awarded, and Azimuth places it #32 in its field. Human Resources Management and Services reports $112,713 across 282 degrees, with a national rank of #1.
A smaller program, Agricultural Business and Management, shows earnings of $145,218 from 190 degrees awarded and holds an Azimuth national rank of #1. The spread between the highest- and moderate-earning fields is wide.
Cornell University publishes earnings data for 40 bachelor's programs, and 37 hold an Azimuth national rank. Two of the five largest programs—Human Resources Management and Services and Hospitality Administration/Management—each rank #1 in their field nationally, and both also rank #1 in New York.
The largest program, Computer Science, awarded 504 degrees and ranks #3 nationally, with graduates earning a median of $223,309 four years after completion. Human Resources Management and Services awarded 282 degrees, ranks #1 nationally, and shows a median of $112,713.
Hospitality Administration/Management ranks #1 nationally with 226 degrees awarded and a median of $112,289. Biology, the second-largest program, awarded 290 degrees and ranks #32 nationally, with a median of $69,083.
Cornell University awards bachelor's degrees across 37 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 40 with published four-year earnings data. The program mix is led by Computer & Information Sciences, which accounts for 17.2% of degrees awarded, followed by Biological Sciences at 12.2% and Business at 12.1%.
The largest single programs are Computer Science at 504 degrees awarded, Biology at 290, and Human Resources Management and Services at 282. Computer Science is also the highest-earning program, with a median of $223,309 four years after completion.
Azimuth ranks it #3 nationally within its field and #1 in New York. Human Resources Management and Services is the highest-ranked program, and its completers earn a median of $112,713 four years after completion.
Agricultural Business and Management carries a benchmark ratio of 2.18x against the national median for its field, with median earnings of $145,218. Hospitality Administration/Management also holds the top national spot in its field, at #1, with 226 degrees awarded and earnings of $112,289.
Agricultural Business and Management awards 190 degrees a year and ranks #1 in New York within its field. Strength is concentrated across several fields rather than resting on a single program.
47.9% of degrees awarded are in STEM, and the largest programs in computing and business carry strong earnings and national ranks. Students should note that four-year earnings for fields where graduate study commonly follows understate later trajectories.
Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Computer Science 504 degrees awarded
$223,309
Biology, General 290 degrees awarded
$69,083
Human Resources Management and Services 282 degrees awarded
Computer and Information Sciences, General 220 degrees awarded
$144,389
Agricultural Business and Management 190 degrees awarded
$145,218
Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.
How does Cornell University serve students from different backgrounds?
Azimuth places Cornell University in the 93rd percentile for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 95.4%, while Pell recipients complete at 91.5% — below the overall rate by 3.9 percentage points.
Graduates earn about $7,502 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that lands in the 78th percentile nationally.
Azimuth places the access pillar of Cornell University in the 91st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The university admits 8.8% of applicants, far below the peer median of 47.1%, and enrolls 15,995 undergraduates.
Pell Grant recipients account for 18.4% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 12.5% arrive as transfers or part-time students.
Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.
A shortlist for different decisions
Choose a row to compare the figures with Cornell University.
Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.
Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.
Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.
Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.
Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.
Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.
Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.
Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.
Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.
Source fields: ADM_RATE
Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.
Source fields: C150_4
Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.
Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR
Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.
Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN
National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.
Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.
Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV
Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.
Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.
Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.
SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.
First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.
Source fields: RET_FT4
Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.
Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.
Source fields: PCTPELL
Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.
Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF
Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.
Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR