Enrollment Trends at Cornell

The student population at Cornell University is 26,793 (16,128 undergraduate and 10,665 graduate students) . The number of students has increased by 4,889 (22.32%) over the past decade.

Class Level: The percentage of undergraduate students at Cornell is 60.19% which is increased by 1,813 over last 10 years. The graduate student population increased by 3,076 and it has been increasing.
Gender Breakdown: In 2025, there were 90 male students for every 100 female students, down from 105 in 2015.
527 students enrolled in online degree program exclusively and the number of online students has increased by 1,363.89% since 2015.

School Home 2024 Student Population

Student Population Changes

The average student population over the last 11 years is 24,302 where 26,793 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.

Total enrollment fluctuated between 2016 and 2025, with 8 year-over-year increases and 1 decrease. It peaked at 26,793 students in 2025 and was lowest at 21,904 in 2016. Overall, enrollment rose from 21,904 to 26,793 students, a net gain of 4,889 (22.3%).

The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Cornell University since 2015.

Year	Total	Undergraduate			Graduate
Year	Total	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2015-16	21,904	14,315	6,935	7,380	7,589	4,288	3,301
2016-17	22,319 415	14,566 251	6,989 54	7,577 197	7,753 164	4,322 34	3,431 130
2017-18	23,016 697	14,907 341	7,086 97	7,821 244	8,109 356	4,536 214	3,573 142
2018-19	23,600 584	15,182 275	7,139 53	8,043 222	8,418 309	4,559 23	3,859 286
2019-20	24,027 427	15,043 -139	6,939 -200	8,104 61	8,984 566	4,760 201	4,224 365
2020-21	23,620 -407	14,743 -300	6,781 -158	7,962 -142	8,877 -107	4,687 -73	4,190 -34
2021-22	25,582 1,962	15,503 760	7,150 369	8,353 391	10,079 1,202	5,144 457	4,935 745
2022-23	25,898 316	15,735 232	7,162 12	8,573 220	10,163 84	5,051 -93	5,112 177
2023-24	26,264 366	16,051 316	7,300 138	8,751 178	10,213 50	5,042 -9	5,171 59
2024-25	26,793 529	16,128 77	7,333 33	8,795 44	10,665 452	5,363 321	5,302 131
Average	24,302	15,217	7,081	8,136	9,085	4,775	4,310

Cornell University Enrollment Trends Chart

Undergraduate Enrollment Changes

The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 15,217 where 16,128 students are attending the Undergraduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Undergraduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Cornell University since 2015.

Year	Total	Full-time			Part-time
Year	Total	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2015-16	14,315	14,303	6,932	7,371	12	3	9
2016-17	14,566	14,556	6,986	7,570	10	3	7
2017-18	14,907	14,898	7,084	7,814	9	2	7
2018-19	15,182	15,175	7,137	8,038	7	2	5
2019-20	15,043	15,038	6,939	8,099	5	0	5
2020-21	14,743	14,693	6,743	7,950	50	38	12
2021-22	15,503	15,450	7,115	8,335	53	35	18
2022-23	15,735	15,685	7,132	8,553	50	30	20
2023-24	16,051	15,899	7,235	8,664	152	65	87
2024-25	16,128	15,972	7,263	8,709	156	70	86
Average	15,217	15,217	7,057	8,110	15,217	25	26

Cornell University Undergraduate Enrollment Trends Chart

Graduate Enrollment Changes

The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 9,085 where 10,665 students are attending the Graduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Graduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Cornell University since 2015.

Year	Total	Full-time			Part-time
Year	Total	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2015-16	7,589	7,514	4,255	3,259	75	33	42
2016-17	7,753	7,671	4,294	3,377	82	28	54
2017-18	8,109	8,025	4,501	3,524	84	35	49
2018-19	8,418	8,324	4,522	3,802	94	37	57
2019-20	8,984	8,883	4,723	4,160	101	37	64
2020-21	8,877	8,282	4,385	3,897	595	302	293
2021-22	10,079	9,558	4,849	4,709	521	295	226
2022-23	10,163	9,413	4,656	4,757	750	395	355
2023-24	10,213	9,435	4,618	4,817	778	424	354
2024-25	10,665	9,778	4,872	4,906	887	491	396
Average	9,085	9,085	4,568	4,121	9,085	208	189

Cornell University Graduate Enrollment Trends Chart

Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Changes

The percentage of white students is 27.94% and the percentage of black students is 5.54% at Cornell University. 20.34% of enrolled students is Asian. Hispanic students comprise 10.30% of the student body.

Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 38.45% to 27.94%. Asian enrollment grew from 14.71% to 20.34%. Black student enrollment increased from 4.88% to 5.54%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 9.58% to 10.30%.

The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.8650 which indicates that highly diverse. This increased from 0.8176 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.

The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Cornell University over the past 11 years (2015-2025).

Year	American Indian or Native American	Asian	Black	Hispanic	Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	White	Two or More Races
Year	2015-16	69	3,223	1,069	2,099	19	8,423	795
2016-17	80	3,317	1,108	2,231	17	8,319	804
2017-18	67	3,405	1,165	2,347	24	8,258	813
2018-19	69	3,512	1,260	2,506	20	8,072	857
2019-20	60	3,709	1,274	2,556	22	8,063	916
2020-21	56	3,926	1,367	2,698	24	7,937	940
2021-22	69	4,360	1,467	2,862	23	8,137	1,076
2022-23	61	4,637	1,523	2,900	22	7,840	1,113
2023-24	53	4,976	1,561	2,932	29	7,586	1,103
2024-25	49	5,451	1,484	2,760	28	7,485	1,171
Average	63	4,052	1,328	2,589	23	8,012	959

Cornell University Enrollment by Race Trends Chart

Distance Learning (Online Courses) Enrollment Changes

527 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 2% of total students. The number of online students has increased 1,363.89% since 2016. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Cornell University from 2015 to 2025.

Year	Total Enrollment	Online Completely	Enrolled in Some Online Courses	Not Enrolled in Online Courses
2015-16	21,904	0	469	21,435
2016-17	22,319	36	430	21,853
2017-18	23,016	169	374	22,473
2018-19	23,600	204	309	23,087
2019-20	24,027	123	852	23,052
2020-21	23,620	6,167	16,126	1,327
2021-22	25,582	160	2,837	22,585
2022-23	25,898	382	2,692	22,824
2023-24	26,264	422	2,321	23,521
2024-25	26,793	527	1,572	24,694
Average	24,302	819	2,798	20,685

Most Searched New York Colleges (last 30 days)

Undergraduate

Fashion Institute of Technology Public, 4-year | New York
New York University Private, 4-year | New York
Colgate University Private, 4-year | Hamilton
Syracuse University Private, 4-year | Syracuse
The Juilliard School Private, 4-year | New York
Rochester Institute of Technology Private, 4-year | Rochester
The New School Private, 4-year | New York
Binghamton University Public, 4-year | Vestal
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Private, 4-year | Troy
Cornell University Private, 4-year | Ithaca

compare schools

Graduate

Columbia University in the City of New York Private, 4-year | New York
University at Buffalo Public, 4-year | Buffalo
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art Private, 4-year | New York
Roberts Wesleyan University Private, 4-year | Rochester
Iona University Private, 4-year | New Rochelle
Touro University Private, 4-year | New York
HJ International Graduate School for Peace and Public Leadership Private, 4-year | New York
St. Thomas Aquinas College Private, 4-year | Sparkill
Excelsior University Private, 4-year | Albany
Bank Street College of Education Private, 4-year | New York

compare schools

Online Schools

St. John's University-New York Private, 4-year | Queens
CUNY Queens College Public, 4-year | Queens
Canisius University Private, 4-year | Buffalo
Syracuse University Private, 4-year | Syracuse
New York School of Interior Design Private, 4-year | New York
Monroe University Private, 4-year | Bronx
State University of New York at Oswego Public, 4-year | Oswego
Mohawk Valley Community College Public, 2-4 year | Utica
College of Staten Island CUNY Public, 4-year | Staten Island
New York University Private, 4-year | New York

compare schools

Trade Schools

Lia Schorr Institute of Cosmetic Skin Care Training Private, Less than 2-year | New York
Modern Welding School Private, Less than 2-year | Schenectady
Empire Beauty School-Manhattan Private, Less than 2-year | New York
New York School for Medical and Dental Assistants Private, 2-4 year | Long Island City
SUNY at Purchase College Public, 4-year | Purchase
CUNY LaGuardia Community College Public, 2-4 year | Long Island City
EDP School Private, Less than 2-year | Brooklyn
Long Island Nail Skin & Hair Institute Private, Less than 2-year | Bethpage
Marist University Private, 4-year | Poughkeepsie
New York Institute of Massage Inc Private, Less than 2-year | Williamsville

compare schools

Enrollment Trends at Cornell

Student Population Changes

Undergraduate Enrollment Changes

Graduate Enrollment Changes

Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Changes

Distance Learning (Online Courses) Enrollment Changes

Ratings & Review