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Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 15,935 Undergrads 96.0% Grad Rate
Total Cost
$83,196
Sticker Price
Avg Net Price
$32,337
After Aid
Median Earnings
$104,043
10yr Post-Entry
Vs. Peer Institutions
Net Price$32,337
Peer Midpoint: $19,729.5
Earnings (10yr)$104,043
Peer Midpoint: $53,747
Graduation Rate96.0%
Peer Midpoint: 58.5%
Socio-Economic Diversity
Pell Grant Recipients18.0%
Enrollment Status
Full-Time99.1%
Economic Outcomes
Earn More than HS88.2%
Admissions Profile
Acceptance
8.2%
SAT Avg
1,520
SAT Reading
25th: 72073075th: 770
SAT Math
25th: 76077575th: 790
ACT Composite
25th: 333475th: 35
ROI Sensitivity Analysis
This analysis tests three cost scenarios (Scholarship, Average Net Price, Full Sticker Price) to show how college costs impact your long-term return compared to the average student and a high school graduate.
Lifetime Value Added (NPV)
Institution Lifetime NPV
Vs Median Peer
Vs HS Grad
Zero Cost (Scholarship)$0
+$843k
+$447k
+$359k
Median Cost$32k/yr
+$727k
+$330k
+$242k
Full Cost$83k/yr
+$544k
+$147k
+$59k
ROI Efficiency Metrics
Break-Even Age
Return on Inv. %
Zero Cost (Scholarship)$0
26
∞
Median Cost$32k/yr
31
208%
Full Cost$83k/yr
49
20%
Analysis Assumptions:
- Starting Salary: Estimated from the 10-year median earnings (assuming 2% annual growth from graduation).
- Comparisons: "Vs Median Peer" compares to the median student nationwide in a similar level program. "Vs HS Grad" compares to a median high school graduate.
- Break-Even: The age at which the college investment net income exceeds the median high school graduate's lifetime earnings.
- NPV: Net Present Value of all future earnings minus costs and taxes, discounted at 7.8%.
Social Impact ROINew
Measures the societal return on a donor's investment. Calculated as the incremental pre-tax lifetime earnings vs. HS grad, divided by the tax-adjusted donation cost.
Donor Return128%
Gov. Pell Grant ROINew
Measures the government's return on Pell Grants via increased tax revenue. Calculated as the portion of incremental lifetime taxes (discounted at 5.4%) attributed to the Pell Grant investment.
Taxpayer Return-27%
Important Note: Your ROI with any major will depend on the cost you pay to attend the program, and your starting salary. Both vary significantly across institutions. We encourage you to explore the ROI of a specific program variant by selecting the Program title of the credential level you are interested in. You will then have a more detailed return analysis for programs at specific institutions. We also encourage you to use the ROI calculator with your specific estimates of cost and salary.
Program ROI Analysis
Bachelor's Degrees
Agricultural Business and Management
BachCIP: 0101
Median Debt
$12,500
Earnings (5yr)
$130,690
Lifetime Value Added
+$455k
Agricultural Engineering
BachCIP: 1403
Median Debt
$14,814
Earnings (5yr)
$102,051
Lifetime Value Added
+$243k
Agriculture, General
BachCIP: 0100
Median Debt
$13,109
Earnings (5yr)
$56,857
Lifetime Value Added
-$100k
Animal Sciences
BachCIP: 0109
Median Debt
$12,730
Earnings (5yr)
$51,670
Lifetime Value Added
-$142k
Anthropology
BachCIP: 4502
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$34,526
Lifetime Value Added
-$267k
Architecture
BachCIP: 0402
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$67,920
Lifetime Value Added
-$13k
Area Studies
BachCIP: 0501
Median Debt
$17,250
Earnings (5yr)
$81,545
Lifetime Value Added
+$89k
Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other
BachCIP: 2699
Median Debt
$13,210
Earnings (5yr)
$85,225
Lifetime Value Added
+$117k
Biology, General
BachCIP: 2601
Median Debt
$15,500
Earnings (5yr)
$69,997
Lifetime Value Added
+$3k
Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology
BachCIP: 2611
Median Debt
$15,500
Earnings (5yr)
$152,425
Lifetime Value Added
+$615k
Chemical Engineering
BachCIP: 1407
Median Debt
$14,361
Earnings (5yr)
$118,510
Lifetime Value Added
+$365k
Chemistry
