You may have heard of Cornell University. It is one of the most highly recommended universities with high competition and low acceptance rates. You must consider yourself lucky if you get accepted the Cornell University. Let’s look at the Cornell university acceptance rate and some requirements you should know when applying for admission.
Overview of Cornell University
In Ithaca, New York, Cornell University is a private research university part of the Ivy League and a statutory land-grant university. A prominent educational magazine consistently ranks it among the top ten universities globally even though it was founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White.
Cornell University Acceptance Rate
In the last few years, the acceptance rate of Cornell University has declined steadily. In 2023, out of approximately 68,000 applicants, just 4,994 students are accepted in Cornell University. Therefore, Cornell University acceptance rate was 7%.
| Class Year | Acceptance Rate |
| 2026 | 7% |
| 2025 | 9% |
| 2024 | 11% |
Cornell GPA Requirements
The average GPA usually specified by schools is just that which is required for an application to be accepted without being immediately rejected. Getting in is determined by your GPA requirement for having a realistic chance of getting in.
Average GPA
It is estimated that Cornell’s average GPA is 4.07. Cornell requires a minimum GPA of 4.07 to graduate from the university, making you the top student in your class. For you to stand a chance at competing against other applicants, you will have to earn nearly straight-A grades in all your classes. To demonstrate that you will succeed in college-level academics, you should also try to take difficult courses – such as IB or AP courses.
In most cases, it is extremely difficult to have the GPA change in time for your college application if you are currently a junior or a senior. It would be wise to have a higher SAT or ACT score to compensate for a GPA below or equal to the school average. If you are competing with other applicants whose GPAs are higher than you, this will allow you to meet their demands.
Cornell SAT Requirements
Schools claim they do not have SAT requirements, but the truth is that they do have a hidden SAT requirement that they do not disclose. Schools’ average SAT score is the factor that determines this requirement.
On the 1600 SAT scale, Cornell University’s average SAT score is 1480, meaning it is 91 percent of 1600. The Cornell University SAT scores are Strongly Competitive for students taking the SAT exam.
Cornell SAT Score Analysis
New SAT scores for 25th percentiles range from 1420 to 1540. The 75th percentile for New SAT scores is 1550. Ultimately, a score of 1420 on the New SAT places your score below average, whereas a score of 1540 will move you up to the middle range.
Cornell ACT Requirements
If you score too low on the ACT, then your application will get trashed, just like Cornell does not have an official SAT cut-off, but the ACT likely doesn’t have a hard cut-off either. In terms of ACT scores, Cornell University has an average score of 34. Therefore, Cornell would be considered a very competitive university when it comes to ACT scores. ACT scores are 32nd percentile and 35th percentile for the 25th and 75th percentiles, respectively.
It is likely that Cornell states they do not have a minimum ACT requirement, but if you apply with a 32 or lower, you will have a very difficult time getting in unless your application is very impressive. It isn’t easy to assess whether you are better off academically if you score 32 instead of 34.
ACT Score Sending Policy
ACTs provide a huge advantage over the SAT, as you can send scores in a variety of ways, and this greatly influences your test strategy.
It would be possible for you to take ten tests, but only send the one that scores the highest. There is one notable difference between this and the SAT, where many schools ask you to send all the tests you have ever taken.
As a result of this, you have the possibility of improving your ACT score more than you believe. It would help if you tried to take the ACT as many times as possible to achieve the 35 and above the school’s ACT requirement. It is better to send only that final score to all your schools once you receive the final score you are happy with.
Getting into an Ivy League school
Ivy League schools are among the most selective in the country, so evaluating which schools are “easiest” or “toughest” to get into an obscure the big picture. In light of the low acceptance rate overall, the vast majority of applicants to the eight Ivy League schools won’t get in.
Even though this is a hard pill for some students to swallow, it reinforces our recommendation to offer a balanced college list. In particular, high-achieving students should consider Ivy League schools as part of their overall admissions strategy rather than focusing solely on them.
In addition, Ivy League acceptance rates are deceiving in another way: chances of getting into the school differ from person to person. Students with a 4.0 GPA, 36 ACT, and outstanding extracurricular activities won’t get in as easily as those with a 3.7 GPA, 1420 SAT score, and above-average extracurricular profile. Students from the former group have higher odds of getting admission than the general acceptance rate, while students from the latter group have lower chances.
Tips for Applying to Cornell
If you plan to apply to Cornell during the next admissions cycle, you should know the following:
- First-year applicants to Cornell are no longer required to take the SAT or ACT.
- Candidates for the Architecture or Hotel Administration programs only undergo formal, evaluative interviews. Approximately 21,000 additional Cornell applicants can be interviewed with informational interviews.
- To apply to Cornell, you must demonstrate a certain level of interest. If you visited the campus, contacted a representative of the admissions office, etc., you will not be considered as showing demonstrated interest.
- The supplemental essay required by Cornel should be dedicated enough time and effort to provide the highest quality.
Do I belong at Cornell?
Cornell University is equally renowned as an elite institution and offers superior quality education to other colleges in its position. One of the characteristics that distinguish Cornell from other colleges is its location, size, quality of its professional education, and campus culture. Additionally, it provides good education; however, the acceptance rate of Cornell is very low.