Admissions & selectivity
Cornell University Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at Cornell University?
Cornell University’s reported acceptance rate is 8.8%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 8.8%
Source: College Scorecard · Fall 2024 admissions. Acceptance rates can change from year to year; this figure does not predict the current or next admission cycle.
How to interpret the acceptance rate
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.
What SAT and ACT scores do Cornell University students report?
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that enrolled first-year students who submitted SAT scores had a middle range of 1490 to 1550. 43% of the entering class submitted SAT scores.
For the 13% who submitted ACT scores, the middle range was 33 to 35. These ranges describe the middle half of enrolled students who provided scores, not a minimum for admission.
A low submitter share means the range reflects a smaller slice of the class. Among enrolled first-year students with a reported high-school class rank, 84% were in the highest tenth of their class and 97% were in the highest quarter.
Only 12% of the entering class reported a rank, so these figures describe a narrow subset of the cohort.
The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at Cornell University. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.
- 25th percentile
- 1490
- 75th percentile
- 1550
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
- 25th percentile
- 33
- 75th percentile
- 35
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
Who enrolls at Cornell University?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 18.4%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 12.5%
- First-year retention
- 98.4%
Retention source: College Scorecard; full-time first-year retention.
About these student measures
These measures use different populations and reporting periods, rather than one current entering class. The entering-student group includes part-time entrants as well as other attendance patterns.
Cornell University enrolled 15,995 undergraduates in its most recent federal snapshot. Pell Grant recipients make up 18.4% of undergraduates, and an estimated 12.5% of students enter as transfers or part-time students.
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 7,381 degree-seeking transfer applicants, of whom 864 were admitted and 625 enrolled. The undergraduate body reflects a mix of traditional first-year entrants and a smaller transfer pipeline.
Pell-eligible applicants should treat the net-price estimates on the financial planning page as a starting point, since aid packaging at a private nonprofit university can shift the final cost considerably.
Students who enroll at Cornell University persist and graduate at rates well above the norm for comparable institutions. The federal retention rate is 98.4%, against a peer median of 90.1%.
The six-year graduation rate is 95.4%, compared to a peer median of 80.0%. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 98% of the first-time, full-time fall 2024 entering class returned for a second year.
The six-year graduation rate for the first-time, full-time fall 2019 entering class was 95.0%, and Pell recipients in that cohort completed at 88.5%, below the overall rate. Federal data for Pell recipients shows a completion rate of 91.5%, which is 3.9 percentage points below the overall rate.
Data & methodology
A missing figure does not mean zero. Sources and reporting periods: methodology.
Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.
Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.
Admission rates describe past applicants, not an individual’s chance of admission; confirm requirements and deadlines with the institution.
Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.