BachCIP: 4005
Median Debt
$15,121
Earnings (5yr)
$60,338
Lifetime Value Added
-$72k
City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning
BachCIP: 0403
Median Debt
$12,952
Earnings (5yr)
$70,676
Lifetime Value Added
+$8k
Civil Engineering
BachCIP: 1408
Median Debt
$12,500
Earnings (5yr)
$100,258
Lifetime Value Added
+$229k
Communication and Media Studies
BachCIP: 0901
Median Debt
$14,400
Earnings (5yr)
$89,715
Lifetime Value Added
+$150k
Computer and Information Sciences, General
BachCIP: 1101
Median Debt
$15,500
Earnings (5yr)
$140,860
Lifetime Value Added
+$530k
Computer Science
BachCIP: 1107
Median Debt
$14,750
Earnings (5yr)
$219,827
Lifetime Value Added
+$1107k
Economics
BachCIP: 4506
Median Debt
$15,000
Earnings (5yr)
$129,667
Lifetime Value Added
+$448k
Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering
BachCIP: 1410
Median Debt
$14,725
Earnings (5yr)
$131,283
Lifetime Value Added
+$460k
Engineering, General
BachCIP: 1401
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$115,100
Lifetime Value Added
+$340k
English Language and Literature, General
BachCIP: 2301
Median Debt
$16,300
Earnings (5yr)
$70,443
Lifetime Value Added
+$6k
Environmental Design
BachCIP: 0404
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$57,318
Lifetime Value Added
-$68k
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering
BachCIP: 1414
Median Debt
$13,176
Earnings (5yr)
$87,212
Lifetime Value Added
+$132k
Fine and Studio Arts
BachCIP: 5007
Median Debt
$15,500
Earnings (5yr)
$73,168
Lifetime Value Added
+$26k
Food Science and Technology
BachCIP: 0110
Median Debt
$14,749
Earnings (5yr)
$84,555
Lifetime Value Added
+$112k
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences
BachCIP: 4006
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$25,194
Lifetime Value Added
-$352k
History
BachCIP: 5401
Median Debt
$17,110
Earnings (5yr)
$88,845
Lifetime Value Added
+$144k
Hospitality Administration/Management
BachCIP: 5209
Median Debt
$13,086
Earnings (5yr)
$98,785
Lifetime Value Added
+$218k
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services
BachCIP: 1907
Median Debt
$15,259
Earnings (5yr)
$74,602
Lifetime Value Added
+$37k
Human Resources Management and Services
BachCIP: 5210
Median Debt
$14,000
Earnings (5yr)
$120,368
Lifetime Value Added
+$379k
International Agriculture
BachCIP: 0107
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$31,839
Lifetime Value Added
-$292k
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services
BachCIP: 1601
Median Debt
$15,500
Earnings (5yr)
$53,112
Lifetime Value Added
-$130k
Materials Engineering
BachCIP: 1418
Median Debt
$16,199
Earnings (5yr)
$107,760
Lifetime Value Added
+$285k
Mathematics
BachCIP: 2701
Median Debt
$13,500
Earnings (5yr)
$162,763
Lifetime Value Added
+$692k
Mechanical Engineering
BachCIP: 1419
Median Debt
$15,500
Earnings (5yr)
$113,983
Lifetime Value Added
+$332k
Natural Resources Conservation and Research
BachCIP: 0301
Median Debt
$15,500
Earnings (5yr)
$61,505
Lifetime Value Added
-$63k
Nutrition Sciences
BachCIP: 3019
Median Debt
$13,250
Earnings (5yr)
$66,100
Lifetime Value Added
-$27k
Operations Research
BachCIP: 1437
Median Debt
$15,000
Earnings (5yr)
$151,071
Lifetime Value Added
+$605k
Philosophy
BachCIP: 3801
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$37,208
Lifetime Value Added
-$243k
Physics
BachCIP: 4008
Median Debt
$15,961
Earnings (2yr)
$74,531
Lifetime Value Added
+$71k
Plant Sciences
BachCIP: 0111
Median Debt
$14,250
Earnings (5yr)
$50,679
Lifetime Value Added
-$150k
Political Science and Government
BachCIP: 4510
Median Debt
$14,400
Earnings (5yr)
$87,361
Lifetime Value Added
+$133k
Psychology, General
BachCIP: 4201
Median Debt
$13,000
Earnings (5yr)
$77,682
Lifetime Value Added
+$60k
Public Policy Analysis
BachCIP: 4405
Median Debt
$15,125
Earnings (5yr)
$107,508
Lifetime Value Added
+$283k
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
BachCIP: 1609
Median Debt
$15,610
Earnings (5yr)
$81,245
Lifetime Value Added
+$87k
