UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS GUIDE
Cornell has eight undergraduate colleges and schools in Ithaca, New York, and you apply to just one. That choice sets your supplemental essays and any portfolio or design work, and if you live in New York State, it can also lower your tuition. Start here to choose your college, then prepare each part of your application.
Fall 2027 entry
CHOOSE YOUR ACADEMIC HOME
You apply to one of Cornell’s eight undergraduate colleges and schools, and it becomes your academic home, with its own majors, required courses, and degree. In the SC Johnson College of Business, the Dyson School and the Nolan School are separate choices.
YOUR COLLEGE
In Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), you’re admitted straight into the major you select. In Arts and Sciences, you list up to two interests and declare a major by the end of sophomore year.
ITS COURSES
Engineering requires calculus, physics, and chemistry. Several CALS majors require calculus too, and the Nolan School asks for three years of one language.
ITS APPLICATION
Each college writes its own essay questions. Architecture, art, landscape architecture, and three design majors also need a portfolio or design work.
Five of these choices are New York State contract colleges or programs: CALS, Human Ecology, Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR), the Dyson School, and the B.S. degrees in the Brooks School of Public Policy. In 2026–27, tuition there is $49,816 for qualifying New York residents, compared with $73,946 elsewhere at Cornell and for students from outside New York. These are prices before aid. With aid, your family may save less than the difference.
Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS): Majors across the life, agricultural, environmental, and social sciences. Precalculus, biology, and chemistry are required. Biological Sciences, Food Science, Global & Public Health Sciences, Information Science, and several other majors also require calculus, and Atmospheric Science, Biological Engineering, Earth & Climate Sciences, and Environmental Engineering require physics.
Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP): The five-year professional B.Arch., the B.F.A., or the B.S. in Urban and Regional Studies. Architecture requires four years of math and recommends calculus and physics, and architecture and art both require a portfolio.
Arts and Sciences: More than 40 majors across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Expect four years of English, three of math through precalculus, three of science, and three years of one language, or its third level.
Duffield Engineering: A common first-year curriculum, then you join a major in your second year. Four years of math including calculus, plus physics and chemistry, are required, and one of your two teacher letters must come from a STEM teacher (science, technology, engineering, or math). Global Start offers a first semester in Santander, Spain.
Human Ecology: Majors in nutrition and health, design and technology, and human development and behavior. Expect four years each of English, math, and science. Chemistry is required for several health majors and for pre-health students.
Brooks School of Public Policy: Public Policy or Health Care Policy, with four years of English and math and three of science expected. DC Start, a first semester in Washington with coursework and a community-partner project, takes an extra essay.
SC Johnson College of Business: Two separate choices, and both ask for a résumé. The Dyson School (Applied Economics and Management) requires calculus if your school offers it. The Nolan School (Hotel Administration) asks for math through precalculus, chemistry, and three years of one language, and strongly recommends calculus unless you finish precalculus in grade 12.
Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR): One interdisciplinary B.S. about work, employment, organizations, and labor rights, drawing on law, economics, and the social sciences. Four years of English and math are expected, with strong social-science preparation.
Computing: Cornell Bowers Computing and Information Science isn’t a separate choice for first-year applicants.
Arts and Sciences: 120 credits, including two first-year writing seminars, a language, and at least eight courses across ten distribution categories. AP, IB, and A-level results don’t complete the language requirement on their own.
CALS: For students entering from fall 2025 on, at least 120 credits, including 39 across distribution areas such as sustainability, data literacy, ethics, and communication.
Engineering: A shared foundation comes before your major, and you take at least six liberal studies courses across at least three groups.
Dyson and Nolan: Dyson’s degree includes a three-part Grand Challenges sequence that ends in a capstone. Nolan’s degree adds 800 hours of practice to at least 120 classroom credits.
ILR: Your first year includes labor history, economics, the psychology or sociology of work, and an introduction to ILR.
In every college: Every student also completes Cornell’s physical education and swim requirements.
Changing colleges: You can apply to move to another Cornell college from March 1 of your first year, with a decision by mid-June. It depends on eligibility, preparation, fit, and space, so apply to the college you want to graduate from.
UNDERSTAND WHAT CORNELL LOOKS FOR
Across the colleges, Cornell looks for academic preparation, curiosity, character, involvement, and fit with the college you choose. Each college describes these qualities in its own words.
