Cornell University’s Office of Financial Aid runs need-based aid for international first-year and transfer undergraduates at its campus in Ithaca, New York.
Every admitted international student gets an annual offer that meets their demonstrated need in full. Admission for international applicants is need-aware: an aid request is one of many factors in the admission decision.
Benefits & funding
- Covers 100% of demonstrated need (cost of attendance minus expected family contribution) with Cornell grants, work-study and, depending on family income, reasonable student loans.
- Up to eight semesters (ten for the five-year architecture program); reapply each year.
- Grant aid above tuition and mandatory fees faces 14% U.S. tax withholding unless a tax treaty exempts you.
Eligibility
- International applicants for undergraduate first-year or transfer admission to Cornell.
- U.S. dual citizens, eligible non-citizens (such as refugees or asylees) and undocumented students who graduated from a U.S. high school use the U.S. student route instead.
- To receive Cornell grant or scholarship aid at any point in your degree, you must file the CSS Profile when you apply for admission.
- Divorced or separated parents each file a separate CSS Profile.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Eligible nationalities
Afghanistan · Albania · Algeria · Andorra · Angola · Antigua and Barbuda · Argentina · Armenia · Australia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Bahamas
+ 186 more
Bahrain · Bangladesh · Barbados · Belarus · Belgium · Belize · Benin · Bhutan · Bolivia · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Botswana · Brazil · Brunei · Bulgaria · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cabo Verde · Cambodia · Cameroon · Canada · Central African Republic · Chad · Chile · China · Colombia · Comoros · Costa Rica · Côte d'Ivoire · Croatia · Cuba · Cyprus · Czechia · DR Congo · Denmark · Djibouti · Dominica · Dominican Republic · Ecuador · Egypt · El Salvador · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Estonia · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Fiji · Finland · France · Gabon · Gambia · Georgia · Germany · Ghana · Greece · Grenada · Guatemala · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Guyana · Haiti · Honduras · Hong Kong · Hungary · Iceland · India · Indonesia · Iran · Iraq · Ireland · Israel · Italy · Jamaica · Japan · Jordan · Kazakhstan · Kenya · Kiribati · Kosovo · Kuwait · Kyrgyzstan · Laos · Latvia · Lebanon · Lesotho · Liberia · Libya · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Macau · Madagascar · Malawi · Malaysia · Maldives · Mali · Malta · Marshall Islands · Mauritania · Mauritius · Mexico · Micronesia · Moldova · Monaco · Mongolia · Montenegro · Morocco · Mozambique · Myanmar · Namibia · Nauru · Nepal · Netherlands · New Zealand · Nicaragua · Niger · Nigeria · North Korea · North Macedonia · Norway · Oman · Pakistan · Palau · Palestine · Panama · Papua New Guinea · Paraguay · Peru · Philippines · Poland · Portugal · Qatar · Republic of the Congo · Romania · Russia · Rwanda · Saint Kitts and Nevis · Saint Lucia · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Samoa · San Marino · São Tomé and Príncipe · Saudi Arabia · Senegal · Serbia · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Singapore · Slovakia · Slovenia · Solomon Islands · Somalia · South Africa · South Korea · South Sudan · Spain · Sri Lanka · Sudan · Suriname · Sweden · Switzerland · Syria · Taiwan · Tajikistan · Tanzania · Thailand · Timor-Leste · Togo · Tonga · Trinidad and Tobago · Tunisia · Türkiye · Turkmenistan · Tuvalu · Uganda · Ukraine · UAE · UK · Uruguay · Uzbekistan · Vanuatu · Vatican City · Venezuela · Vietnam · Yemen · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Education required
High School · Bachelor Enrolled
Circlebreaker is a free database of global fellowships, scholarships and programs — every one decoded like this.
We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.
Application process
- 1Apply to Cornell for first-year or transfer admission.
- 2Submit the 2027–28 CSS Profile (Cornell code 2098) after October 1, 2026 and by your round’s priority date; the fee is US$25 for the first report and US$16 per extra report, and international students are generally not eligible for a fee waiver.
- 3Upload any documents Cornell requests through College Board’s IDOC.
Program timeline
October 1, 2026
2027–28 CSS Profile opens
Early Decision aid priority date
November 1, 2026
Regular Decision aid priority date
January 2, 2027
Transfer aid priority date
March 15, 2027
Official aid offers released
Early April 2027 (tentative)