Sociology
BachCIP: 4511
Median Debt
$11,650
Earnings (5yr)
$65,655
Lifetime Value Added
-$30k
Visual and Performing Arts, Other
BachCIP: 5099
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$27,439
Lifetime Value Added
-$332k
Post-Baccalaureate Certificates
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other
PB-CertCIP: 5199
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$23,803
Lifetime Value Added
-$248k
Master's Degrees
Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering
MastCIP: 1402
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$99,517
Lifetime Value Added
+$428k
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions
MastCIP: 5109
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$138,955
Lifetime Value Added
+$712k
Architecture
MastCIP: 0402
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$82,394
Lifetime Value Added
+$229k
Biomedical/Medical Engineering
MastCIP: 1405
Median Debt
$60,500
Earnings (5yr)
$116,678
Lifetime Value Added
+$523k
Business Administration, Management and Operations
MastCIP: 5202
Median Debt
$129,912
Earnings (5yr)
$212,807
Lifetime Value Added
+$1334k
Chemical Engineering
MastCIP: 1407
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$114,309
Lifetime Value Added
+$503k
City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning
MastCIP: 0403
Median Debt
$43,408
Earnings (2yr)
$53,358
Lifetime Value Added
+$3k
Civil Engineering
MastCIP: 1408
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$101,581
Lifetime Value Added
+$394k
Computer and Information Sciences, General
MastCIP: 1101
Median Debt
$73,233
Earnings (2yr)
$90,856
Lifetime Value Added
+$349k
Computer Science
MastCIP: 1107
Median Debt
$34,528
Earnings (5yr)
$224,974
Lifetime Value Added
+$1433k
Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering
MastCIP: 1410
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$133,541
Lifetime Value Added
+$666k
Engineering-Related Fields
MastCIP: 1515
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$84,653
Lifetime Value Added
+$293k
Health and Medical Administrative Services
MastCIP: 5107
Median Debt
$98,447
Earnings (5yr)
$138,115
Lifetime Value Added
+$705k
Hospitality Administration/Management
MastCIP: 5209
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$63,005
Lifetime Value Added
+$95k
Human Resources Management and Services
MastCIP: 5210
Median Debt
$44,500
Earnings (5yr)
$150,497
Lifetime Value Added
+$810k
Mechanical Engineering
MastCIP: 1419
Median Debt
$21,805
Earnings (5yr)
$119,321
Lifetime Value Added
+$545k
Operations Research
MastCIP: 1437
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$205,185
Lifetime Value Added
+$1272k
Public Administration
MastCIP: 4404
Median Debt
$51,608
Earnings (5yr)
$89,361
Lifetime Value Added
+$289k
Real Estate
MastCIP: 5215
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$108,649
Lifetime Value Added
+$511k
Systems Engineering
MastCIP: 1427
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$143,008
Lifetime Value Added
+$746k
Doctoral Degrees
Law
DocCIP: 2201
Median Debt
$162,160
Earnings (5yr)
$273,248
Lifetime Value Added
+$1396k
Veterinary Medicine
DocCIP: 0180
Median Debt
$148,213
Earnings (5yr)
$127,375
Lifetime Value Added
+$378k
Professional Degrees
Medicine
ProfCIP: 5112
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$135,907
Lifetime Value Added
+$440k
Note: Lifetime Value Added is the Net Present Value (NPV) of estimated career earnings relative to a median high school graduate, accounting for this institution's average cost and taxes. Computed over a career to retirement age.
For graduate programs (Master's, Doctoral, etc.), the calculation assumes a starting age of 22 (after undergraduate completion) and does not include the sunk costs of prior degrees. It represents the value added of the graduate degree decision moving forward. These Lifetime Value Added results should not be compared with those Undergraduate Certificates, Associates or Bachelors starting at age 18.