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Summary
Cornell University is a private institution that was founded in 1865. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 13,935, its setting is rural, and the campus size is 745 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Cornell University's ranking in the 2012 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 15. Its tuition and fees are $41,541 (2011-12).
Cornell University, located in Ithaca, N.Y., has more than 500 student organizations on campus, which range from the Big Red Marching Band to the International Affairs Society. First-year students live together on north campus, and the university has housing options for upperclassmen and graduate students, though many choose to live off campus. Cornell has a thriving Greek life, with around 70 total fraternity and sorority chapters. Cornell has more than 30 NCAA Division I varsity teams that compete in the Ivy League. The Cornell Big Red are perhaps best known for their successful men’s lacrosse team, which won seven consecutive Ivy League titles from 2003 to 2009. Cornell also has a strong hockey program.
Cornell’s 14 colleges and schools each admit their own students and provide their own faculty, even though every graduate receives a degree from Cornell University. Cornell’s two largest undergraduate colleges are the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Its graduate schools include the highly ranked S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management, College of Engineering, Law School, Weill Cornell Medical College, and a well-regarded program in education. Cornell is also well known for its top-ranked College of Veterinary Medicine and the highly esteemed School of Hotel Management. One of Cornell’s oldest traditions is Dragon Day, during which a dragon built by first-year architecture students is paraded through campus and then burned during a bonfire celebrating the coming of spring. Notable alumni include U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, author E.B. White, and Bill Nye, the "Science Guy."
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Cornell University was founded in 1865 as a coeducational, nonsectarian institution where "any person can find instruction in any study." Once dubbed "the first American university" in recognition of the revolutionary principles on which it was founded, Cornell continues to push the limits of its founder's vision. Renowned for its distinctive mix of eminent scholarship, academic rigor and commitment to public service, it attracts more than 20,000 students from every state in the Union and over 120 countries. They learn from a world-class faculty teaching more than 5,000 courses and participate in cutting-edge research in 11 undergraduate, graduate and professional schools on the uniquely beautiful Ithaca campus, at Cornell's medical college campuses in New York City and Qatar, and in affiliated programs around the world. The breadth of study, ranging from legendary programs in the humanities to world-class interdisciplinary research centers in nanotechnology, biotechnology, supercomputing and genomics, sets Cornell apart from its Ivy League peers. The land-grant university of New York State, Cornell also boasts the nation's first colleges devoted to hotel administration, industrial and labor relations, and veterinary medicine. In recent years, Cornell has been aggressively expanding its international programs - from the establishment, in 2001, of the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, the first American medical school outside of the United States, to the forging of partnerships and collaborations with major institutions in China, India, and Singapore - further supporting Cornell's status as the transnational university of the future. |
General Information
| School type | private, coed college |
| Year founded | 1865 |
| Religious affiliation | N/A |
| Academic calendar | semester |
| Setting | rural |
| 2010 Endowment | $4,378,587,236 |
Applying
When applying to Cornell University, it's important to note the application deadline is January 2, and the early decision deadline is November 1. Scores for either the ACT or SAT test are due January 1. The application fee at Cornell University is $70. It is most selective, with an acceptance rate of 18.4 percent.
For more information about the tests, essays, interviews, and admissions process, visit the Applying to College knowledge center.
| Selectivity | most selective |
| Fall 2010 acceptance rate | 18% |
| Application deadline | January 2 |
| SAT/ACT scores must be received by | January 1 |
Academic Life
The student-faculty ratio at Cornell University is 11:1, and the school has 54.2 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors at Cornell University include: Engineering; Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services; Agriculture, Agriculture Operations, and Related Sciences; Biological and Biomedical Sciences; and Social Sciences. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 96.2 percent.
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| Student-faculty ratio | 11:1 | ||||||||||
| 4-year graduation rate | 86% - High | ||||||||||
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Student Life
Cornell University has a total undergraduate enrollment of 13,935, with a gender distribution of 50.4 percent male students and 49.6 percent female students. 57.0 percent of the students live in college-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing and 43.0 percent of students live off campus. Cornell University is part of the NCAA I athletic conference.
See what students are saying about life at Cornell University.
| Total enrollment | 20,939 |
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| Collegiate athletic association | NCAA I |
Campus Info & Services
Cornell University offers a number of student services including nonremedial tutoring, women's center, placement service, day care, health service, and health insurance. Cornell University also offers campus safety and security services like 24-hour foot and vehicle patrols, late night transport/escort service, 24-hour emergency telephones, lighted pathways/sidewalks, and controlled dormitory access (key, security card, etc). Alcohol is permitted for students of legal age at Cornell University.
| Students who have cars on campus | N/A |
| Health insurance offered | Yes |
| Students required to own/lease a computer | No |
More About Campus Info & Services
Paying for School
At Cornell University, 48.5 percent of full-time undergraduates receive some kind of need-based financial aid and the average need-based scholarship or grant award is $34,757.
Paying for college doesn't have to be difficult or devastating. Go to the Paying for College knowledge center to get advice on raising cash and reducing costs.
| Tuition and fees | $41,541 (2011-12) |
| Room and board | $13,160 (2011-12) - High |
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* Overview details based on 2010 data
