📍 Ithaca, NY •Official Admissions Portal ↗
Cornell has announced a transition back to requiring standardized tests (SAT/ACT) starting for the Fall 2026 admissions cycle. Different colleges within Cornell have varying testing rules currently.
Cornell has released all college-specific supplemental essay prompts for Fall 2027 applicants. Arts & Sciences asks students to discuss their passion for learning and how they would take advantage of the curriculum in a 650-word essay. Engineering requires two 200-word essays and four 100-word short answers covering why engineering, why Cornell Engineering, what brings you joy, and community contributions.
Cornell has released all college-specific supplemental essay prompts for Fall 2027 applicants. Arts & Sciences asks students to discuss their passion for learning in a 650-word essay. Engineering requires two 200-word essays and four 100-word short answers.
Breakdown of college-specific essay prompts across all 8 Cornell undergraduate colleges and schools for Fall 2027 applicants.
Cornell Supplemental Essays 2026-27 – Prompts and Advice
Cornell’s most recently published acceptance rate, an 8.4% mark for the Class of 2028, was just a touch higher than the prior year’s 7.3%. The university has not released...
The biggest Cornell essay change this year is not hidden in any one prompt. Rather, it is the prompt that is no longer there. For applicants applying in the current admission cycle, Cornell has dropped the 350-word Cornell University question about community and lived experience.
Cornell has not released admissions statistics since March 2020, following Stanford's lead. The university has been reducing the proportion of students admitted through Early Decision to increase equity. ED applicants were historically 3x more likely to be admitted than RD.
Cornell admitted 5,776 applicants to the Class of 2030 (down from 5,824 for 2029), yielding an overall acceptance rate of approximately 8.5%. ED applicants are roughly 3x more likely to be admitted than RD applicants. Cornell has been reducing the proportion of ED admits to increase equity.
Cornell is reducing the proportion of students admitted through early decision to increase equity. The university has returned to test-required admissions. ED applicants were 3x more likely to be admitted than RD for the Class of 2026.
Cornell University acceptance rate is 8.8% for the 2026 cycle. SAT range is 1390-1540 and ACT range is 32-34. Cornell remains one of the more accessible Ivy League schools by acceptance rate.
Cornell's Class of 2030 was its first cycle reinstating mandatory SAT/ACT scores. The acceptance rate is approximately 8.8%. ED rate historically runs 16-22%, well above the ~6-7% Regular Decision rate. Cornell stopped publishing admissions statistics mid-cycle since 2020.
Cornell University, located in rural Ithaca, New York, approximately 220 miles northwest of New York City, is a private Ivy League research university founded in 1865. It is the largest land-grant university in New York state.
Cornell is one of the hardest Ivies to decode because its admissions process is not organized around a single undergraduate admissions pool. Cornell’s famous motto, “any person…any study,” feels expansive, inclusive, and open-ended. And, in many ways, it is.
Cornell has been decreasing the proportion of students admitted through Early Decision to increase equity in admissions. For the Class of 2026, ED applicants were three times as likely to be admitted as Regular Decision applicants, with an ED rate of ~19.6%.
Cornell's overall acceptance rate for the Class of 2030 came in at approximately 8.5%, down from about 9% the prior year and far below the ~14% rate of a decade ago. Cornell remains the Ivy League's most accessible school by acceptance rate.
The Class of 2030 was Cornell's first cycle requiring SAT or ACT scores after the university reinstated mandatory testing. Cornell's Early Decision rate has historically run 16-22%, well above the Regular Decision rate of approximately 6-7%.
For Class of 2029, Cornell received 72,523 applications and admitted 6,077 (8.38%). ED results for Class of 2030 released December 2025, but Cornell has stopped publishing detailed admissions statistics since 2020 until the full cycle ends.
Cornell has been reducing the proportion of students admitted through Early Decision to increase equity in admissions. For the Class of 2026, ED rate was ~19.6% vs ~9.3% Regular Decision.
Cornell received 72,523 applications for the Class of 2029 and admitted 6,077 students (8.38%). Since 2020, Cornell has stopped publishing admissions statistics until the admissions cycle has ended. ED results for Class of 2030 were released December 2025.
Cornell confirmed there will be no university-wide essay question for Fall 2027 applicants, a significant change to the application process. Cornell also reinstated SAT/ACT for Class of 2030.
Cornell University spent the last five admissions cycles doing something none of its Ivy peers has matched.
Cornell University's acceptance rate is 8.2% for the Class of 2030. SAT middle 50% is 1390-1540, ACT is 32-34. Cornell received approximately 9,973 Early Decision applications for the Class of 2028 and admitted 1,161 students.
Cornell's acceptance rate sits around 8.2-8.9%, varying by college within the university. SAT 1390-1540, ACT 32-34. 1,002 real admit profiles analyzed showing college-by-college differences.
Cornell University will return to requiring standardized test scores for all undergraduate applicants starting with the Fall 2026 application cycle (Class of 2031).