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College Ledger

Statement · Ithaca, NY

Cornell University

Private nonprofit4-year · Bachelor's degreesCompare with other schools →

  1. Families earning under $30k paid $1,776 a year after grants and aid, against a published cost of $88,140.

  2. Students who received federal aid earned a median $104,043 ten years after entering, the 98th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years.

  3. 95% of students finish within 150% of normal time.

Founded
1865
Enrollment, 2023
26,510
Website
cornell.edu
Motto
“I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study”
Campus of Cornell University

sach1tb · CC BY-SA 2.0

AboutPrivate university in Ithaca, New York, US. Wikipedia ↗

Read the Wikipedia extract

Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since its founding, Cornell University has been a co-educational and nonsectarian institution. As of fall 2024, the student body included 16,128 undergraduate and 10,665 postgraduate students from all 50 U.S. states and 130 countries.

From the Wikipedia article “Cornell University”, revision 1359506245, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.

What it costs

The published sticker cost is $88,140 a year; after grants, families who received aid paid between $1,776 and $49,992 a year depending on income at Cornell University.

Statement of cost · Cornell University

Family income (per year)
Sticker costPublished yearly cost of attendance, all students
$88,140
What families earning under $30k paidYearly net price after grants, for students receiving federal aid
$1,776
Average net price, all incomesAided students, all family incomes
$28,690
In-state tuition & feesLatest reported, 2024
$69,314

Each figure is reported separately; none is computed from another.

Net price by family income

Pick an income bracket above; the marked point follows. Dollars are what aided families paid each year after grants.

Yearly net price by family income, in dollars

under $30k: $1,776; $30–48k: $4,070; $48–75k: $6,796; $75–110k: $14,311; over $110k: $49,992. Shaded band: middle half of private nonprofit 4-years, from $17,360 to $28,210; dotted line at the median, $22,313.
  • Shaded: the middle half of private nonprofit 4-years (all incomes), $17,360 to $28,210. Dotted line: the median, $22,313.
Table of the same numbers
Average yearly net price by family income bracket
Family incomePaid per year
Under $30k$1,776
$30k–$48k$4,070
$48k–$75k$6,796
$75k–$110k$14,311
Over $110k$49,992

College Scorecard, 2023–24 aid cohort (students who received federal aid)

What graduates earn and owe

Ten years after entry, the median federally aided student here earns $104,043; the median graduate who borrowed owes $14,000.

Statement, continued

Earnings, 6 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
$87,830
Earnings, 8 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
$97,098
Median earnings 10 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
98th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years
$104,043
Median debt, graduatesStudents who finished and borrowed federal loans.
8th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years
$14,000
Median debt, all who borrowedEveryone who borrowed, whether or not they finished.
$13,000

Earnings and debt come from federal aid records, so students who never received federal aid are not counted.

Earnings after entry

The shaded band is the middle half of private nonprofit 4-years at 10 years: $43,845 to $62,830.

6 yrs after entry: $87,830; 8 yrs after entry: $97,098; 10 yrs after entry: $104,043. Median graduate debt: $14,000. Shaded band: middle half of private nonprofit 4-years at 10 years, from $43,845 to $62,830; dotted line at the median, $52,889.
  • Shaded: middle half of private nonprofit 4-years, 10 years out ($43,845 to $62,830); dotted line is the median.
  • Dashed: median graduate debt, $14,000.

Earnings cover federally aided (Title IV) students only. Hollow marks are rungs with no reported value, not zero.

Table of the same numbers
Earnings after entry and graduate debt
MeasureDollars
Median earnings, 6 yrs after entry$87,830
Median earnings, 8 yrs after entry$97,098
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry$104,043
Median graduate debt$14,000

College Scorecard, federal tax and aid records

What programs pay

Median earnings five years after completing, by field of study. Small programs are privacy-suppressed and shown as not reported, never zero.

