Admitted Students

You did it! Applause and accolades are due, as you are set to become a Cornell Engineer! The high caliber of your application secured a place for you at one of the world's most prestigious engineering programs. We truly believe you have the academic talent and personal disposition to thrive at Cornell. We can’t wait to welcome you in person next fall.

Explore Cornell Engineering

While it is difficult to encapsulate the many dimensions of Cornell Engineering, these are the hallmarks at the heart of this remarkable institution:

Cornell Engineers are collaborators. Students work together in small groups to solve classroom problem sets. Project team members from across the University collaboratively solve complex problems while gaining real-world engineering experience. And as a world-class research institution, Cornell has the advantage of a richly collaborative learning environment. We help each other and work together to improve the quality of life for people and communities spanning the globe.
Innovation drives us forward. By reaching across disciplines, our faculty, students, alumni, and staff are building a community where unexpected integrations of deep expertise point the way toward the solutions of tomorrow. Cornell University is deeply committed to the transfer of knowledge and discoveries, the commercialization of new technology, and economic and environmental sustainability. The cross-fertilization of ideas lead to innovations that save lives, save the planet, and improve life for all living things.
Cornell Engineers are supported. At Cornell Engineering, no student goes it alone. Cornell is a big place, but resources are available at every turn to make college feel smaller and to emphasize community building. Academic support is readily available through faculty advisors, Engineering Advising, Diversity programs in Engineering and Engineering Learning Initiatives. Trained peer tutors and advisors assist with students with academic life, including the transition to life as a Cornellian.
We value kindness. It may seem like a small thing, but we look for kindness as a personal attribute as we build our class of incoming students. As a result, we have a student body that is friendly, considerate, and concerned for one another. Kindness is strength.
Opportunity knocks at every corner. Whatever your interests—academic, personal, or career, you will find a way to pursue it at Cornell. Undergraduates can participate in novel research, learn experientially through project teams, or study abroad. Engineering Career Services will help you with interview preparation and job/internship placement, so you can make the most of every career opportunity that comes your way. Global corporations and enterprising startups alike come to campus to recruit our extraordinarily talented and well-prepared undergraduate engineers. And through abundant opportunities for cultivating leadership skills, we develop engineering leaders who take on the world's biggest challenges with knowledge, skill, insight and courage.
We support entrepreneurship. The College of Engineering has a wide range of courses, events, and experiential learning activities designed to help students begin their journey of business creation and success in any engineering discipline. This includes an entrepreneurship minor, which focuses on giving engineering students the skills necessary to identify and evaluate opportunities and begin new business ventures.

If you have questions, please contact the Engineering Admissions Office by email engr_admissions@cornell.edu. Our staff can answer your questions or direct you to the appropriate place to get your answers. We will be in touch in late January, so be on the look out for emails from us!

If you have applied for financial aid and have submitted all of the required documents, you should receive your estimate within a week. If you have questions about your financial aid, please contact the Office of Financial Aid at 607-255-5145 or finaid@cornell.edu.

Again, we wish you sincere congratulations. Keep up the excellent work! Please remember we do check mid-year and final grades!

Jumping into freshman year seemed like a huge leap into the unknown, but looking back, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I think the most important thing is to concentrate on being willing to talk to and befriend everyone who you meet. Everyone is in the same situation as you and wants to make friends. Everyone belongs: it’s up to you to embrace it!!

— Alex

I am a Cornell Engineer! What's Next?

We realize that you probably have a long list of questions. Before reaching out, please take some time to go through the list of frequently asked questions here. If the answer is not here, please send us an email and we will do our best to answer it. Check back here occasionally as we will add questions and answers as we get them!

I would like to change my senior schedule?

Stay the course; you are not able to change your senior schedule without written permission from our office. Your admission to the College of Engineering at Cornell is contingent upon you satisfactorily completing any school work in progress. We will consider course selection changes on a case-by-case basis and these must be approved by your high school counselor. To submit a request, please send an email to engr_admissions@cornell.edu.

When do I start receiving information about the fall semester?

Our Engineering Advising Office will help you every step of the way, if you decide to enroll at Cornell Engineering. However, we need to wait for the rest of the Class of 2029 to be admitted and make their enrollment decision. Advising will begin to send regular (weekly at a minimum) emails to you beginning in May 2025. Until then, we ask for your patience. If you do have questions that you cannot find the answers to on this website, please reach out to the Admissions staff.

Is it possible to switch colleges before arriving on campus?

No. However, once you have matriculated you can work with the advising office within your college to plan and navigate a change to another college within Cornell University. Your advisor will be able to help you manage the internal transfer process, but, in the meantime, it may be useful for you to review the Internal Transfer website. Please note that you are not able to apply as an internal transfer student until the end of your second semester at Cornell.

