Cornell has released its admissions data for the Class of 2024, revealing a 10.7 percent acceptance rate and a class size slightly larger than last year’s, despite fears of lower enrollment due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The University released accepted student data about five months after the admissions cycle ended — this is the first time Cornell has withheld this information until late summer to avoid discouraging potential applicants with admissions statistics.
Cornell received 51,500 applications for the Class of 2024, about 2,000 more than last year. The acceptance rate decreased 0.2 percent from the Class of 2023’s 10.9 percent admit rate. Cornell’s admit rate stands apart from most other Ivy League colleges that reported slightly higher acceptance rates for their incoming classes.
This year’s enrollment reflects a slight decrease in international students and students from the Midwest, both falling by less than one percent. However, incoming students are citizens of nine more countries than students from the Class of 2023. Students from other geographic regions enrolled at a similar rate to last year.
The percentage of first generation students increased by 2.1 percent from last year’s incoming class, comprising 15.5 percent of their class. Students of color make up 51.7 percent of the Class of 2024, a 3.2 percent increase from last year, and underrepresented minority students represent 26.9 percent of the incoming class, a jump of 1.3 percent from the Class of 2023.
The Class of 2024 has students from 48 states as well as Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam. No incoming students come from Arkansas or North Dakota.
The fall 2020 transfer cohort has 134 more students than last year. The percentage of women in the transfer cohort decreased by about 8 percent, and the percentage of international transfers decreased by nearly 2 percent.
“Coronavirus is a challenge, and this incoming Class of 2024 reminds us that Cornell students embody ingenuity and fortitude,” Jonathan Burdick, vice provost for enrollment, said in a press release. “This talented entering class, my first, has been flexible and understanding in every way, and these students are not going to let anything hold them back.”