Key differences on Outcomes
- 1
Penn grads earn $7.3K more ten years out than Cornell's ($111,371 vs. $104,043)
Median earnings, 10 yrs - 2
Penn graduates 2 pts more of its students than Cornell (97% vs. 96%)
Graduation rate
Outcomes
Outcomes
Earnings and finishing
Median earnings, 10 yrs
Cornell$104K
Penn$111.4KHighest
Graduation rate
Cornell96%
Penn97%Highest
Retention rate
Cornell98%
Penn99%Highest
Borrowing
Median debt
Cornell$14KLowest
Penn$15.7K
Undergrads with a federal loan
Cornell18%
Penn10%
Median debt, Pell Grant recipients
Cornell$10KLowest
Penn$12K
Eight-year outcomes
Credential within 4 years, all students
Cornell90%
Penn88%
Credential within 8 years, all students
Cornell96%
Penn97%
Enrolled at another college, 8 years on
Cornell3%
Penn1%
Graduation by group
Graduated in 6 years, Pell Grant recipients
Cornell89%
Penn93%
Graduated in 6 years, neither Pell nor subsidized loan
Cornell96%
Penn97%
Pell graduation gap
Cornell7 pts lower
Penn4 pts lower
Graduated in 6 years, by race and ethnicity
| Group | Cornell | Penn |
|---|---|---|
| White | 96% | 97% |
| Asian | 98% | 98% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 94% | 94% |
| Black | 91% | 95% |
| Two or more races | 91% | 96% |
| International | 96% | 96% |
On-time progress, from the colleges' Common Data Sets
| Finished within | Cornell | Penn |
|---|---|---|
| 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