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HOW TO APPLY Cornell Faces Cornell Campus

First-Year Students: Application Process Overview

Cornell’s application process is designed to gather information from you that will be helpful to our admissions selection committees. We are interested in knowing about your background, interests, and aspirations, as well as your academic and extracurricular achievements. We look forward to receiving your application and getting to know you. The following overview should help you as you prepare your Cornell application.

The Cornell Application Consists Of:

  1. the Common Application, which Cornell uses exclusively (includes pages AP-1 to AP-4, Teacher Recommendations, the Secondary School Report, and the Mid-Year Report)
  2. a $70 application fee or fee waiver
  3. the Cornell Supplement to the Common Application, required of all applicants as it includes important Cornell-specific information and required essays
  4. the 2008 Freshman Financial Aid Application for applicants planning to apply for financial aid
  5. college specific requirements as noted in the Freshman Admission Requirements Grid

Admission Application Deadlines

Your Common Application must be submitted by November 1 for early decision, or January 1 for regular decision. Applicants are strongly encouraged to file their application in advance of deadlines and during the appropriate filing periods: September 1 – November 1 for early decision and September 1 – January 1 for regular decision. It is important that you submit your online Common Application and fee or fee waiver as soon as possible. The online Cornell Supplement can be sent at the same time or very soon thereafter.

Required Interviews

For applicants to the School of Hotel Administration and to the architecture program in the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, a formal interview is required for admission. Applicants to the art department in the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning also are encouraged (though not required) to have an interview. Submit an online request for the School of Hotel Administration or the College of Architecture, Art and Planning to schedule a required interview. Though Cornell offers applicants the opportunity to meet with Cornell alumni, formal interviews are not required for any other undergraduate programs.

Application Status

When we receive your Common Application and fee or fee waiver, we will e-mail you with the information you need to access your online application status on Cornell’s web site. Please note that receiving an ApplicantID via e-mail is your confirmation that we have received your application. Using this secure site you will be able to track your application materials, update your e-mail address when necessary, and have access to your admission decision. If you do not receive an ApplicantID within two weeks of submitting the Common Application to Cornell, it may be because your e-mail address is incorrect or you are blocking e-mail from us.

Important E-Mail Instructions

It is important that you provide us with a legible, current e-mail address (on the Common Application and Cornell Supplement) that you check frequently. E-mail is our primary method for communicating with you to request missing application materials, to verify information, to give you special instructions, etc. Please be sure to include cornell.edu in your address book and/or remove any spam blockers that might prevent our e-mail from reaching you.

Primary/Alternate Admission

Cornell offers applicants the option of applying to two colleges, recognizing that Cornell’s undergraduate colleges and schools offer a multitude of distinctive academic programs, and that many applicants have diverse intellectual interests that may be satisfied by more than one college or school. All students will apply to a college at Cornell as their primary choice and have the option of applying to another college as their alternate choice. See Primary Alternate College Admission/FAQs for more information. Our undergraduate colleges can be explored at the links below:

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
College of Architecture, Art, and Planning
College of Arts and Sciences
College of Engineering
School of Hotel Administration
College of Human Ecology
School of Industrial and Labor Relations