Cornell University
Ithaca, New York · Founded 1865
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SAT / ACT required
Cornell reinstated its testing requirement after a university task force studied the question: first-year applicants must submit the SAT or ACT. Scores may be self-reported. Cornell takes the highest section scores across test dates for both exams and accepts the ACT superscore; the ACT science section is not required. Transfer applicants are a different case - scores are neither required nor expected. Source: admissions.cornell.edu (verified September 2026).
About
Cornell was founded on the promise of an institution where any person can find instruction in any study, and it is still the broadest of the Ivy League universities. You apply to one of seven undergraduate colleges rather than to the university at large, and what you study there ranges from viticulture to computer science.
History
Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was New York's land-grant university and among the first American universities to admit women and to teach modern subjects alongside the classics. Three of its colleges are still operated in partnership with New York State.
What stands out
- Seven undergraduate colleges, each with its own application and focus
- Three contract colleges run in partnership with New York State
- The largest agriculture and life sciences college in the Ivy League
- A hotel school and an industrial and labor relations school, both rare
- More than 4,000 courses open across colleges under the any study ethos
Popular majors
Campus life
First-year students live together on North Campus and upper-level students largely on West Campus, so the residential experience is organized by year. Greek life is long-established, more than a thousand organizations are active, and the gorges running through campus are a genuine feature of daily life.