Cornell vs. UCLA vs. UC Davis vs. NYU

Cornell University vs. University of California Los Angeles vs. University of California Davis vs. New York University comparison

	Cornell University	University of California Los Angeles	University of California Davis	New York University
	Remove	Remove	Remove	Remove
Overview	Cornell	UCLA	UC Davis	NYU
Location	Ithaca, NY	Los Angeles, CA	Davis, CA	New York, NY
Setting	Small City	Large City	Small Suburban	Large City
Enrollment	26,264	46,678	39,707	57,335
Type	Private 4 Year	Public 4 Year	Public 4 Year	Private 4 Year
National Ranking	#19	#62	#99	#39
Religious Affiliation	-	-	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	cornell.edu	ucla.edu	ucdavis.edu	nyu.edu
Team Colors

Costs	Cornell	UCLA	UC Davis	NYU
Tuition (In State)	$65,204	$11,834	$11,834	$60,438
Tuition (Out of State)	$65,204	$42,611	$42,611	$60,438
Room & Board	$18,554	$17,148	$19,068	$22,786
Avg Net Price	$26,455	$15,166	$17,315	$30,730
Avg Grant Aid	$56,741	$22,441	$21,258	$48,269
% Receiving Grant Aid	51%	49%	51%	41%

Admission	Cornell	UCLA	UC Davis	NYU
Applied	65,635	145,903	94,637	113,578
Admitted	5,358	12,736	39,400	10,693
Acceptance Rate	8.2%	8.7%	41.6%	11.3%
Enrolled %	66%	51.7%	16.7%	14.8%
Avg High School GPA	3.9	3.92	4.0	3.79
Typical High School Grades	A-	A-	A/A+	A-
Admissions Standards	Elite	Elite	Very High	Elite
Applicant Competition	Extreme	Extreme	Low	Extreme
ACT Range	33/35	29/35	25/33	33/35
SAT Range	1480/1560	1300/1530	1160/1400	1480/1570
Submit Test Scores	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)	Not considered for admission, even if submitted (Test Blind)	Not considered for admission, even if submitted (Test Blind)	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)
Application Deadline	Jan 2, 2026	Nov 30, 2025	Nov 30, 2025

Academics	Cornell	UCLA	UC Davis	NYU
Student to Faculty Ratio	9:1	18:1	21:1	8:1
Popular Majors	Engineering (17%) Agriculture (13%) Business (13%) Biology (12%) Social Sciences (12%)	Social Sciences (27%) Biology (14%) Psychology (9%) Engineering (9%) History (7%)	Biology (19%) Social Sciences (19%) Psychology (10%) Engineering (7%) Foreign Languages (5%)	Business (18%) Visual and Performing Arts (17%) Social Sciences (13%) Liberal Arts and Humanities (9%) Communication (8%)
Outcomes	Cornell	UCLA	UC Davis	NYU
Graduation Rate	93%	90%	82%	86%
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$98,400	$70,700	$65,200	$76,000
Making Student Loan Payments	87%	78%	82%	77%
Median Student Loan Debt	$12,000	$16,300	$14,676	$23,250
Median Loan Payment	$124	$168	$151	$240

Diversity	Cornell	UCLA	UC Davis	NYU
% Men	19%	15%	9%	20%
% Women	20%	14%	11%	28%
Racial Diversity	Very High	Very High	Very High	Very High
HBCU	No	No	No	No
% White	41%	27%	28%	34%
% Black	6%	3%	2%	5%
% Hispanic	12%	21%	19%	12%
% Native American	0%	0%	0%	0%
% Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%	0%
% Two or More Races	4%	5%	5%	4%
% International	10%	13%	11%	17%
% Unknown Race	8%	2%	1%	8%

Students	Cornell	UCLA	UC Davis	NYU
% In-State	32%	79%	79%	23%
% Out-of-State	55%	13%	5%	50%
Campus	Cornell	UCLA	UC Davis	NYU
Campus Housing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Freshman Dorm Required	No	No	No	No
Meal Plan	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Weekend/Evening Classes	No	No	No	No
Daycare Facility	No	Yes	Yes	No
Learn More	Details	Details	Details	Details

Comparable Facts

• University of California Los Angeles is larger than than Cornell based on total student enrollment (46,678 students vs. 26,264 students)

Cornell vs. UCLA Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, Cornell or UCLA?

• Cornell University is 451% more expensive to attend than UCLA for in-state tuition ($65,204.00 vs. $11,834.00)
• Out of state tuition is 53% higher at Cornell than University of California Los Angeles ($65,204.00 vs. $42,611.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at University of California Los Angeles than Cornell ($15,166 vs. $26,455)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at University of California Los Angeles are 8.2% lower than costs at Cornell University ($17,148 vs. $18,554)
• More students receive financial grant aid at Cornell University than University of California Los Angeles (51% vs. 49%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by Cornell University students is 152.8% larger than aid received University of California Los Angeles ($56,741 vs. $22,441)

Cornell vs. UCLA Admissions Difficulty Comparison

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

• The average SAT score at Cornell University (1428) is 89 points higher than at UCLA (1339)
• Incoming Cornell students have a 1 point higher average ACT score (32) than students at UCLA (31)
• Accepted freshman UCLA students have a 0.02 point higher average high school GPA (3.92) than students at Cornell (3.9)
• UCLA has a higher acceptance rate (8.7%) than Cornell (8.2%)

Cornell vs. UCLA Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, Cornell or UCLA? 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 UCLA and Cornell.

• The graduation rate at Cornell is higher than University of California Los Angeles (93% vs. 90%)
• Graduates from Cornell University earn on average $27,700 more per year than UCLA graduates after ten years. ($98,400 vs. $70,700)
• Cornell University students graduate with a $4,300 lower median federal student loan debt than UCLA graduates. ($12,000 vs. $16,300)
• Cornell graduates are paying $44 less per month on federal student loans than UCLA graduates. ($124 vs. $168)
• More Cornell graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former UCLA students, three years after graduation. (87% vs. 78%)

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