What are Cornell's admission requirements? While there are a lot of pieces that go into a college application, you should focus on only a few critical things:
In this guide we'll cover what you need to get into Cornell and build a strong application.
School location: Ithaca, NY
This school is also known as: Cornell University
If you want to get in, the first thing to look at is the acceptance rate. This tells you how competitive the school is and how serious their requirements are.
The acceptance rate at Cornell is 10.9%. For every 100 applicants, only 11 are admitted.
This means the school is extremely selective. Meeting their GPA requirements and SAT/ACT requirements is very important to getting past their first round of filters and proving your academic preparation. If you don't meet their expectations, your chance of getting in is nearly zero.
After crossing this hurdle, you'll need to impress Cornell application readers through their other application requirements, including extracurriculars, essays, and letters of recommendation. We'll cover more below.
We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League.
We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools.
Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in.
Many schools specify a minimum GPA requirement, but this is often just the bare minimum to submit an application without immediately getting rejected.
The GPA requirement that really matters is the GPA you need for a real chance of getting in. For this, we look at the school's average GPA for its current students.
The average GPA at Cornell is 4.13.
(Most schools use a weighted GPA out of 4.0, though some report an unweighted GPA. This school did not officially report its average GPA, but we've estimated it here using data from over 1,000 schools.)
With a GPA of 4.13, Cornell requires you to be at the top of your class. You'll need nearly straight A's in all your classes to compete with other applicants. Furthermore, you should be taking hard classes - AP or IB courses - to show that college-level academics is a breeze.
If you're currently a junior or senior, your GPA is hard to change in time for college applications. If your GPA is at or below the school average of 4.13, you'll need a higher SAT or ACT score to compensate. This will help you compete effectively against other applicants who have higher GPAs than you.
Each school has different requirements for standardized testing. Most schools require the SAT or ACT, and many also require SAT subject tests.
You must take either the SAT or ACT to submit an application to Cornell. More importantly, you need to do well to have a strong application.
Many schools say they have no SAT score cutoff, but the truth is that there is a hidden SAT requirement. This is based on the school's average score.
The average SAT score composite at Cornell is a 1480 on the 1600 SAT scale.
This score makes Cornell Strongly Competitive for SAT test scores.
The 25th percentile SAT score is 1420, and the 75th percentile SAT score is 1540. In other words, a 1420 on the SAT places you below average, while a 1540 will move you up to above average.
Here's the breakdown of SAT scores by section:
| Section | Average | 25th Percentile | 75th Percentile |
| Math | 760 | 720 | 800 |
| Reading + Writing | 720 | 680 | 760 |
| Composite | 1480 | 1420 | 1540 |
The Score Choice policy at your school is an important part of your testing strategy.
Cornell has the Score Choice policy of "All Scores."
This means that Cornell requires you to send all SAT scores you've ever taken to their office.
This sounds daunting, but most schools don't actually consider all your scores equally. For example, if you scored an 1300 on one test and a 1500 on another, they won't actually average the two tests.
In fact, we researched the score policies at Cornell, and they have the following policy:
Note that Cornell requires students to submit all scores from SAT tests taken and does not participate in the College Board’s Score Choice.
Some students are still worried about submitting too many test scores. They're afraid that Cornell will look down on too many attempts to raise your score. But how many is too many?
From our research and talking to admissions officers, we've learned that 4-6 tests is a safe number to submit. The college understands that you want to have the best chance of admission, and retaking the test is a good way to do this. Within a reasonable number of tests, they honestly don't care how many times you've taken it. They'll just focus on your score.
If you take it more than 6 times, colleges start wondering why you're not improving with each test. They'll question your study skills and ability to improve.
But below 6 tests, we strongly encourage retaking the test to maximize your chances. If your SAT score is currently below a 1540, we strongly recommend that you consider prepping for the SAT and retaking it. You don't have much to lose, and you can potentially raise your score and significantly boost your chances of getting in.
Download our free guide on the top 5 strategies you must be using to improve your score. This guide was written by Harvard graduates and SAT perfect scorers. If you apply the strategies in this guide, you'll study smarter and make huge score improvements.
Just like for the SAT, Cornell likely doesn't have a hard ACT cutoff, but if you score too low, your application will get tossed in the trash.
The average ACT score at Cornell is 34. This score makes Cornell Extremely Competitive for ACT scores.
The 25th percentile ACT score is 32, and the 75th percentile ACT score is 35.
Even though Cornell likely says they have no minimum ACT requirement, if you apply with a 32 or below, you'll have a very hard time getting in, unless you have something else very impressive in your application. There are so many applicants scoring 34 and above that a 32 will look academically weak.
If you're taking the ACT as opposed to the SAT, you have a huge advantage in how you send scores, and this dramatically affects your testing strategy.
Here it is: when you send ACT scores to colleges, you have absolute control over which tests you send. You could take 10 tests, and only send your highest one. This is unlike the SAT, where many schools require you to send all your tests ever taken.
This means that you have more chances than you think to improve your ACT score. To try to aim for the school's ACT requirement of 35 and above, you should try to take the ACT as many times as you can. When you have the final score that you're happy with, you can then send only that score to all your schools.
By and large, most colleges do not superscore the ACT. (Superscore means that the school takes your best section scores from all the test dates you submit, and then combines them into the best possible composite score). Thus, most schools will just take your highest ACT score from a single sitting.
However, from our research, Cornell is understood to superscore the ACT. We couldn't confirm it directly from the school's admissions website, but multiple sources confirm that the school does superscore the ACT. We recommend you call their admissions office directly for more information.