I would like to defer my enrollment, what do I do?

Admitted first-year Cornell Engineering students may be able to apply for a one- or two-year deferred entry. Requests are evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the Engineering Admissions Office and have been granted in previous years for a variety of reasons.

Reasons for Enrollment Deferral

Cornell Engineering will consider enrollment deferral requests for the following reasons:

Military Service
Religious
International students in the process of gaining a green card (one year only)
Research, Work, and Internship Opportunities related to educational goals
Athletic Development

Cornell rarely approves enrollment deferral requests for:

Financial reasons (e.g. international students denied aid; students wishing to work a year in order to pay for college)
Educational reasons (studying elsewhere regardless of whether or not the program includes college credit)
Deferral plans that are not well-developed
Fall transfer enrolling students

Guidelines

If you are granted an enrollment deferral, the following conditions apply:

You must officially accept your offer of admission from Cornell University.
You must submit a $400 deposit reserving your place in a future class of Cornell Engineers. (Note: An $800 deposit is required for two-year deferrals).
You must formally withdraw your application(s) from any college/university to which you have applied.
You must formally decline your offer(s) of admission from any college/university to which you have been admitted.
You must NOT apply to, or enroll at, another college/university during your deferral period.

Please note: If you are granted a deferral of admission, you will begin to receive information in the spring prior to enrolling at Cornell to help you prepare for your arrival. It is your responsibility to apprise the university of any changes in your mailing address and/or email address.

Students admitted from the waitlist are expected to enroll for the upcoming fall semester and are rarely granted deferrals.

To request a deferral, please submit the form located in your application status page. The deadline for early decision applicants to request a deferral is March 1, 2025.

I want to change my major, what do I do?

Good news, you do not need to worry about this! All Cornell Engineering students begin as general engineering students regardless of the major that you may have listed on your application. During your first two years, you will take a common set of classes that we believe all engineers should take. During your sophomore year, you will select your major and affiliate with that department.

Which classes am I likely to take my first-semester?

First-year students will pre-enroll online for fall courses in late July.

Beginning in May 2025, Engineering Advising will send weekly emails throughout the summer to first-year students with helpful information and considerations to guide you through a planning process for your fall course selection. Additionally, detailed information and step-by-step instructions about how to select your courses and pre-enrolling in them will be provided to you prior to July, before the start of pre-enroll.

Many first-year engineering students will pre-enroll in the following courses during the fall semester:

Engineering Math (4 credits)
Science (Chemistry or Physics, based on academic interest and advanced placement credit, 4 credits)
Intro to Computing (4 credits) OR Introduction to Engineering (ENGRI) (3 credits)*
Engineering Seminar (ENGRG 1050) (1 credit)
First-Year Writing Seminar (3 credits)
Physical Education (1 credit)
Academic Excellence Workshops (optional) (1 credit each)*Some students may not take a science in the fall, but rather an Intro to Computing course and an Intro to Engineering course. Furthermore, a few students, who have a significant amount of advance placement in math and science, may decide to take a liberal studies course in the fall semester.

There is more information on the Engineering Advising new students' website that will be regularly updated beginning in May.

Will the College of Engineering offer transfer credit for AP, IB, GCE A-levels and/or college classes taken in high school?

The College of Engineering will award credit for certain advanced classes based on exam results. In addition, college courses taken during high school that meet certain criteria may be reviewed for transfer credit. Please note that transfer credit is not guaranteed, and requests are evaluated on a case-by-case basis to ensure that all department and College policies have been met for credit to be awarded. For more information, please refer to the College's websites on AP and Transfer Credit and the Transfer Credit Application Process. Matriculating students may also earn credit by taking a Cornell Advanced Standing Exam (CASE) during the fall orientation period. Cornell University's Registrar is the official determinant of all credit transfer policies.

How do I sign up for housing and dining?

A detailed checklist for all incoming first-year students will open in April. You should go through this list regularly and monitor your progress. Make sure you note all deadlines!

Do I need a personal computer?

We constantly maintain and modernize our computing facilities in the College to make sure that each student has access to the necessary technology. So the answer to this question is "no", you don't need to have your own computer, though most students feel that owning one is convenient and opt to have one. If you decide to buy a computer, check out these computer recommendations.

Do I need a calculator?

Yes, a scientific (non-graphing) calculator is necessary for your coursework in some classes. Additionally, most students tell us that a graphing calculator, although not necessary, is also helpful for some assignments. Students indicated Casio and Texas Instruments calculators are the most widely used brands for each type of calculator.