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Search cornell admissions, what surprised me most about college.

Entering my senior year of high school, my main concern was the thought of moving away from my family to a new environment. My two older sisters had attended relatively small- to medium-sized universities, and their outgoing natures and self-assurance in pursuing their interests helped them succeed without much struggle. I, on the other hand, was unsure what I wanted to major in. I had only begun thinking about college my senior year, and I knew I wanted to attend the best possible school to reflect the hard work I’d put in over my four years of high school and the many hours I spent through my love of volunteering.   

I applied to several schools, including Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences for their nutrition program. Despite my fears of moving far away from my family, I applied and was accepted to Cornell University!  

Coming from a family of six, the prospect of venturing to a new place without the physical support of my family was daunting as numerous worries swirled in my mind, including inhabiting an entirely new environment, adjusting to unfamiliar food, and interacting with unfamiliar faces. I had heard stories from students about the challenges they had faced during their time at Cornell, and it made me think of the community support I wanted to have on my new journey at Cornell.

I’d previously envisioned college life through the lens of movies, where the freedom to do as one pleases without guilt prevailed. I wanted my experience as a college student to reflect my interests, as I wanted to participate in clubs and organizations that encourage students to be their best. I reflected on the journey I wanted to have at Cornell while I attended a summer program. I knew I wanted to embark on a unique journey, and I recognized during that time that my anxiety and fear arose from uncertainty and a lack of trust that things would work out. My worry that things would not go as planned and my decision to judge the success of my college experience solely based on finding a community made me feel stressed and doubtless. 

It became clear to me that it is essential to understand that life is inherently unpredictable. It's natural to acknowledge fears, but succumbing to them and letting them dictate our lives is something we must avoid. College is a blast, and it has its ups and downs, but it all depends on one being open-minded and trying different opportunities to help build and make their experience worthwhile.   

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Cornell to reinstate standardized test requirements for fall 2026

By james dean, cornell chronicle.

Cornell will reinstitute standardized testing requirements for students seeking undergraduate admission for fall 2026 enrollment, based on evidence from a multiyear study conducted by the university’s Task Force on Standardized Testing in Admissions.

Cornell will remain test-optional for students applying in the upcoming admissions cycle for enrollment in fall 2025, although these applicants are encouraged to submit SAT and/or ACT scores to the Cornell colleges and schools that are currently test-optional.

To provide students with time to prepare and take standardized tests, Cornell will remain test-optional for those applying to enroll for fall 2025 to the College of Arts and Sciences, Cornell Engineering, the College of Human Ecology, the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy and the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. However, while the submission of SAT and/or ACT scores is optional, it is recommended. For students applying to enroll in fall 2025, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, and the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business will remain score-free.

Effective for those applying to enroll for fall 2026 or beyond, applicants to all eight Cornell undergraduate colleges and schools will be required to submit standardized test scores.

In 2020, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, test scores became optional at five of Cornell’s undergraduate colleges and schools (A&S, Cornell Engineering, Human Ecology, the Brooks School and the ILR School) and were not considered by three others (Cornell CALS, AAP and the SC Johnson College). Analyzing admissions since 2020, the task force found that when reviewed in context with other application materials, such as GPA, academic rigor, extracurricular engagement, essays and letters of recommendation, test scores help to create a more complete picture of an individual applicant.

Though standardized test scores are imperfect measures of a student’s aptitude and potential, the data suggests that when taken in context, these scores provide valuable insights into a student’s potential for academic success while at Cornell, and thereby help to ensure that admitted students are likely to thrive academically. After accounting for other predictors, including high school GPA, student demographics and high school characteristics, those who were admitted with test scores tended to have somewhat stronger GPAs and were more likely to remain in good academic standing.

The data also showed that test-optional policies may have inadvertent consequences. Cornell’s fall 2022 New Student Survey showed that 91% of matriculating first-year students took the SAT and/or the ACT at least once (and 70% had taken multiple tests), but only 28% of applicants opted to provide test scores even though doing so could have advantaged them.