YOUR PREPARATION
Each college lists the courses it expects, and some are firm requirements. CALS, for example, looks for academic potential and readiness, and considers the courses available at your school.
Letrado’s adviceCheck your college’s list before you choose next year’s classes. If your school doesn’t offer a course you need, ask your counselor to mention it.
YOUR CURIOSITY
Arts and Sciences looks for curiosity, open-mindedness, and persistence. Engineering looks at your intellectual potential and what you’d contribute. Architecture, Art, and Planning looks for creative commitment and how your work has developed.
Letrado’s adviceShow the steps behind the interest: what you read, what you tried, and what you still want to find out.
YOUR FIT
Human Ecology looks for concern with community needs, and Brooks for what draws you to policy and how deeply you’ve engaged. The business school looks for service, leadership, and collaboration, and ILR for an understanding of questions about work and labor.
Letrado’s adviceConnect something you’ve already done to something this college teaches. If your reason would fit any university, it isn’t specific enough yet.
WHAT CORNELL DESCRIBES
Architecture asks for a short video and art for a recorded interview, each alongside a required portfolio, and landscape architecture needs a portfolio too.
15–20 slides, at most two per project, and a continuous, unedited video of up to three minutes on your creativity, one creative project, and why architecture.
At least 10 artworks and a 3–5 minute video or audio interview about making art, your goals, what makes an artwork, and an artist or work that interests you.
10–12 pieces, each with its title, size, intent, and medium, sent through SlideRoom, the portfolio platform.
Required portfolios are due with your application. Architecture and art don’t allow hired help, or anyone else’s or AI-made work passed off as your own.
WHAT CORNELL SAYS
AI that outlines, drafts, writes, or translates your responses; AI-made portfolio work; someone else writing, rewriting, or choosing your topic; and templates.
AI for researching colleges and building your list; brainstorming topics with a counselor or someone in your community; and feedback on grammar from friends or family.
The Common App’s fraud policy also covers presenting AI output as your own original work.
CORNELL COMMON DATA SET, 2025–26
Of 9,720 applicants offered a place on the waitlist, 6,598 accepted one, and 254 were admitted from it.
Among enrolled students who sent scores, the middle half scored 1490–1550 on the SAT and 33–35 on the ACT. That class applied under earlier testing rules.
PLAN THE APPLICATION
You apply through the Common App, to one college. Your application, fee, and any required portfolio or design supplement are due November 1 for Early Decision or January 2 for Regular Decision, and your other required materials follow by November 13 or January 19.
Early Decision
Nov 1Regular Decision
Jan 2Early Decision is binding: if Cornell admits you, you enroll and withdraw your other applications. If Cornell moves your application to Regular Decision instead, the commitment ends. A denial is final. Dates without a year are as Cornell lists them.
The fee is $85. The Common App’s fee waiver needs no extra Cornell paperwork, and applicants through QuestBridge, a college-access program, don’t pay a fee.
A transcript, the school report, a counselor recommendation, two teacher recommendations, and a midyear report when your grades are ready. Cornell encourages Early Decision applicants to send first-marking-period grades.
Required in every college for fall 2027. Test by October for Early Decision or by December for Regular Decision, and self-report your scores. Official scores are needed only if you enroll, unless you’re a recruited athlete.
Architecture, art, and landscape architecture need a portfolio, and Design and Environmental Analysis, Fashion Design, and Fashion Design Management need a design supplement, all due with your application. The Dyson and Nolan schools ask for a résumé.
It has its own submit step in the Common App. It can follow your application, but Cornell recommends sending it by your deadline.
For exceptional musicians who expect to take part substantially, whatever their major. Send it through the applicant portal after you apply, by November 6 for Early Decision or January 7 for Regular Decision.
Superscoring: For both the SAT and the ACT, Cornell combines your best section scores across test dates, and you can use SAT Score Choice to pick which test dates you send. The ACT’s science section isn’t required. Codes: SAT 2098, ACT 2726.
Reporting: Self-report in the Common App or the applicant portal. If you enroll, your official scores must match. False scores can cost you your place.
English tests: You don’t need one if you’re a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, a native English speaker, or have been taught mainly in English for the past four years.