Superscoring is powerful to your testing strategy, and you need to make sure you plan your testing accordingly. Of all the scores that Cornell receives, your application readers will consider your highest section scores across all ACT test dates you submit.
Click below to learn more about how superscoring critically affects your test strategy.
For example, say you submit the following 4 test scores:
| English | Math | Reading | Science | Composite | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test 1 | 32 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 20 |
| Test 2 | 16 | 32 | 16 | 16 | 20 |
| Test 3 | 16 | 16 | 32 | 16 | 20 |
| Test 4 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 32 | 20 |
| Superscore | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 |
Even though the highest ACT composite you scored on any one test date was 20, Cornell will take your highest section score from all your test dates, then combine them to form your Superscore. You can raise your composite score from 20 to 32 in this example.
This is important for your testing strategy. Because you can choose which tests to send in, and Cornell forms your Superscore, you can take the ACT as many times as you want, then submit only the tests that give you the highest Superscore. Your application readers will only see that one score.
Therefore, if your ACT score is currently below a 35, we strongly recommend that you consider prepping for the ACT and retaking it. You have a very good chance of raising your score, which will significantly boost your chances of getting in.
Even better, because of the Superscore, you can focus all your energy on a single section at a time. If your Reading score is lower than your other sections, prep only for the Reading section, then take the ACT. Then focus on Math for the next test, and so on. This will give you the highest Superscore possible.
Download our free guide on the top 5 strategies you must be using to improve your score. This guide was written by Harvard graduates and ACT perfect scorers. If you apply the strategies in this guide, you'll study smarter and make huge score improvements.
Both the SAT and ACT have an optional essay section.
Cornell requires you to take the SAT Essay/ACT Writing section. They'll use this as another factor in their admissions consideration.
Schools vary in their SAT subject test requirements. Typically, selective schools tend to require them, while most schools in the country do not.
Cornell has indicated that SAT subject tests are required for SOME applicants. Typically this means that applying to certain majors or colleges within the school requires SAT subject tests, and others don't. Read further to see if you'll need to submit SAT subject scores.
Typically, your SAT/ACT and GPA are far more heavily weighed than your SAT Subject Tests. If you have the choice between improving your SAT/ACT score or your SAT Subject Test scores, definitely choose to improve your SAT/ACT score.
We did more detailed research into this school and found the following information.
When applying to Cornell, you will select a specific college, from the College of Arts and Sciences to the College of Engineering to the College of Agriculture. For the College of Arts and Sciences -- the largest undergraduate college at Cornell -- 2 SAT Subject Tests are required in addition to the SAT or ACT. For the College of Engineering, 2 Subject Tests are required as well, but they must be in math (any level) and a science. Architecture, Art, and Planning as well as Hotel Administration require an SAT Subject Test in math. The other schools do not require subject tests. You can view a full chart of the various colleges' testing requirements here.
Because this school is extremely selective, getting a high SAT/ACT score and GPA is vital to having a chance at getting in. If you don't pass their SAT/ACT and GPA requirements, they'll likely reject you without much consideration.
To have the best shot of getting in, you should aim for the 75th percentile, with a 1540 SAT or a 35 ACT. You should also have a 4.13 GPA or higher. If your GPA is lower than this, you need to compensate with a higher SAT/ACT score.
For a school as selective as Cornell, you'll also need to impress them with the rest of your application. We'll cover those details next.
But if you apply with a score below a 1540 SAT or a 35 ACT, you unfortunately start out with the odds against you and have a tiny chance of getting in. There are just too many students with high SAT/ACT scores and strong applications, and you need to compete against them.
We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League.
We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools.
Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in.
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Every school requires an application with the bare essentials - high school transcript and GPA, application form, and other core information. Many schools, as explained above, also require SAT and ACT scores, as well as letters of recommendation, application essays, and interviews. We'll cover the exact requirements of Cornell here.
We did more detailed research into this school's admissions process and found the following information:
If you are applying to the Agriculture, Architecture, or Human Ecology colleges, there are additional portfolio requirements.
If you're interested in Cornell, you'll probably be interested in these schools as well. We've divided them into 3 categories depending on how hard they are to get into, relative to Cornell.
These schools are have higher average ACT scores than Cornell. If you improve your ACT score, you'll be competitive for these schools.
| School Name | Location | SAT Avg | ACT Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| California Institute of Technology | Pasadena, CA | 1545 | 36 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge, MA | 1535 | 35 |
| Princeton University | Princeton, NJ | 1505 | 34 |
| Brown University | Providence, RI | 1485 | 34 |
If you're competitive for Cornell, these schools will offer you a similar chance of admission.
| School Name | Location | SAT Avg | ACT Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA | 1500 | 34 |
| Boston College | Chestnut Hill, MA | 1420 | 33 |
| Tufts University | Medford, MA | 1465 | 33 |
| Villanova University | Villanova, PA | 1395 | 33 |
| Boston University | Boston, MA | 1420 | 32 |
| New York University | New York, NY | 1440 | 32 |
| Lehigh University | Bethlehem, PA | 1365 | 31 |
If you're currently competitive for Cornell, you should have no problem getting into these schools. If Cornell is currently out of your reach, you might already be competitive for these schools.
| School Name | Location | SAT Avg | ACT Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | Troy, NY | 1409 | 31 |
| University of Texas at Dallas | Richardson, TX | 1350 | 30 |
| University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX | 1355 | 30 |
| University of California, Irvine | Irvine, CA | 1310 | 29 |
We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League.
We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools.
Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in.
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