Outcomes
What it pays
Former students earn a median $104,043 ten years after enrolling, more than at 99% of colleges; 96% graduate within six years. Four years of net price is about 2.2 years of that salary.
Earnings
Earnings climb with time
Staying and finishing
Retention
come back for year two
Graduation
graduate within six years
National median graduation rate: 59%
What graduates owe
$14K
According to Cornell University's most recent Common Data Set, 33% of its Class of 2025 graduates (3,606 students) borrowed from any source: federal, institutional, state, or private, averaging $25,655 among those who did.
Counts students who started here as first-time students and earned a bachelor's; the federal median counts federal loans only, including students who left without a degree.
Everyone who starts here, 8 years later
Students who entered in fall 2016, including and part-time students. The graduation rate counts only first-time, full-time students and treats a transfer out as not finishing.
96 of 100 students who start here earn a degree or certificate here within 8 years; 3 more are enrolled at another college. (4,034 students)
All entering students, by whether they had a Pell Grant.
90 of 100 finish within 4 years, 95 within 6, and 96 within 8.
| Earned a credential within | 4 yrs | 6 yrs | 8 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| All students | 90% | 95% | 96% |
| Started in college here | 89% | 95% | 96% |
| Transferred in | 95% | 96% | 96% |
Transfer students' clock starts when they arrive here, not when they first started college.
National median: 60% of all entering students earn a credential at the college they started at within 8 years.
Do lower-income students finish?
Of 100 Pell Grant recipients who entered in fall 2019, 78 finished within 4 years and 89 within 6. First-time, full-time students who finished within 6 years; entered fall 2019.
- Pell Grant recipients487 students
89% · 78% within 4 years · 7 points below students with neither
- Subsidized loan, no Pell Grant616 students
94% · 86% within 4 years · 2 points below students with neither
- Neither Pell nor subsidized loan2,071 students
96% · 88% within 4 years · comparison group
Within 4 years
By race and ethnicity
First-time, full-time students who finished within 6 years, from the College Scorecard's most recent release. Groups under 30 students aren't shown.
- White1,122 students
96% · 2 points above all students
- Asian622 students
98% · 3 points above all students
- Hispanic/Latino502 students
94% · 1 point below all students
- Black265 students
91% · 4 points below all students
- Two or more races168 students
91% · 3 points below all students
- International338 students
96% · 1 point above all students
- American Indian/Alaska Native9 students
Not shown: under 30 students
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander4 students
Not shown: under 30 students
Cost vs. earnings
The 300 most-applied-to colleges plus Cornell University. Top-left is lower cost and higher earnings.
↑ Median earnings 10 years after entry (higher = more)
Sources:College Scorecard, most recent release;Cornell University Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2024;IPEDS Outcome Measures survey, Students entering fall 2016;Cornell University Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2019;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2023–24;Cornell University Common Data Set 2025–26, Class of 2025;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)