Minimum scores: TOEFL 100 for tests taken before January 2026, or 5 from January 2026, with 5.5 recommended. IELTS 7.5, Duolingo English Test 130, and Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency 191. Self-report these too. Official reports are needed only if you enroll.
Letrado’s advice: Follow Cornell’s central testing policy, linked below, and ask the admissions office about anything that doesn’t match it.
Transcripts: Your school sends official transcripts in its own grading system, with English translations, online or by mail, and you need one from each school you’ve attended. Cornell doesn’t use credential evaluators or convert your grades to a U.S. GPA.
Engineering letters: If you’re an international applicant, or English is your second language, Engineering asks that your second teacher letter speak to your English.
Your student visa: Once you’re admitted and send proof of funding, Cornell issues the I-20, the form you need to apply for an F-1 student visa, or a DS-2019 for a J-1 exchange visa. The U.S. State Department says new students can get a visa up to 365 days before their program starts and enter the U.S. up to 30 days before it. Canadian and Bermudian students generally don’t need a visa, but still need the I-20.
Health insurance: Cornell enrolls you in its Student Health Plan unless it approves a waiver, and international students generally can’t waive it. Your family’s insurance at home isn’t enough on its own.
QuestBridge finalists: You can rank Cornell in the binding National College Match. If you rank Cornell and don’t match, you move to Regular Decision automatically. You still send Cornell’s writing supplement and any program extras, and international citizens can’t use Cornell’s Match.
Starting later: Cornell decides requests to defer your start by one or two years case by case, and generally supports mandatory military service. Ask through the applicant portal by March 1 after Early Decision or June 1 after Regular Decision. Students matched through QuestBridge can’t defer.
After you apply: The applicant portal tracks your materials and takes updates. Near a deadline, allow up to two weeks for documents to show as received.
WRITE IN YOUR OWN VOICE
One supplement, set by your collegeMost colleges ask for one essay of up to 650 words. Human Ecology asks for 550, CALS for two essays of 350, and Engineering for two answers of 200 words and four of 100.
For fall 2027, every Cornell question belongs to one college, and you answer only your own college’s questions. Cornell doesn’t allow AI to outline, draft, or write your responses, or anyone else to write them or choose your topic.
Letrado’s adviceRead your college’s question before you settle on your Common App topic, so the two pieces show different sides of you. Then name what you’d actually use at that college: a major, a required course, or a program such as DC Start in Washington or Global Start in Spain.
The first asks why you’re interested in the major you selected, drawing on your experiences, questions, and goals. The second asks how you’d fit into the CALS community and the impact you hope to have.
Architecture asks about the creative experiences and interests that led you to it. Art asks for an artist statement on your voice, influences, process, and fit, which you also submit in SlideRoom. Urban and Regional Studies asks about your interest in cities and communities, and your goals.
Describe your intellectual interests and the questions that make you curious, and link them to the college’s courses and opportunities.
Two ask why engineering and why Cornell Engineering. Four shorter ones ask what brings you joy, the voice or contribution you’d bring, an activity that matters to you, and an award or achievement.
Human Ecology asks how your experiences and the needs of communities connect to its mission and your chosen major, and what impact you hope to have.
Describe the policy questions that interest you, rooted in your experiences, values, and goals. If you apply for DC Start, a second essay of 350 words explains why it fits you.
Describe the experiences and issues that matter to you, and why the Dyson School or the Nolan School fits. Both schools also ask for a résumé.
Describe the personal, academic, or work interests that drew you to ILR, why those questions matter to you, and how ILR fits them.
Draw a five-panel storyboard about a community problem by hand. Then make an AI-generated five-panel version and write your comparison and reflection: that AI step is DEA’s own instruction, not permission to use AI anywhere else. Add three to five earlier creative examples, up to five pages, and a résumé of up to two pages. It’s due November 1, 2026 for Early Decision or January 2, 2027 for Regular Decision.
Fashion Design asks for 12 to 15 pieces of work, at least one showing your process, plus three answers of up to 150 words. Fashion Design Management asks for three answers of up to 150 words and three to five creative examples. Each adds a résumé of up to two pages, and both rule out help from consultants and AI, so our mentors stay out of them. Both are due November 1, 2026 for Early Decision or January 2, 2027 for Regular Decision.
YOUR COMMON APP ESSAY
WHAT THE COMMON APP ASKS
The prompts are the same as last year’s. The last one lets you write about any topic you choose, and it was last year’s most popular choice (28%).
