Dec 4, 2025
How A Cold Day And Fraternity Founded 119 Years Ago Shaped History
The story of a particularly cold December day in 1906 and how the founding of Alpha Phi Alpha, Fraternity, Inc. changed history.
#14 Cornell University
CITY & STATE
Ithaca, NY
PUBLIC/PRIVATE
Private
UNDERGRADUATE POPULATION*
16,040
STUDENT POPULATION*
26,510
AVERAGE GRANT AID*
$56,741
TOTAL ANNUAL COST*
$88,140
ALUMNI SALARY‡
$158,600
ACCEPTANCE RATE*
8%
SAT COMPOSITE RANGE*
1480-1560
ACT COMPOSITE RANGE*
33-35
WEBSITE
- * Per the 2022-2023 final release data in IPEDS
- ‡ The median salary for workers with 10 or more years of experience per Payscale.
Cornell University is a private, Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York. With more than 15,000 undergraduate students and 2,000 faculty members, the institution strives to provide research and public engagement opportunities. Building on its innovative history and recognition, the curriculum encourages purposeful discovery through learning. With more than 1,000 student organizations, intramural and club sports teams and more, students will have memorable experiences and forge relationships outside the classroom.
On forbes lists
#13
In Private Colleges#13
In Research Universities#9
In The NortheastPhotos
Breakdown
AcademicsFinancial AidAdmissionsStudent Life
BY THE NUMBERS
Attendance
FULL-TIME
100%
PART-TIME
0%
*Per the 2022-2023 final release data in IPEDS
Enrollment By Race/ Ethnicity
*Per the 2022-2023 final release data in IPEDS
Enrollment By Gender
MALE
47%
FEMALE
53%
*Per the 2022-2023 final release data in IPEDS
Key Alumni & Former Students
More on Forbes
Aug 23, 2025
Cornell University Warns More ‘Urgent Action’ Needed To Rein In Costs
Amid reports of a $100 million settlement offer with the Trump administration, Cornell University prepares for more spending cuts in the face of fiscal problems.
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Compassionate Hospitality Leaders Gather For A 100-Year Tradition At Cornell University
Hotel Ezra Cornell—known affectionately as HEC—has become one of the most unique and enduring student-led conferences in the world.
May 20, 2025
NSF, NIH Funding Cuts Spur Student-Led Science Communication Campaign
In the wake of funding cuts from the Trump administration, Cornell University students and early career researchers are turning to local media to make their voices heard.
Apr 9, 2025
Trump’s Federal Funding Freeze May Broaden To Cornell And Northwestern
The Trump administration is launching two more investigations at elite universities— Cornell and Northwestern — over allegations of civil rights violations.
Mar 11, 2025
David Duffield Makes Record $100 Million Gift To Cornell University
Cornell University has received a $100 million commitment from alumnus and software entrepreneur David Duffield. It's the largest in the history of Cornell Engineering.
Jan 29, 2025
The Body Is The Battery: ‘Robot Blood’ Powers These Soft Robots
Cornell University researchers are building soft robots with "robot blood" that is both hydraulic fluid that provides motive force and at the same time a battery that ...
Dec 3, 2024
Meet The World’s Smallest Walking Robot
Researchers at Cornell University have built the world’s smallest walking robot, at just two to five microns across: so small that over 3o,ooo of them would fit on the...
Jun 1, 2024
“No, China Is Not Buying Up All U.S. Farmland,” Cornell University Says
"We wanted to look at the facts, given the spread of rumors.” assistant professor Wendong Zhang says
Mar 23, 2024
NCAA Coaching Carousel: William & Mary Hires Cornell’s Brian Earl
William & Mary Athletics Director Brian D. Mann announced today that Cornell University head coach Brian Earl will take the reins of men's basketball at W&M.
Jan 30, 2024
Cornell R.S.H. College Scholar Program Approves Bitcoin-Focused Study
On Jan 11, Cornell University's College of Arts & Sciences' Robert S. Harrison College Scholar Program approved the first independent Bitcoin-focused study.
Dec 8, 2023
6 More Schools Under Civil Rights Investigation For Alleged Discrimination Amid Israel-Hamas War
The schools join the likes of Harvard, Columbia and Cornell universities that are also being investigated by the Department of Education.
Apr 6, 2023
Cornell University Rejects Students’ Call For Trigger Warnings
Administrators at Cornell University have rejected a student resolution calling for the university to require faculty to provide trigger warnings about classroom content that students may consider “traumatic.”
Apr 4, 2022
Princeton, Cornell, University Of Pennsylvania Withhold Class Of 2026 Acceptance Rates
Princeton, Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania have witheld acceptance rates for the Class of 2026, in a perceived attempt to defuse increasing student anxiety about university admissions.
Dec 14, 2021
Cornell University Shuts Down Parts Of Campus Amid Covid Surge
Cornell University said Tuesday it was closing facilities to students effective immediately, moving exams online and shutting down all school activities for undergrads and events on its Ithaca, N.Y., campus because of a rapid spread of Covid-19.
Dec 14, 2021
Cornell University Shuts Down Parts Of Campus Amid Covid Surge
The school recorded 469 active student cases as of Sunday.