Admission Requirements

To apply as a transfer student, you must have already matriculated full-time at another institution and/or graduated from high school and have earned 12 or more credits at another institution since graduation. If you are enrolled in a dual-enrollment or early-college program and haven’t yet graduated from high school, you will apply as a first-year applicant.

Be sure that you have completed all the basic educational requirements needed to transfer to Cornell. Each of our undergraduate colleges or schools may have specific requirements and prerequisites that you’ll need to meet, and maybe some extra items you’ll need to submit to be considered for admission.

You may apply to only one of the seven undergraduate colleges or schools at Cornell, with rare exception.* Each college or school has its own transfer applicant admission requirements. Make sure to review each college and school’s transfer student requirements and send any requests for specifics directly to the college or school you’re considering.

• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• College of Architecture, Art, and Planning
• College of Arts and Sciences
• College of Engineering
• School of Hotel Administration
• College of Human Ecology
• School of Industrial and Labor Relations

*At the discretion of the admissions office, another college at Cornell may review your application if you are not offered admission to your first-choice college.

Cornell uses only the Transfer Common Application, including pages AP-1 to AP-5, College Instructor Evaluation, College Official’s Report, and Mid-Term Report. You can complete and submit the Transfer Common Application online at www.commonapp.org. We strongly recommend applying online. If you need to, you can mail your transfer application and fee.

The supplement is required of all applicants, as it includes important Cornell-specific information and essay instructions. This is available, and can be submitted, online at www.commonapp.org. If sending by mail, download the supplement and follow the Application Mailing Instructions.

In addition to the Transfer Common Application, Cornell requires submission of the following forms with your application. These forms can be found online at www.commonapp.org, and submitted by mail. Be sure to remind individuals writing recommendations for you to include your name and date of birth on all pages.

A. College Instructor Evaluation - This form must be completed by one or more instructors who have taught you in a full-credit college course. A high school teacher’s recommendation should not take the place of a recommendation from one of your college instructors.

B. College Official’s Report - A dean, registrar, advisor, or other college official who has access to your academic and disciplinary records must complete this report. The official should complete the form to the best of their ability; the sections regarding academic standing and disciplinary record are required. We cannot review your application without a completed College Official’s Report.

C. Mid-Term Report - This form is completed by instructors whose courses you are enrolled in at the time of your application. If midterm grades are not available to submit with your application, the Mid-Term Report should be submitted as soon as possible when grades are available. If your college does not assign midterm grades, please speak with your professors and have them assess your current performance in class.

Don’t forget to check with the undergraduate college or school to which you are applying for any additional required submissions. Without these required materials, your application will not be considered complete.

We require your official secondary/high school transcript(s) and official transcripts from all colleges attended.

If you have previously taken the SAT or ACT, you should have an official score report sent to Cornell by the testing agency. It is not necessary to take the SAT or ACT if you have not previously done so.

Applications must be submitted with a $75 application fee or fee waiver in order to be considered. Submitting the online Common Application and the $75 online fee or the transfer fee waiver* begins the transfer admission process and should be done as soon as possible to avoid delays. We highly encourage you to submit your application and payment online at www.commonapp.org. If you need to mail them instead, please send to our transfer application address.

Please note that Cornell cannot process your transfer application without the $75 application fee or a transfer fee waiver. Remember that if you apply online, you must submit the application fee online, or you must mark the box indicating you are requesting a waiver. If you submit an application in hard copy form, you must submit the application fee in the form of a check, draft, or international money order (payable to Cornell University) with your full name and date of birth written on your fee payment to our mailing address.

*Transfer Fee Waiver

In keeping with Ezra Cornell’s vision of “Any person, any study,” Cornell is proud to serve students from all economic backgrounds. If submitting our application fee would result in a financial hardship for your family, we encourage you to consider applying for a fee waiver. You can apply for an application fee waiver by submitting a letter from a transfer advisor, the financial aid office at your current college/university, or representative of a social service/community agency stating that the fee would cause financial hardship. Should you have questions, please contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office at transfer@cornell.edu.

 If you are submitting your application on paper, your fee waiver request should be sent attached to page AP-1 of the Common Application. If you are applying online, check the fee waiver box on the Common Application.

Most of our colleges and schools do not require, or offer, an interview. The programs that do require an interview are:

A. College of Architecture, Art, and Planning - for architecture or fine arts applicants to the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, use the AAP online interview request form or call 607.255.4376 to schedule an interview.

B. School of Hotel Administration - submit the School of Hotel Administration online request form to schedule an interview by the corresponding spring or fall transfer application deadline.