“While it may seem counterintuitive, considering these test scores actually promotes access to students from a wider range of backgrounds and circumstances,” said Provost Michael I. Kotlikoff. “Our analysis indicates that instituting the testing requirement likely enhances, rather than diminishes, our ability to identify and admit qualified students.”

Students’ decisions to share test scores are shaped by social background factors such as the type of high school they attended, their family income, and their access to and use of college counseling. Students from different kinds of backgrounds may decide to withhold scores that are strong enough to help them gain access to Cornell, which means that test-optional policies may undermine equity in admissions. For example, an applicant might choose not to submit a score that is at or slightly below Cornell’s median score, even though a reviewer would note favorably that the score is in the top tier for that student’s high school. Such an application would be stronger with the score included.

“While important, standardized test scores represent only one of many factors we consider in the admissions process,” said Lisa Nishii, vice provost for undergraduate education and interim vice provost for enrollment. “In addition to test scores, Cornell will consider both the context provided by the rest of a student’s application materials and the context of where they are applying from – their high school, personal circumstances and background. We are committed to evaluating an applicant’s academic preparedness as well as how their unique interests, lived experiences and strengths will contribute to Cornell’s vision of ‘… any person … any study.’”

A summary of the task force’s report can be viewed here .

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Why cornell’s new sat policy is more complex than other ivies.

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Cornell University Campus in Ithaca. New York

After several Ivy League schools announced their return to standardized testing, Cornell has joined the list with a phased plan over a longer period of time. Unlike the undergraduate colleges of Brown, Dartmouth, Harvard and Yale, Cornell—which is the largest Ivy—is tailoring the requirement to fit its individual colleges and schools.

The complexity of the plan honors the variety of academic units at Cornell . The diversity reflects the vision of the university’s founder, Ezra Cornell, whose words are enshrined in the school’s motto: “I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study.”

The university’s structure is further complicated in that it is both a private and a public institution. Cornell University is a private research university that is part of the Ivy League. However, four of its colleges receive public funding and are operated under contract with the State of New York.

The many-faceted nature of Cornell helps to explain the complexity of the new regulations for standardized testing. Prospective students must carefully check the details for the particular academic unit to which they intend to apply.

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Sh gun episode 10 review a powerful finale but not what i was expecting, the trump media stock price djt is about to adjust down by 22 7, details for students applying this fall for 2025.

Cornell has announced its requirements and recommendations for students applying in the admissions cycle beginning this fall, meaning those who hope to begin school in fall 2025.

' Score-Free '

Cornell uses its own terminology to express the requirements. “Score-free” means a college within the university will not use test scores in evaluating applicants.

Four of the school’s units will remain score-free for applicants in the coming cycle:

• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• College of Architecture, Art, and Planning
• Cornell SC Johnson College of Business - Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
• Cornell SC Johnson College of Business - Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration

' Test-Recommended '

For the fall 2025 cohort of students, five colleges and schools will be what Cornell calls “test-recommended.” Standardized test scores will not be required, but recommended at the following:

• College of Arts & Sciences
• College of Engineering
• College of Human Ecology
• Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy
• School of Industrial and Labor Relations

Other details include Cornell’s superscoring test results. This means that if a student takes the test more than once, Cornell will use the highest score achieved on a given section of the test. Students should check the Cornell website for additional information and possible updates.

Though these requirements and recommendations may seem complicated for the coming admissions cycle, Cornell’s intention was seemingly benevolent. As stated on its website, Cornell wanted “to provide students with time to prepare and take standardized tests.”

Looking ahead, the requirement will become simpler for students applying in the admissions cycle beginning in fall 2025 for fall 2026 enrollment. It may not be what students like to hear, but it will be a uniform policy: All undergraduate colleges and schools of Cornell University will require standardized testing.

The 3 Remaining Test-Optional Ivies

As of this writing, there are only three Ivy-League holdouts on test-optional policies.

