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
Penn$111.4KHighest
Cornell$104K
Graduation rate
Penn97%Highest
Cornell96%
Retention rate
Penn99%Highest
Cornell98%
Borrowing
Median debt
Penn$15.7K
Cornell$14KLowest
Undergrads with a federal loan
Penn10%
Cornell18%
Median debt, Pell Grant recipients
Penn$12K
Cornell$10KLowest
Eight-year outcomes
Credential within 4 years, all students
Penn88%
Cornell90%
Credential within 8 years, all students
Penn97%
Cornell96%
Enrolled at another college, 8 years on
Penn1%
Cornell3%
Graduation by group
Graduated in 6 years, Pell Grant recipients
Penn93%
Cornell89%
Graduated in 6 years, neither Pell nor subsidized loan
Penn97%
Cornell96%
Pell graduation gap
Penn4 pts lower
Cornell7 pts lower
Graduated in 6 years, by race and ethnicity
| Group | Penn | Cornell |
|---|---|---|
| White | 97% | 96% |
| Asian | 98% | 98% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 94% | 94% |
| Black | 95% | 91% |
| Two or more races | 96% | 91% |
| International | 96% | 96% |
On-time progress, from the colleges' Common Data Sets
| Finished within | Penn | Cornell |
|---|---|---|
| 4 years: Pell recipients | Not published | 78% |
| 4 years: neither Pell nor subsidized loan | Not published | 88% |
| 4 years: all first-time full-time | Not published | 86% |
| 5 years: Pell recipients | Not published | 86% |
| 5 years: neither Pell nor subsidized loan | Not published | 95% |
| 5 years: all first-time full-time | Not published | 93% |
Sources:College Scorecard, most recent release;College Scorecard, Entered fall 2023;College Scorecard, 2023–24;IPEDS Outcome Measures survey, Students entering fall 2016;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018;Cornell University Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2024;Cornell University Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2019About 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