Quad

Head-to-head

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    Penn grads earn $7.3K more ten years out than Cornell's ($111,371 vs. $104,043)

    Median earnings, 10 yrs
  2. 2

    Penn is 1.6× more selective than Cornell

    Acceptance rate
  3. 3

    Cornell has 1.5× as many undergrads as Penn

    Undergrads
  4. 4

    Penn's yield is 5 pts higher than Cornell's

    Yield rate
  5. 5

    Penn's grants cover 38% of its full price on average, vs. 34% at Cornell

    Aid generosity
  6. 6

    Penn costs about $2.7K less per year on average than Cornell ($55,554 vs. $58,255, all students)

    Average cost, all students

The shape of each school

Each axis is a national rank among 4-year colleges; further out = more of it.

SelectivityTest scoresSizePell shareFirst-genDiversity

Who's hardest to get into

Penn admits 5.4%, Cornell 8.4%; Penn's yield is higher, at 68%.

Acceptance rate
Cornell8.4%
Penn5.4%
Quad's selectivity
  • CornellUltra selective
  • PennUltra selective
SAT middle 50%Axis 1400–1600
Cornell
1490–1550
Penn
1510–1570
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • CornellRigor very important
  • PennGPA and school record required

Who's on each campus

Cornell has 1.5× as many undergrads as Penn and has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
Cornell16K
Penn10.7K
Pell Grant share
Cornell18%
Penn17%

Majors and faculty

Computer Science leads at Cornell, and Financial Analytics at Penn; Penn has 8 students per faculty member to Cornell's 9.

Students per faculty member
Cornell9 to 1
Penn8 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • CornellComputer Science12%
  • PennFinancial Analytics12%

What each costs

Penn costs about $2.7K less a year than Cornell on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
Cornell$58.3K
Penn$55.6K
Aid generosity
Cornell34%
Penn38%

What each pays off

Penn's former students earn more, a median $111.4K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 90% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
Cornell$104K
Penn$111.4K
Graduation rate
Cornell96%
Penn97%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; both got more selective.

Applications, 10-year change
  • CornellGrowing+46%
  • PennGrowing+82%
All the numbersEvery figure for these colleges in one table, with differences highlighted.
Sources for this comparisonEvery dataset and year behind the numbers in this comparison; tap any ⓘ for one number's source

Figures are the newest each college has published; years can differ between colleges. Each value's ⓘ shows its source and year. Why