Grinnell College vs Cornell

Grinnell College and Cornell University, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Grinnell, a liberal arts college in Iowa, boasts a tight-knit community and a focus on undergraduate teaching, while Cornell, an Ivy League university in New York, provides a diverse range of academic programs and world-class research opportunities. With Grinnell's acceptance rate hovering around 15% and Cornell's at 10%, both institutions are highly selective. Grinnell's student body is predominantly White, while Cornell's is more diverse, reflecting its larger size and global reputation. Popular majors at Grinnell include English, Economics, and Biology, while Cornell offers a wider array of disciplines, including Engineering, Business, and Agriculture. Both institutions boast impressive graduation rates, with Grinnell's at 88% and Cornell's at 93%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these two exceptional institutions and determine which one aligns best with your academic
Cornell University logo

Cornell University

Grinnell College logo

Grinnell College

Overview

Location Ithaca, New York Grinnell, Iowa
Campus setting City: Small Town: Remote
College type 4 year 4 year
Control/business model Private (Non Profit) Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system Semester Semester
Degrees offered Undergraduate and Graduate Undergraduate
Students retention rate 97.0% 93.0%
Common app member Yes Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission

Acceptance rate 8.7% 10.5%
Application fees
Undergraduate: $80

Graduate: $105
SAT range 1450 - 1560 1370 - 1530
ACT range 33 - 35 30 - 34
Students submitting SAT score 41.0% 29.0%
Students submitting ACT score 20.0% 33.0%
Total number of applicants 67,380 10,513
Total number of admissions given out 5,852 1,108
Admitted students who chose to enroll 3,718 471
Yield rate 63.5% 42.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT) N/A N/A
High school GPA Not required Not required
Recommendation letters Required Required
High school transcript Not required Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL) Required Required

Tuition and Fees

Sticker price $80,287 $76,098
Average net price $24,262 $37,423
Tuition $60,286 $58,156
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $9,962

Meal plan: $6,434
Room/dormitory: $6,779

Meal plan: $7,572
Available payment plans
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

50.0%
Average amount $52,674
100.0%
Average amount $35,821
Students receiving federal student loan 26.0%
Average amount $3,924
36.0%
Average amount $3,952
Students taking out private loans 16.0%
Average amount $8,357
12.0%
Average amount $5,903

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 15,503
Men 46.1% Women 53.9%
1,748
Men 47.5% Women 52.5%
Graduate students 10,079
Men 51.0% Women 49.0%
N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity
Moderate
Low
Out-of-state students 64.3% 91.5%
International students 24.4% 19.4%
Campus local/setting City: Small Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity 7,422 1,450
First year students are required to live on campus? No Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from New York California New Jersey Florida Pennsylvania California Illinois Iowa Minnesota Texas

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Business
  • Engineering
  • Agriculture
  • Computer and Information Science
  • Legal Profession
  • Social Sciences
  • Foreign Languages and Literatures
  • Physical Science
  • Visual & Performing Arts
  • Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio 9:1 9:1
Institutional accreditation Middle States Commission on Higher Education Higher Learning Commission

Outcome

Graduation rate 94.1% 86.9%
Dropout rate 5.2% 12.9%
Transferred out N/A N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
Law (Doctoral Degrees)
  • Year 1: $185,154
  • Year 2: $172,867
  • Year 3: $207,272
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $150,786
  • Year 2: $145,332
  • Year 3: $167,695
Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $127,764
  • Year 2: $122,485
  • Year 3: $158,076
Computer Science (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $147,241
  • Year 2: $127,397
  • Year 3: $155,653
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $114,311
  • Year 2: $111,926
  • Year 3: $126,082
Operations Research (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $101,067
  • Year 2: $109,763
  • Year 3: $124,590
Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $88,459
  • Year 2: $92,277
  • Year 3: $109,597
Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $105,672
  • Year 2: $97,071
  • Year 3: $109,553
Systems Engineering (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $95,847
  • Year 2: $94,408
  • Year 3: $107,658
Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $101,072
  • Year 3: $106,693
Economics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $56,661
  • Year 2: $52,941
  • Year 3: $55,487
Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $31,893
  • Year 2: $34,704
  • Year 3: $49,481
English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $20,499
  • Year 2: $29,141
  • Year 3: $41,882
Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $27,517
  • Year 2: $33,993
  • Year 3: $40,572
Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $26,353
  • Year 3: $37,882
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $21,508
  • Year 3: $37,613
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $23,718
  • Year 2: $19,227
  • Year 3: $29,237
Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $20,140
  • Year 3: $28,680
Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $70,658
  • Year 2: $91,744
  • Year 3: N/A
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $29,239
  • Year 2: N/A
  • Year 3: N/A

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.
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