Cornell vs. BU vs. Georgia Tech vs. UT Austin

Cornell University vs. Boston University vs. Georgia Institute of Technology Main Campus vs. The University of Texas at Austin comparison

	Cornell University	Boston University	Georgia Institute of Technology Main Campus	The University of Texas at Austin
	Remove	Remove	Remove	Remove
Overview	Cornell	BU	Georgia Tech	UT Austin
Location	Ithaca, NY	Boston, MA	Atlanta, GA	Austin, TX
Setting	Small City	Large City	Large City	Large City
Enrollment	26,264	36,624	47,946	53,082
Type	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year	Public 4 Year	Public 4 Year
National Ranking	#19	#77	#137	#105
Religious Affiliation	-	-	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	cornell.edu	bu.edu	gatech.edu	utexas.edu
Team Colors

Costs	Cornell	BU	Georgia Tech	UT Austin
Tuition (In State)	$65,204	$63,798	$10,258	$11,678
Tuition (Out of State)	$65,204	$63,798	$31,370	$42,778
Room & Board	$18,554	$18,110	$12,760	$14,136
Avg Net Price	$26,455	$27,551	$15,901	$18,036
Avg Grant Aid	$56,741	$55,080	$13,423	$12,060
% Receiving Grant Aid	51%	50%	71%	47%

Admission	Cornell	BU	Georgia Tech	UT Austin
Applied	65,635	80,495	52,377	66,109
Admitted	5,358	8,733	8,622	19,253
Acceptance Rate	8.2%	10.8%	16.5%	36.8%
Enrolled %	66%	36%	43.6%	108.8%
Avg High School GPA	3.9	3.79	3.85	3.8
Typical High School Grades	A-	A-	A-	A-
Admissions Standards	Elite	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional
Applicant Competition	Extreme	Very High	Very High	High
ACT Range	33/35	32/34	28/34	27/33
SAT Range	1480/1560	1400/1520	1330/1530	1230/1490
Submit Test Scores	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)	Required to be considered for admission	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)
Application Deadline	Jan 2, 2026	Jan 4, 2026	Jan 4, 2026	Dec 1, 2025

Academics	Cornell	BU	Georgia Tech	UT Austin
Student to Faculty Ratio	9:1	10:1	18:1	18:1
Popular Majors	Engineering (17%) Agriculture (13%) Business (13%) Biology (12%) Social Sciences (12%)	Business (21%) Social Sciences (16%) Communication (15%) Health Professions (8%) Engineering (7%)	Engineering (57%) Business (14%) Computer and Information Sciences (6%) Biology (5%) Architecture (4%)	Social Sciences (40%) Communication (37%) Business (36%) Engineering (34%) Biology (27%)
Outcomes	Cornell	BU	Georgia Tech	UT Austin
Graduation Rate	93%	85%	79%	81%
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$98,400	$72,000	$82,600	$68,600
Making Student Loan Payments	87%	82%	85%	77%
Median Student Loan Debt	$12,000	$27,000	$24,000	$22,250
Median Loan Payment	$124	$279	$248	$230

Diversity	Cornell	BU	Georgia Tech	UT Austin
% Men	19%	21%	43%	10%
% Women	20%	28%	17%	10%
Racial Diversity	Very High	Very High	High	Very High
HBCU	No	No	No	No
% White	41%	43%	51%	44%
% Black	6%	4%	7%	4%
% Hispanic	12%	11%	7%	22%
% Native American	0%	0%	0%	0%
% Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%	0%
% Two or More Races	4%	4%	4%	4%
% International	10%	20%	11%	5%
% Unknown Race	8%	5%	2%	1%

Students	Cornell	BU	Georgia Tech	UT Austin
% In-State	32%	14%	58%	88%
% Out-of-State	55%	61%	34%	9%
Campus	Cornell	BU	Georgia Tech	UT Austin
Campus Housing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Freshman Dorm Required	No	No	No	No
Meal Plan	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Weekend/Evening Classes	No	Yes	No	No
Daycare Facility	No	No	Yes	Yes
Learn More	Details	Details	Details	Details

Comparable Facts

• Boston University is larger than than Cornell based on total student enrollment (36,624 students vs. 26,264 students)

Cornell vs. BU Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, Cornell or BU?

• Cornell University is 2.2% more expensive to attend than BU for in-state tuition ($65,204.00 vs. $63,798.00)
• Out of state tuition is 2.2% higher at Cornell than Boston University ($65,204.00 vs. $63,798.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at Cornell University than BU ($26,455 vs. $27,551)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at Boston University are 2.5% lower than costs at Cornell University ($18,110 vs. $18,554)
• More students receive financial grant aid at Cornell University than Boston University (51% vs. 50%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by Cornell University students is 3% larger than aid received Boston University ($56,741 vs. $55,080)

Cornell vs. BU Admissions Difficulty Comparison

Which college is harder to get into, Cornell or BU? Average SAT and ACT scores plus acceptance rates offer good insight into the difficulty of admission between BU or Cornell .

• The average SAT score at Cornell University (1428) is 125 points higher than at BU (1303)
• Incoming Cornell students have a 3 point higher average ACT score (32) than students at BU (29)
• Accepted freshman Cornell students have a 0.11 point higher average high school GPA (3.9) than students at BU (3.79)
• BU has a higher acceptance rate (10.8%) than Cornell (8.2%)

Cornell vs. BU Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, Cornell or BU? Graduation rate, salary and amount of student loan debt are indicators of a college which offers better outcomes for its graduates. Compare the following outcomes facts between BU and Cornell.

• The graduation rate at Cornell is higher than Boston University (93% vs. 85%)
• Graduates from Cornell University earn on average $26,400 more per year than BU graduates after ten years. ($98,400 vs. $72,000)
• Cornell University students graduate with a $15,000 lower median federal student loan debt than BU graduates. ($12,000 vs. $27,000)
• Cornell graduates are paying $155 less per month on federal student loans than BU graduates. ($124 vs. $279)
• More Cornell graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former BU students, three years after graduation. (87% vs. 82%)

Sources: U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov IPEDS and College Scorecard https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/