Cornell's National Academic Award
Following the success of Cornell's Iowa Promise Scholarship, we've expanded our reach to include a guaranteed $33,000 award for fall 2025 to United States residents attending Cornell.
The goal of the National Academic Award is to ensure a private college experience is accessible to as many students as possible. Without a lot of experience in how college systems and financial assistance programs work, many families don't realize that a private college experience is within their reach financially.
For students who thrive on personal attention, focused learning, and flexibility, a small private college might be where you will find the most personal success in completing your degree, discovering leadership opportunities, and building a lifelong network of friends and future colleagues. Your success is important to us, so we want to make sure that your best college experience is within reach for you.
Your first week on a campus of tens of thousands of students can be overwhelming. Cornell's first-year experience is dedicated to you, surrounding you with a support team of faculty and peers dedicated to your success. One Course At A Time is a method of learning that builds immediate connections—you get to know your classmates, which our students have termed “block friends,” right away because you’re in a class with no more than 24 other students for three and half weeks. In every class, you'll find that your professor will know your name, and engages with you, by the end of your first day of class. (This happens in every class you take here.)
Who is eligible for this scholarship?
Any first-year, full-time, residential student living in the United States from outside of Iowa.
That’s it. Admission to Cornell College immediately qualifies first-year students for a minimum $31,000 National Academic Award for fall 2025 that is renewable for up to 4 years if you maintain satisfactory academic progress. It is possible for high-achieving scholars and students engaging in the fine arts, esports or mock trial to qualify for more than $33,000 in scholarships.
Full-time status means that you attend at least three blocks (of four offered) every semester. Residential means that you will be required to live and dine on campus. First-year students are those who are attending College for the first time since graduating high school.
How do the costs compare between Cornell and state institutions?
Here’s how attending Cornell College compares to other institutions—we're comparing out of state cost of attendance for Cornell with the lowest in-state cost of attendance at each state institution. Costs at some institutions are variable based on academic program and that is where we show a range for that school.
How do we calculate Cost of Attendance? Here's the cost of attendance breakdown.
Our chart uses this year's academic year data because most colleges won't determine the costs for the upcoming year until late fall or winter this year.
Living at Cornell also offers you the safety of a residential campus where your two-person room is within easy walking distance of class, athletics, and social activities. The average daily commute to class? About 5 minutes.
Your final financial aid award package will vary based on your individual need and circumstances. Our financial aid counselors are here to help you with any questions you might have about your financial aid package or you can use our Net Price Calculator to get a snapshot of what you might pay as we adjust to the new FAFSA process this year.