National Recognition
Schools that Change Lives
Cornell is one of a select few schools featured in Loren Pope's Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change The Way You Think About College. In this book and its companion, Looking Beyond the Ivy League, Pope wrote:
"Every person I talked with was glad that he or she had come and wouldn’t attend any other place…Both students and faculty are enthusiastic about the Block Plan. It lets students concentrate on one thing at a time, makes possible more intensive contacts with teachers, and is conducive to group learning....In my book there is no better college, and it produces much more than its share of writers, scholars, and executives."
Learn more about Cornell College and the other 39 schools on the list at the Colleges That Change Lives Web site.
National Acclaim
- Cornell College was named a “Top Financial Find” and one of the 24 "Best Buy Schools” among private colleges in the 2010 edition of the Fiske Guide to Colleges. The “Best Buy Schools” are based on the quality of academic offerings in relation to the cost of attendance. Cornell's art department made Fiske's list of 24 top art and design programs at small colleges and universities.
- U.S. News and World Report ranked Cornell 9th on its 2009 “Schools to Watch” list. In 2010, U.S. News placed Cornell 33rd on their “Great Schools, Great Prices” list. Overall, Cornell was listed in the top tier of the nation's liberal arts colleges each of the past two years, ranking 88th in 2009 and 85th in 2010.
- The 2010 Princeton Review includes Cornell in their list of the top 371 four-year schools, an award that Cornell has received regularly. This rating is driven by student surveys and places Cornell in the top 15% of colleges nationwide. In addition, the 2010 edition ranked Cornell's theatre department 16th in the nation.
- A 2009 Forbes magazine survey ranked Cornell 105th among all U.S. colleges and universities, and first in Iowa for the second year in a row. The survey ranked the top 600 of over 4,000 undergraduate institutions based on student satisfaction, post-graduate success, debt incurred, and other student-centered metrics.
- Cornell College was named to the Colleges of Distinction guide for 2008-2009. Colleges of Distinction selects schools “that exhibit the four distinctions that make a college truly great: engaged students, great teaching, vibrant communities, and successful outcomes.”
- The New York Times recently featured Cornell as one of 20 “stealth powerhouses.” The list highlighted colleges that “stress undergraduate teaching, have established or rising scholarship” and are good alternatives to popular brand-name universities." Four “Northern Plains” colleges were featured: Carleton, Cornell, Grinnell and Macalester.
Cornell Produces Results
Just as important as our rankings is our reputation. Cornell students consistently show academic distinction while leading full, balanced lives beyond the classroom. Consider:
- Approximately 65% of our students pursue graduate studies, and Cornell ranks 68th in the nation among private four-year colleges in the number of graduates who go on to earn PhDs.
- Cornell ranks in the top 15 nationally among Division III schools with 25 NCAA Postgraduate Scholars, a scholarship for academic and athletic achievement.
- 92% of the class of 2006 finished in four years or less, almost two-thirds with double majors or a major and minor.
- About 75% of our students participate in student organizations, leadership programs, and/or volunteer service.
More About Cornell on U-CAN
Learn more about Cornell College on the University & College Accountability Network (U-CAN), a Web-based project launched in 2007 to help prospective students and their families judge the quality of higher education institutions. As of September 2008, U-CAN included information and comparison data on more than 700 colleges and universities and had received more than 350,000 visits.