The University of Pennsylvania’s website confirms “it will remain test-optional for the 2024-25 admissions cycle.” UPenn specifies, “Applicants who do not submit SAT or ACT scores will not be at a disadvantage in the admissions process.”

Columbia’s website says , “For students who choose to submit testing, we welcome this information and are pleased to include standardized tests in your application review. Students who choose not to submit test scores, however, will not be at a disadvantage in our process.”

Princeton’s website claims it will remain test-optional through the fall of 2025, and students who do not submit a test score “will not be disadvantaged in our process.”

Nevertheless, the other Ivies said much the same—until they didn’t.

The encouraging news is that Cornell, like each of the Ivies that now requires standardized testing, assures students their test scores will be considered in context. As Lisa Nishii, vice provost for undergraduate education and interim vice provost for enrollment, said in the Cornell Chronicle , “We are committed to evaluating an applicant’s academic preparedness as well as how their unique interests, lived experiences and strengths will contribute to Cornell’s vision of ‘… any person … any study.’ ”

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Cornell reinstates required standardized testing for applicants applying in the 2026 admission cycle.

20 hours ago

Cornell reinstates standardized testing requirement for fall 2026 application cycle, by anushka shorewala | 20 hours ago.

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Since the 2021 admissions cycle, Cornell University’s eight undergraduate colleges have adopted test-optional and test-blind policies. However, starting in the 2026 admissions cycle, all colleges will mandate prospective students to submit a standardized test score with their applications. 

Although colleges will continue test-optional and test-blind policies for the Fall 2025 admissions cycle, students are encouraged to submit SAT and/or ACT scores.

Test-Optional Schools for Fall 2025 Enrollment:

• College of Arts and Sciences
• College of Engineering
• College of Human Ecology
• Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy
• School of Industrial and Labor Relations

Test-Blind Schools for Fall 2025 Enrollment:

• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 
• College of Architecture, Art and Planning
• Cornell S.C. Johnson College of Business

Cornell initially suspended standardized test requirements for applicants in April 2020 due to SAT and ACT test cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many peer institutions — including Yale and Dartmouth — recently announced that they would reinstate the standardized testing requirement. Other universities including Columbia stated that they would remain test-optional.  

The University decided to reinstate its standardized testing requirement based on evidence from a multi-year study conducted by the University’s Task Force on Standardized Testing in Admissions.

The task force found no clear indication that reduced testing policies brought a major increase in diversity and instead found a slight decrease in diversity along some metrics.

When the policy was first implemented in 2021, the percentage of Black, Hispanic and Indigenous students and first-generation students in the first-year class increased compared to 2020. 

However, as scores continued to not be required from 2021 to 2023, the percent of students who identify as Black, Hispanic and/or Indigenous in the first-year classes decreased from 28 percent to 25 percent.

Standardized test scores can give the admissions committees a better understanding of the students’ academic potential when contextualized to students’ backgrounds, including the high school they attend and their familial income, according to the task force.

Under current test policies, students may not submit test scores when they fall below the average admitted Cornell student scores, despite having scores that would advantage them in the admissions process once contextualized to social factors. 

The report also highlighted that based on previous studies at Cornell and elsewhere, SAT scores can help inform how first-year students will handle academic rigor, especially in their first semester. Higher SAT scores indicate that a student is more likely to stay in “good academic standing” and maintain continuous enrollment. 

Admissions officers more often selected students who submitted a test score compared to those who did not in test-optional years, according to the task force. While only 28 percent of applicants submitted a test score in fall 2022, 44 percent of admitted students submitted a test score. 

However, the report noted that this difference could also reflect that students who report test scores tend to have a stronger application overall. 

Still, regression models that estimate admissions probability — which control for various factors such as high school GPA and additional student and high school characteristics — estimated that submitting scores “significantly increases the likelihood of admission” in test-optional colleges. 

According to the task force, this finding underscores the importance of admissions officers utilizing test scores to inform their decisions.

“While it may seem counterintuitive, considering these test scores actually promotes access to students from a wider range of backgrounds and circumstances,” Provost Michael Kotlikoff wrote in the announcement.