Ivy Day at Cornell was a typical early-spring Thursday in Ithaca, with a sunny start and a rainy end. Architecture students cobbled together their 125th wooden Dragon Day sculpture, and Cornellians began driving, flying, busing and biking away for a break from campus.
And, at approximately 7 p.m., applicants to Cornell opened their decision letters to the sound of Cornell’s alma mater, welcoming them to join the 5,776 students in Cornell’s admitted Class of 2030.
The newly-minted admits to the Cornell community — hailing from all 50 states and 102 countries — will join a community of students studying nearly 80 majors across eight different colleges.
From A.D. White Library’s study nooks to spikeball tournaments on the Arts Quad to checking boxes on the 161 Things list, the Cornellian experience awaits the newly admitted class. Admitted students can get a preview during Cornell Days on April 11, 12, 18 and 19 before joining the rest of the Cornell community for classes in August.
The number of students admitted in the Class of 2030 decreased by 0.8% from the Class of 2029’s acceptances. Last year’s acceptances by Ivy Day totalled 5,824, 48 admits more than this year’s batch.
There were several changes to the Cornell application process since the Class of 2029’s admission cycle.
For the first time since 2020, Cornell applicants were required to submit their SAT and/or ACT test scores.
Additionally, following the November settlement between Cornell and the Trump administration to restore over $250 million in federal funding to the University, Cornell is now required to provide “anonymized undergraduate admissions data” to the federal government, according to the settlement. The data will be broken down by “individual schools, race, grade point average and standardized test performance.”
Early decision applicants were notified of their acceptances on Dec. 18, and are fully committed to attending Cornell with the exception of financial concerns. Students admitted on Thursday will have until May 1 to accept their offer.
Coral Platt is a member of the Class of 2029 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a staff writer for the News department and can be reached at cplatt@cornellsun.com.
Atticus Johnson is a member of the Class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is a senior writer for the News department and can be reached at ajohnson@cornellsun.com.