You write the essay once, in the part of the application your colleges share, so write it for every reader rather than one school. Each college’s own questions come separately.
LETRADO’S ADVICE
Write the essay no one else could write. If another applicant could have written a sentence, swap it for something only you would say.
Sound like yourself. Plain sentences and everyday words work better than impressive vocabulary.
Tell it as it happened. Keep to the facts, seen from where you stood. Don’t add drama or invent details.
Skip the big lesson. A small, true observation shows more than a claim about growth.
Any topic can work. An ordinary moment, or a setback, often says more than a trophy.
MAKE ROOM FOR THE FINANCIAL QUESTION
Cornell meets the full demonstrated need of admitted students who are eligible for its aid, as Cornell calculates that need. The aid is a mix of grants, work-study, and loans, depending on your family’s income. Cornell’s own grants are based on need alone: there are no merit or athletic scholarships.
FAMILY INCOME BELOW $75,000
For most families with typical assets, Cornell expects no contribution from parents or student, and the aid includes $5,000 of work-study.
U.S. CITIZENS AND PERMANENT RESIDENTS
Asking for aid doesn’t affect your admission decision. Cornell treats some other groups the same way, as its U.S. aid page explains.
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS
Cornell considers your aid request when it decides. Ask for aid when you apply: if you’re admitted without asking, you can’t apply for Cornell need-based aid later.
Full need means need as Cornell calculates it, which may differ from your family’s own budget.
Cornell on affordability (opens in a new tab)PUBLISHED 2026–27 COST · BEFORE AID
$99,734This is Cornell’s 2026–27 total in its endowed colleges (Architecture, Art, and Planning; Arts and Sciences; Engineering; and the Nolan School) and for contract-college students from outside New York. For qualifying New York residents in a contract college, the total is $75,604. Neither includes travel or health insurance.
For fall 2027 entry, use the 2027–28 costs when Cornell publishes them. The Student Health Plan’s full 12-month premium is $4,092 for 2026–27, and Cornell’s need-based grants don’t cover it. The $600 health fee isn’t insurance.
Cornell’s cost to attend (opens in a new tab)Letrado’s adviceIf you’re a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, run Cornell’s net price calculator as a family before you apply. The calculators aren’t built for international applicants. If that’s you and you might need aid, ask for it when you apply.
New York residents in a contract college may also qualify for the state’s Excelsior Scholarship, with a combined federal adjusted gross income of $125,000 or less, among other conditions. You take at least 30 credits a year, then live in New York, and work there if you’re employed, for as many years as you received it. If you don’t, all or part of it becomes a loan that you repay without interest. Applying to the Brooks School? Ask Cornell’s aid office whether Excelsior applies there.
New York’s Excelsior Scholarship (opens in a new tab)ADMITTED TO CORNELL · Z.W.
She went to the international division of a public high school in China and was drawn to molecular biology, public health, and science communication. Her parents linked research prestige with readiness for biology, and an early draft said she had conducted cancer research, because that was how her summer lab program had been marketed. We helped her say plainly what she did in each activity.
For each group activity, she set out the larger project, her assigned tasks, the skills she gained, and the limits of her role. Short summer programs that added little got less space.
Explaining biology diagrams showed her that understanding an idea isn’t the same as making it clear. Her main essay explored how scientific knowledge can become less useful when the way it’s presented confuses readers.
She wrote all her responses herself and didn’t ask lab staff for a grander title. Feedback helped her explain technical work clearly without taking credit for her supervisors’ work.
The Common App (opens in a new tab) asks you to affirm that your application is your own work, factually true, and honestly presented. Being exact about your role, as Z.W. was, doesn’t weaken a science application.
AI illustrationHER CORNELL OUTCOME
Offered a place at Cornell University
HER CHOICE: UCLARoyce Hall, UCLA · Photo: Beyond My Ken / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped.
Johns Hopkins matched her early interests most closely. In the end she weighed biology, public-health access, campus life, and her family’s cost, and UCLA let her explore before committing to a research specialty.
ALSO ADMITTED TO
WHEN YOU’D LIKE A HAND
Bring your questions to a free 45-minute introduction with your proposed mentor. Afterward, we’ll email a personalized plan with recommended next steps.