What programs pay at Cornell University
ProgramCredentialGraduatesEarnings, 5 yrsMedian debt
Business Administration, Management and OperationsMaster's Degree574$212,807not reported
Computer ScienceBachelor's Degree507$219,827$14,698
Management Sciences and Quantitative MethodsMaster's Degree403not reportednot reported
Computer ScienceMaster's Degree290$224,974not reported
Hospitality Administration/ManagementBachelor's Degree290$98,785$13,987
Human Resources Management and ServicesBachelor's Degree273$120,368$15,000
Agricultural Business and ManagementBachelor's Degree254$130,690$13,258
Biology, GeneralBachelor's Degree254$69,997$16,000
Computer and Information Sciences, GeneralBachelor's Degree206$140,860$15,500
Legal Research and Advanced Professional StudiesMaster's Degree193not reportednot reported
Biological and Biomedical Sciences, OtherBachelor's Degree176$85,225$13,465
Computer and Information Sciences, GeneralMaster's Degree175not reportednot reported
Show all 24 programs
Remaining programs
ProgramCredentialGraduatesEarnings, 5 yrsMedian debt
LawFirst Professional Degree175not reportednot reported
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications EngineeringMaster's Degree164$133,541not reported
Operations ResearchMaster's Degree163$205,185not reported
EconomicsBachelor's Degree157$129,667$15,500
Mechanical EngineeringBachelor's Degree132$113,983$15,500
Public AdministrationMaster's Degree130$89,361not reported
Systems EngineeringMaster's Degree124$143,008not reported
Veterinary MedicineFirst Professional Degree120not reportednot reported
LawDoctoral Degreenot reported$273,248not reported
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsMaster's Degreenot reported$138,955not reported
Human Resources Management and ServicesMaster's Degree95$150,497not reported
Operations ResearchBachelor's Degree73$151,071$15,000

Source: College Scorecard field-of-study data.

Who goes here

Cornell University: 15,995 undergraduates; 18% of students receive Pell grants; 9% of applicants are admitted.

Admission rate

9%

2nd percentile among private nonprofit 4-years

Undergraduates

15,995

99th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years

Pell share

18%

of undergraduates receive Pell grants

17th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years

Completion

95%

finish within 150% of normal time

97th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years

First-generation

15%

parents did not attend college

Median family income

$75,110

85th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years

Students by family income

Share of students in each family-income bracket, for students who received federal aid.

  • Under $30k21%
  • $30k–$48k12%
  • $48k–$75knot reported
  • $75k–$110knot reported
  • Over $110knot reported
Show as a table
Students by family income
Family incomeShare of students
Under $30k21%
$30k–$48k12%
$48k–$75knot reported
$75k–$110knot reported
Over $110knot reported

Who Wikipedia remembers

Wikidata records 12,395 people who studied at Cornell University, most often in science & academia (60%). That is the archive's memory, not a census.

What the recorded alumni are remembered for

Share of recorded people by field, in a fixed order so schools compare.

Fields of the people the archive recorded for this school, in a fixed order: science & academia 60% (7,044 people); medicine 2.1% (242 people); law 2.6% (301 people); politics & gov 3.9% (451 people); business 3.6% (421 people); engineering & tech 5.0% (589 people); writing & journalism 7.6% (890 people); film & stage 2.2% (256 people); music 1.3% (148 people); visual arts 2.5% (294 people); sports 7.7% (900 people); religion 0.4% (48 people); military 0.9% (108 people). These are shares of people recorded in Wikidata, the archive's memory, not a census of alumni.
Table of the same numbers
Fields of the people the archive recorded for this school (the archive's memory, not a census)
FieldPeople recordedShare
science & academia7,04460.3%
medicine2422.1%
law3012.6%
politics & gov4513.9%
business4213.6%
engineering & tech5895.0%
writing & journalism8907.6%
film & stage2562.2%
music1481.3%
visual arts2942.5%
sports9007.7%
religion480.4%
military1080.9%

Source: Wikidata, via the archive's memory (not a census).

most recorded occupationsresearcher (3,638) · university teacher (1,682) · basketball player (594) · writer (498) · mathematician (381) · politician (366) · physicist (347) · economist (260)

Women among recorded alumni, by birth decade

Counts reflect who the archive records, not a census.

Share of women among recorded alumni, from 19% for the 1840s to 41% for the 2000s. Decades with fewer than 5 recorded people are not drawn, and 1 decade is marked not reported for women. The line breaks at every decade not drawn.

Counts only people the archive records with a gender. Hollow marks are decades with no women reported or fewer than 5 recorded, not zero.

Table of the same numbers
Recorded alumni by birth decade
BornWomenMenShare women
1830snot reported1not reported
1840s52119%
1850s2010017%
1860s3512722%
1870s6019324%
1880s3320314%
1890s5026116%
1900s6827320%
1910s5228116%
1920s6738915%
1930s9851516%
1940s14459519%
1950s18756025%
1960s16440129%
1970s11323333%
1980s6316727%
1990s395342%
2000s375341%

Source: Wikidata, via the archive's memory (not a census).

