Key differences on Outcomes
- 1
Cornell grads earn $14.7K more ten years out than Northwestern's ($104,043 vs. $89,363)
Median earnings, 10 yrs - 2
Northwestern graduates 1 pts more of its students than Cornell (97% vs. 96%)
Graduation rate
Outcomes
Outcomes
Earnings and finishing
Median earnings, 10 yrs
Cornell$104KHighest
Northwestern$89.4K
Graduation rate
Cornell96%
Northwestern97%Highest
Retention rate
Cornell98%
Northwestern98%Highest
Borrowing
Median debt
Cornell$14KLowest
Northwestern$15K
Undergrads with a federal loan
Cornell18%
Northwestern17%
Median debt, Pell Grant recipients
Cornell$10KLowest
Northwestern$12K
Eight-year outcomes
Credential within 4 years, all students
Cornell90%
Northwestern87%
Credential within 8 years, all students
Cornell96%
Northwestern97%
Enrolled at another college, 8 years on
Cornell3%
Northwestern2%
Graduation by group
Graduated in 6 years, Pell Grant recipients
Cornell89%
Northwestern94%
Graduated in 6 years, neither Pell nor subsidized loan
Cornell96%
Northwestern96%
Pell graduation gap
Cornell7 pts lower
Northwestern2 pts lower
Graduated in 6 years, by race and ethnicity
| Group | Cornell | Northwestern |
|---|---|---|
| White | 96% | 96% |
| Asian | 98% | 97% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 94% | 90% |
| Black | 91% | 92% |
| Two or more races | 91% | 93% |
| International | 96% | 97% |
On-time progress, from the colleges' Common Data Sets
| Finished within | Cornell | Northwestern |
|---|---|---|
| 4 years: Pell recipients | 78% | Not published |
| 4 years: neither Pell nor subsidized loan | 88% | Not published |
| 4 years: all first-time full-time | 86% | Not published |
| 5 years: Pell recipients | 86% | Not published |
| 5 years: neither Pell nor subsidized loan | 95% | Not published |
| 5 years: all first-time full-time | 93% | Not published |
Sources:College Scorecard, most recent release;Cornell University Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2024;College Scorecard, 2023–24;IPEDS Outcome Measures survey, Students entering fall 2016;Cornell University Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2019;College Scorecard, Entered fall 2023;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)
Figures are the newest each college has published; years can differ between colleges. Each value's ⓘ shows its source and year. Why