At Cornell, here we celebrate the great variety and globalism of our university, its faculty, and students, and we are very much excited that you are considering Cornell for your education. We invite you to explore what it is like learning at Cornell and living on our historic, beautiful campus in Ithaca, New York.
Our applicants are a diverse group, including but not limited to international students who have moved among several countries or schools, U.S. citizens who have lived most of their lives abroad, or non-U.S. citizens completing school in the U.S. We read applications based on where you currently attend school, rather than by your citizenship status. Your application will be read with others from the school you went to and those from the same state (U.S.) or country.
Our international students follow the same application process as our first-year applicants or our transfer applicants. Cornell University admissions overall decisions for international applicants are need-aware. This means that they will be appraised for admission with contemplation of the ability of students or parents to pay educational costs. International applicants who do not apply for financial aid when they apply for admission (and who are admitted) will not be eligible to apply for financial aid at any time as an undergraduate at Cornell. Applicants who forestall the need for financial assistance at any point during their undergraduate course of study at Cornell must apply for aid when they apply for admission. To apply for the university’s need-based financial aid program, applicants must finish and submit the CSS Profile by the deadline.
Important Note for International Citizens Regarding Financial Aid: The CSS PROFILE submission deadline for all international citizens who are applying for financial aid always corresponds with the undergraduate admissions application submission deadline communicated officially via the Cornell University Undergraduate Admissions Office website. Once your CSS profile is submitted you cannot retract or remove it.
Credentialing services or other forms of paid professional assistance:
Cornell University supposes all applicants to complete their application materials without the use of paid agents or credentialing services.
The use of such services violates University policy and may lead to the total rejection of application materials, the revocation of an admissions offer, cancellation of admission, or involuntary withdrawal from the University.
All academic credentials and school materials must be in English and submitted by the school. We will accept English translations done by a teacher or school official. A copy of the original (untranslated) document should accompany the translated version. If you are using an official translation service, all documents must be submitted by mail.
English Language Proficiency (ELP)
All Cornell students must have a robust command of the English language to be successful in their engagement in their university studies. If English is not your native language or if you have not attended high school in a country where English is an official language for the four years prior to your planned acceptance at Cornell, you may be asked to submit results from one of the following English language proficiency examinations itemised below. We will consider and accept dozens of examinations and other qualifications from around the world in meeting the English Language Proficiency requirement.
The submissions and examinations that meet this requirement comprise, but are not limited to, the following:
Minimum score requirements for admissions consideration and to be most competitive in our review process:
Note: Minimum score requirements are listed above for any and all assessments and proxies for which we have designated a minimum qualification. If no minimum score is listed above for a particular English Language Proficiency assessment or proxy, there is no minimum qualification, and assessment and proxy results will be considered during the admissions application review.
Note: We do not superscore results from these assessments.
How do I know if I need to take an English language proficiency examination?
You do not need to take an English proficiency examination if:
- You are a U.S. Citizen/Permanent Resident and/or English is your native language.
- You have studied your most recent four years in a high school, college, or university in the U.S. or other nations where English is an official language. Note: You must submit our English Language Proficiency Form which will be available in your application portal once you become an applicant
- You received a score of at least 35 (out of 40) on the SAT Reading Test OR a score of 30 or higher on both the ACT Reading and English Sections. Note: You must submit our English Language Proficiency Form which will be available in your application portal once you become an applicant..
You DO need to take an English language proficiency examination if you do not meet any of the criteria above.