Wikipedia attention, by month

Wikipedia attention

monthly views

Monthly Wikipedia article views from 2015-07 to 2026-06; peak 127,397 in 2024-10.
Table of the same numbers
Wikipedia article views by month
MonthViews
2026-0640,462
2026-0547,077
2026-0445,997
2026-0349,139
2026-0242,004
2026-0145,641
2025-1251,196
2025-1150,850
2025-1053,722
2025-0955,784
2025-0856,000
2025-0750,175
2025-0654,872
2025-0567,609
2025-0471,550
2025-0379,273
2025-0257,279
2025-0165,645
2024-1263,647
2024-1164,531
2024-10127,397
2024-0963,327
2024-0866,944
2024-0759,255
2024-0665,074
2024-0571,742
2024-0474,534
2024-0376,917
2024-0265,514
2024-0181,269
2023-1277,307
2023-1177,659
2023-1085,783
2023-0977,547
2023-0880,199
2023-0776,006
2023-0671,245
2023-0578,215
2023-0479,244
2023-0384,471
2023-0267,056
2023-0171,711
2022-1267,976
2022-1174,186
2022-1077,248
2022-0971,833
2022-0878,581
2022-0767,601
2022-0666,157
2022-0570,311
2022-0472,589
2022-0372,074
2022-0266,872
2022-0182,094
2021-1281,383
2021-1169,770
2021-1076,601
2021-0994,455
2021-0877,725
2021-0771,768
2021-0660,824
2021-0568,662
2021-0471,854
2021-0374,006
2021-0268,986
2021-0176,771
2020-1281,872
2020-1180,551
2020-1078,284
2020-0984,226
2020-0874,055
2020-0778,112
2020-0665,771
2020-0596,730
2020-04112,310
2020-0396,258
2020-0278,415
2020-0183,952
2019-1286,950
2019-1186,989
2019-1091,742
2019-0986,983
2019-0884,141
2019-0775,007
2019-0673,634
2019-0586,836
2019-0481,448
2019-0392,307
2019-0273,828
2019-0186,766
2018-1286,621
2018-1183,202
2018-1093,318
2018-0981,637
2018-0879,342
2018-0774,352
2018-0669,383
2018-0586,823
2018-0483,159
2018-0390,739
2018-0270,694
2018-0179,232
2017-1271,612
2017-1169,560
2017-1075,394
2017-0969,651
2017-0873,774
2017-0766,431
2017-0666,481
2017-0585,482
2017-0489,661
2017-0381,978
2017-0276,647
2017-0176,756
2016-1280,855
2016-1176,857
2016-1077,780
2016-0977,538
2016-0870,932
2016-0767,216
2016-0664,818
2016-0576,618
2016-0489,252
2016-0382,301
2016-0275,630
2016-0176,955
2015-1273,064
2015-1174,502
2015-1082,806
2015-0973,970
2015-0874,067
2015-0766,642

Source: Wikimedia pageviews.

Nobel laureates who studied here

  • Pearl S. Buck Literature 1938
  • Isidor Isaac Rabi Physics 1944
  • Hermann Joseph Muller Medicine 1946
  • John Mott Peace 1946
  • George Wells Beadle Medicine 1958
  • Robert W. Holley Medicine 1968
Show all 20
  • Sheldon Glashow Physics 1979
  • Steven Weinberg Physics 1979
  • Barbara McClintock Medicine 1983
  • Toni Morrison Literature 1993
  • Robert Fogel Economics 1993
  • Douglas Osheroff Physics 1996
  • Robert F. Engle Economics 2003
  • Jack Szostak Medicine 2009
  • William E. Moerner Chemistry 2014
  • Eric Betzig Chemistry 2014
  • David J. Thouless Physics 2016
  • Joachim Frank Chemistry 2017
  • Arthur Ashkin Physics 2018
  • Claudia Goldin Economics 2023

The portrait wall

Ordered by Wikipedia footprint (language editions).

Show all 15 portraits

Similar schools

These are the nearest neighbors in the same sector. The list is not an ordering.

Sources & caveats

Figures come from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Built 2026-07-17.

not reported
Not reported: suppressed for privacy or never collected. It is not zero, and nothing has been filled in.
Percentiles
A percentile compares this school with others in its own sector (for example, public 4-year schools). It describes position, not quality.
Earnings
Earnings cover students who received federal (Title IV) aid, measured from the year they entered. Students who never received federal aid are not included.
Provenance notes
  • U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard, 2026-06 release. Earnings cover federally aided (Title IV) students only. Suppressed values are null, never imputed.
  • Annual Scorecard files 1996-2026. A null in early years usually means the measure was not yet collected, not zero.
  • Coordinates and locale describe the campus address, not where students live.
  • Wikidata is not an alumni census: a person appears only when volunteer editors record them. Counts measure the archive's memory - access x achievement x documentation - never placement rates or institutional quality.
  • Images are from Wikimedia Commons under free licenses. Render the credit line (artist + license) with every image.

Lead text from Wikipedia (revision 1359506245), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.