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The following information is intended for undergraduate first-year applicants to Cornell. If you are a transfer applicant, please visit the Transfer Applicant page on the Cornell Undergraduate Admissions website. Graduate applicants can learn more about requirements for admission on the Graduate School webpage . Applicants to professional programs in Law, Veterinary Medicine and Business, as well as certain graduate programs in Engineering and Agriculture and Life Sciences, can learn more about requirements for admission on those college and school pages linked from the Graduate School website. Non-degree applicants can learn more about requirements for admission on the School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions website.
1. Choosing an Application Plan
You will first need to decide to apply for either Early Decision or Regular Decision. If Cornell is your first choice, consider applying under the Early Decision plan. Early Decision applications are reviewed in the fall, and you will be notified in mid-December of Cornell’s decision. Before applying Early Decision, know that:
- November 1 is the application deadline.
- Early Decision is binding. If you are admitted to Cornell, you are required to withdraw any applications you’ve sent to other schools and send your enrollment deposit to Cornell by early January.
- Admission decisions for Early Decision applicants include being offered admission, not being offered admission, or having your application postponed to Regular Decision. Students whose applications are postponed to Regular Decision are no longer subject to the Early Decision binding commitment.
- While Early Decision admission to Cornell is binding, students may request to be released from the Early Decision agreement if they have completed a financial aid application and their financial aid offer does not make a Cornell education affordable for their personal circumstances.
Cornell University will honor any required commitment to matriculate, which has been made to another college under an Early Decision plan.
Regular Decision applications are due January 2, and you will be notified by late March or early April of Cornell’s decision. Admission decisions for Regular Decision applicants include being offered admission, not being offered admission, or being offered a spot on the waitlist. Regular Decision is not binding and those offered admission will have until May 1 to notify Cornell about their decision to matriculate.
2. Choosing a College/School
You will apply to only one undergraduate college or school at Cornell. Explore each of our undergraduate colleges and schools before applying to determine which is the best fit for you:
Please note that you will not be able to change the college/school you are applying to after you have submitted your application.
3. Application
Cornell uses the Common App, which must be completed and submitted online. Required application materials should be submitted through Common App.
4. Official Transcript(s)
We require you to submit your official secondary/high school transcript(s) as part of your application. Your high school should submit official high school transcript(s) via the Common App or through an eTranscript service.
5. Standardized Test Scores
For students applying to enroll for fall 2025, Cornell will be score-free for applicants to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning; the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business – Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management; and the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business – Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration. For applicants to the College of Arts & Sciences; College of Engineering; College of Human Ecology; Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy; and the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, test scores are not required but are encouraged.
Effective for students applying to enroll for fall 2026 or beyond, applicants to all Cornell undergraduate colleges and schools will be required to submit standardized test scores.
Learn more about Cornell’s standardized testing policy.
6. Supporting Application Materials
In addition to the application, Cornell requires the following materials:
- The School Report: Your counselor or designated school official should submit this form (or your school’s own report form) and your official transcript on your behalf.
- Counselor Recommendation: Cornell requires a written statement from your school counselor.
- Teacher Recommendations: You are required to submit two teacher recommendations. Be sure to remind individuals writing letters for you to include your name and date of birth on all pages if they are sending them by mail.
- Mid-Year Report: Submit the Mid-Year Report as soon after the application deadline as possible. We strongly encourage school counselors to submit this online, so we can process your application faster. We understand that some students with schools on trimesters may not have any new grade information to report at the time of submission and therefore do not need to send a Mid-Year Report.
These forms can be found and submitted online at commonapp.org, and materials must be submitted directly by the applicant’s school counselor and/or teachers to be considered official.
For Early Decision applicants, the Early Decision Agreement is incorporated into Cornell University’s supplement on the Common App. Look for the checkbox under Cornell University>Application>Questions>General. Applicants do not need to submit a separate agreement from their counselor.
7. Cornell University Supplemental Information
In addition to the Common App Personal Essay, you will be required to respond to both the Cornell University Essay as well as the college- or school-specific essay question(s). These important Cornell-specific questions provide us with information that helps us match your intellectual goals to the Cornell college or school to which you’re applying.
8. Application Fee
Applications must be submitted with the $80 application fee or approved fee waiver* to be considered. Please note that Cornell cannot process your application without the application fee or a fee waiver.
*Cornell will waive your application fee if it presents a hardship for you or your family. Please follow the Common App instructions to apply for a fee waiver. You may submit any of the following types of fee waivers:
If you cannot request a fee waiver by one of these methods, please contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office at admissions@cornell.edu.
9. Additional Submissions
Some majors require additional forms, portfolios, or design indexes. Review the College and School Admissions Requirements to make sure you have all the required items for your intended major.
10. Information for Transfer Applicants
You must apply to Cornell as a transfer student if:
- You’ve graduated from high school AND
- Have earned 12 or more credits (not including exams such as Advanced Placement) at another college or university after graduating high school OR enrolled as a full-time student at another institution.
If you are enrolled in a dual-enrollment or early-college program and haven’t yet graduated from high school, you will apply as a first-year applicant.
Before you apply, be sure to review our transfer application timeline and required transfer application components. Cornell requires transfer applicants to submit:
- The Common App for transfer
- Official high school and college transcripts
- Transfer essays, both the Cornell University essay and the college- or school-specific essay question(s),
- College Report
- Academic recommendation
- Mid-Term Report
Please refer to our Transfer Applicant webpage for additional requirements and application information.
11. International Applicants
International students follow the same application process as our domestic first-year or transfer applicants. If you are an international applicant, please review additional information for first-year or transfer international applicants.
12. Admission Revocation
Cornell University reserves the right to revoke an offer of admission under certain circumstances, and at any time, including after a student is in attendance at the university.
Authority to revoke admission rests with the admitting academic unit. Admission may be revoked for fraud, misrepresentation, material omission of fact, failure to meet a condition of admission (including but not limited to satisfactorily completing any schoolwork in progress at the time an offer of admission is extended and upholding high standards of character in all activities within and outside of the classroom), or any other pre-attendance misconduct. Academic and non-academic misconduct by an applicant occurring prior to the commencement of attendance is not subject to the Student Code of Conduct, University Policy 6.4, or the Code of Academic Integrity, regardless of when the university becomes aware of the misconduct.
Generally, when an admitting academic unit becomes aware of an allegation of pre-attendance misconduct or failure to meet a condition of admission, the senior admissions official for the unit and/or another appropriate university official(s) (for example, the director of undergraduate admissions) will make an initial assessment.
Where there is a clear failure to meet a specific stated condition of admission – for example, failing to earn a specific grade or complete an academic program – the senior admission official for the admitting unit may revoke admission without further inquiry.
In all other cases, if following the initial assessment there is reason to gather additional information, the senior admissions official and/or other appropriate university official(s) will typically notify the admitted student of the alleged misconduct, request a prompt written response to the allegation, and gather additional information as needed. Following this inquiry, the senior admissions official and/or other appropriate university official(s) may either dismiss the matter, resolve it without revocation, or refer it to the dean of the admitting academic unit or their designee for a final determination on revocation.
Applicants whose admission is revoked after they have commenced attendance at the university will be administratively withdrawn and unable to reenroll. In addition, the university may at its discretion void any course credit and grades reflected on the student’s official transcript and note the transcript to reflect the revocation. The student may also be responsible for returning any scholarship, grant or fellowship funds previously awarded.
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