Transfer Applicants

Students are considered transfer applicants if they have:

• Completed a high school diploma (or an equivalent)
• Earned at least 12 semester hours of college credit (not including exams such as Advanced Placement) after graduating high school

If a student has earned 12 or more semester hours of credit since completing high school (or earning an equivalent), they must apply as a transfer.

If a student has enrolled as a full-time student at another institution, they must apply as a transfer. 

If a student has enrolled in a dual-enrollment or early-college program and has not yet graduated from high school, they must apply as a first-year applicant.

If a student has previously earned a bachelor’s degree, they cannot apply for a second bachelor’s degree at Cornell. 

Domestic vs. International

Domestic applicants hold one of the following United States citizenship or residency statuses:

• U.S. citizenship
• Permanent Residency
• DACA
• Undocumented without DACA status but will graduate from a U.S. high school
• Refugee/Asylee

Cornell’s international student designation for financial aid and the English Language Proficiency requirement is based on residency or citizenship status. International applicants are foreign nationals applying to Cornell. Foreign nationals are students living outside the U.S. or living in the U.S. who hold, or intend to hold, a valid F-1, J-1, H-1, H-4 etc. visa/status, as well as those pending Permanent Residency status.

College and School Transfer Admissions Requirements

Transfer Admissions Requirements

College and School Required Coursework

Cornell has required courses for most majors that should be completed or in-progress at your current institution by the time you apply. For more information, please view the required coursework for the Cornell college or school that interests you:

• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• College of Architecture, Art, and Planning:
  • Architecture
  • Art
  • History of Architecture
  • Urban and Regional Studies
• College of Arts & Sciences
• Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy
• Cornell SC Johnson College of Business:
  • Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
  • Nolan School of Hotel Administration
• College of Engineering
• College of Human Ecology
• School of Industrial and Labor Relations

Application

• Submit the online Common Application for transfers.

Application Fee or Fee Waiver

• Pay the $85 nonrefundable application fee or a fee waiver.
• We are committed to making the application process accessible for all students. If the admissions application fee presents a hardship for you or your family, the fee will be waived. Students requesting an application fee waiver from Cornell should respond to the fee waiver prompts provided in the Common Application and select “You can provide a supporting statement from a school official, college access counselor, financial aid officer, or community leader.” You will not need to submit any supporting documentation to Cornell.

High School Transcript

Official high school/secondary school final transcripts must include coursework and grade performance from 9th through 12th grade. 

Your high school should submit official high school transcripts in one of these ways:

• Common App: In the Program Materials section, under Recommendations, use the High School Official Recommendation Request to ask your high school official to upload your final high school transcript. In the Personal Messages/Notes section, let your high school official know that you are only requesting a transcript and that a recommendation letter is not required.
• Online document delivery services such as:
  • Parchment
  • SCOIR
  • eSCRIP-SAFE
  • Scribbles
  • an online ordering system or eTranscript service
• Postal mail or delivery service in an envelope sealed by the issuing institution.

All official transcripts/documents must be issued in English. If not, an official translation of all documents must be provided along with the original language documents. Cornell accepts English translations done by a teacher or school official. 

College Transcript

Submit all official college transcripts from all institutions the applicant has attended in one of these ways:

• Common App: In the Academic History section, under Colleges Attended, order your official transcript.
• Online document delivery services such as:
  • Parchment
  • SCOIR
  • eSCRIP-SAFE
  • National Student Clearinghouse
• Postal mail or delivery service in an envelope sealed by the issuing institution.

College Report

The College Report confirms that the applicant is in good academic and disciplinary standing at their most recent institution. Both the applicant and a college official must complete the form. Applicants should complete the Student Section, and a college official (such as a registrar or advisor who has access to the applicant’s academic records) should complete the College Official Section.

The college official should submit the College Report in one of these ways:

• By email with the subject line “College Report Email Submission” to applicant@cornell.edu, from the official's college email address.
• By mail or courier service.

Academic Recommendation

The Academic Recommendation should come from instructors who taught the applicant in a full-credit college course. If an applicant has not been enrolled in school for two or more years, the instructor recommendation may be replaced by a personal or employer recommendation.

