Congratulations on your offer of admission — we’re so excited to welcome you to the Big Red community! We also know your financial aid offer is a very important part of your decision-making process and Cornell is proud to offer financial aid packages that meet 100 percent of demonstrated financial need to all eligible undergraduate aid applicants.

If you haven’t yet had the opportunity, please take a moment to learn more about Cornell’s Commitment to Access and Affordability.

Viewing your Financial Aid Estimate or Offer

To view your financial aid estimate or offer, please log into Student Center with your admissions login or Cornell NetID (choose “View Financial Aid” link, under “Finances”).

Occasionally, we may require additional documentation to confirm eligibility for certain types of aid. If you have outstanding requirements, please submit them as soon as possible via your IDOC Student Dashboard.

Your aid estimate — including your expected family contribution, self-help aid (work-study or loans), and total grant aid — will be accurate if your self-reported CSS Profile information is consistent with the required documentation you submit via IDOC and IRS-verified FAFSA information, once received.

• We are currently testing our software systems and preparing to receive 2024-25 FAFSA information from the U.S. Department of Education. Your official aid offer will be available after we receive your FAFSA and systems testing is complete, tentatively beginning mid-May.
• Your official aid offer may differ from your preliminary aid estimate if your self-reported CSS Profile information is not consistent with required documentation submitted via IDOC or IRS-verified FAFSA information.

FAFSA Status Alert:

March 14, 2024 – Cornell recommends completing your 2024-25 FAFSA form as soon as possible. However, we are aware some families are experiencing difficulty or cannot complete the form currently. Please be assured, our priority date is a recommendation, not a deadline. If you experience challenges with the FAFSA form, we will work with you to resolve any issues as soon as possible after we receive your FAFSA information and finalize configuration of our software systems, tentatively beginning mid-May.

Understanding your Financial Aid Estimate or Offer

Your financial aid estimate or offer consists of three components which are reviewed annually:

1. Estimated Cost of Attendance (COA) — this is an estimate of the total costs we expect a typical student to incur for two semesters in one academic year. Your estimated cost of attendance is specific to your academic program and expected housing plans. Your total COA includes costs billed by Cornell (such as tuition, fees, housing, and food if living on-campus), as well as costs you may incur that are not billed by Cornell (such as books, supplies and personal items).
2. Expected Family Contribution (EFC) — this is a calculated value based on your financial aid application materials. Your EFC consists of a student contribution and a parent contribution. Student and parent contributions include consideration for both income and assets. Eligibility for Cornell aid is determined using an institutional EFC from information you provided on the CSS Profile. Eligibility for federal aid is determined using a federal Student Aid Index (SAI) which is calculated from information you provided on the FAFSA.
3. Financial Aid (grants, scholarships, work, and loans) — Cornell is proud to offer financial aid that meets 100 percent of your family’s demonstrated financial need. Your financial need equals your total estimated cost of attendance, minus your total expected family contribution. Your financial aid offer includes grants and scholarships (gift aid), work (self-help aid that must be earned), and — depending on your total family income — loans (self-help aid that must be repaid) to meet your total financial need.

Tuition, Fees, and other components of Cornell’s estimated cost of attendance are subject to approval by the Cornell Board of Trustees or applicable governance bodies, typically in the Spring semester for the upcoming academic year. Your official aid offer will be updated automatically to include additional Cornell grant or endowed scholarship aid if an increase to one or more components of your estimated cost of attendance is approved.

• Your estimated cost of attendance includes a health fee but does not include the cost of mandatory student health insurance which will be billed to you. If you are not eligible for a health fee waiver, you may request an increase to your estimated cost of attendance and student loan funding to cover the cost of the Cornell Student Health Plan (SHP).
• If you are an international student, please carefully review the Terms of International Scholar Awards. Unless you qualify for an exemption, 14% of grant and scholarship aid in excess of qualified tuition and fees will be withheld per federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax requirements.
• If you have experienced unusual circumstances (such as parental abandonment or incarceration, refugee/asylee status), or if your family has experienced special circumstances (such as job loss), please consider using the appropriate appeal process to request a secondary review of your expected family contribution.
• You may also request adjustments to components of your estimated cost of attendance. However, additional Cornell grant or scholarship funds are only available in limited circumstances — for example: additional expenses associated with a disability — and requests to increase estimated cost of attendance typically result in offers of additional self-help aid (work or loans).

Outside Scholarships

If you are expecting to receive an outside scholarship from an external organization, please upload a copy of your scholarship award letter to our Secure Document Upload portal.

Military-Affiliated Families

Thank you for your service to our nation! If you are interested in utilizing Post-9/11 GI Bill and/or Yellow Ribbon benefits, please visit our Veterans Education Benefits page.

Other Education Financing Options

Cornell offers several other flexible payment and financing programs to assist your family, including:

• Semester-by-Semester Billing
• Cornell Installment Plans
• Federal Parent PLUS loans

Next Steps

• Discuss your Expected Family Contribution. You'll want to talk with your family about how your family contribution will be paid or financed. Fall semester charges are billed by the University Bursar’s Office in early July (due in early August) and spring semester charges are billed in early January (due in early February) each academic year.
• Watch for email updates from the Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment. We communicate primarily with you (the student) via email to your Cornell email address or, while an applicant, to the email supplied on your admissions/ FAFSA application. Common items for us to email students about include verifying sibling(s) enrollment in college, loan promissory notes and entrance counseling, and reapplying for aid for future years.
• After making your enrollment deposit decision by the applicable deadline and after receiving your official aid offer in the Spring, accept or decline self-help aid (work or loans). Grants and scholarships (gift aid) included in your aid offer do not need to be accepted. However, we request active acceptance of all self-help aid (work or loans) offered. We’ll be in touch via email with additional information about how to accept or decline loans, complete Entrance Counseling and Master Promissory Notes, and search for student employment opportunities.

Have Questions? We’re Here to Help!

If you have any questions, additional helpful information is available from our FAQ page, our Glossary page, and from financial aid staff by email at finaid@cornell.edu (include your name and student ID number), or by phone at 607-255-5145.