The instructor should submit the Academic Evaluation in one of these ways:

• Common App (list your instructor in the Program Materials section’s Recommendations tab)
• Email to applicant@cornell.edu

Mid-term Report

Applicants complete the Mid-term Report when mid-term grades are available for their current college courses. Upload the completed Mid-term Report to your Cornell Applicant Portal.

If your college does not give midterm grades, ask your professors to assess your current performance in class. 

If you are unable to get mid-term grades or are not currently enrolled in college courses, upload an explanation in place of the Mid-term Report to your Cornell Applicant Portal.

Standardized Testing

SAT or ACT scores are neither required nor expected for transfer candidates.

Students should self-report AP, IB or A-Level exam scores in the Academic History section of the Common Application.

Cornell Transfer Questions and Writing Supplements

Add Cornell University to your Common App to see the Program Materials required by Cornell:

• In the Questions tab, select the college or school at Cornell to which you are applying to see the college/school-specific Writing Supplement question. Your response should be no longer than 3000 characters.
• In the Documents tab, upload a 250- to 650-word essay answering “How does continuing your education at a new institution help you achieve your future goals?”
• Applicants for the Nolan School of Hotel Administration are required to upload a resume in the Documents tab.

WRITING SUPPLEMENT PROMPTS

Additional Application Items

The following majors require additional material from transfer applicants:

• Architecture: Required interview and portfolio
• Art: Required portfolio
• Design and Environmental Analysis: Required design supplement
• Fashion Design and Management: Required design supplement
• Hotel Administration: Upload a resume/CV through the Common App (Program Materials section, Documents tab).
• Landscape Architecture: Required portfolio. Must be sent to Jamie Vanucchi, Director of Undergraduate Studies at jlv29@cornell.edu.  Please include your full name in the email header to ensure your portfolio is correctly matched with your application.
• College of Engineering: Transfer applicants that are offered admission must submit a course description form upon submission of the Enrollment Response Form. This form will be provided after admissions decisions are released.

Join our Community of Veteran Scholars

Cornell invites veterans and current members of the military to join its growing community of veteran scholars. 

There’s never been a better time for those who’ve served in the military to consider Cornell. The veteran community is strong and growing, thanks to a renewed commitment to recruit, enroll, and support those who’ve served. 

Cornell’s commitment to military service and those who’ve served isn’t new; it dates back to our founding as the land grant university for New York State and the Morrill Land Grant Act requiring every land grant institution to include military training in its curriculum. We are proud of our students who have graduated from Cornell and gone on to serve in the military and we are proud of our veterans who made the choice to attend Cornell after they have served our country. 

Veteran Admissions and Enrollment Support

Cornell’s Military/Veteran Admissions and Enrollment Services team includes staff and trained student veterans who work to support veterans and current members of the military from the prospective student phase through the applications for admission, financial aid, veteran education benefits, and the enrollment process. 

Please reach out to us at veteranadmissionsandenrollment@cornell.edu. We look forward to working with you!

Financial Aid and Veteran Benefits

Cornell meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for all admitted students and military/veteran applicants are encouraged to apply for financial aid, regardless of their veteran benefits eligibility. Cornell also participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program, the supplement to the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill® education benefit. For more information about veteran education benefits, please visit the University Registrar website.

For more information about financial aid, please contact the Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment at finaid@cornell.edu.

Visit our Veterans at Cornell website to learn more. 

Educating military leaders is a 150 year tradition.

Cornell has a long and prestigious military history which started with the Morrill Act of 1862. Cornell's founding and designation as New York State's Land Grant University imparted to it the responsibility to provide military training and education programs. Cornell formally established a ROTC unit in 1917. Cornell graduates have served with distinction in every major conflict since the Spanish-American War. Cornell commissioned more officers in World War I than any other institution in the United States including the military academies. During World War II, Cornellians again responded with more than 20,000 serving in the armed forces in every theatre of war.

Learn more on our ROTC at Cornell website.