Dartmouth vs. Cornell vs. Penn vs. Brown

Dartmouth College vs. Cornell University vs. University of Pennsylvania vs. Brown University comparison

	Dartmouth College	Cornell University	University of Pennsylvania	Brown University
	Remove	Remove	Remove	Remove
Overview	Dartmouth	Cornell	Penn	Brown
Location	Hanover, NH	Ithaca, NY	Philadelphia, PA	Providence, RI
Setting	Remote Town	Small City	Large City	Midsize City
Enrollment	6,746	26,264	28,711	11,516
Type	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year
National Ranking	#12	#19	#23	#11
Religious Affiliation	-	-	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	dartmouth.edu	cornell.edu	upenn.edu	brown.edu
Team Colors

Costs	Dartmouth	Cornell	Penn	Brown
Tuition (In State)	$63,684	$65,204	$58,620	$65,656
Tuition (Out of State)	$63,684	$65,204	$58,620	$65,656
Room & Board	$19,009	$18,554	$18,496	$16,598
Avg Net Price	$17,322	$26,455	$26,017	$26,608
Avg Grant Aid	$66,480	$56,741	$59,721	$58,378
% Receiving Grant Aid	46%	51%	48%	51%

Admission	Dartmouth	Cornell	Penn	Brown
Applied	28,841	65,635	59,465	51,316
Admitted	1,797	5,358	3,489	2,686
Acceptance Rate	6.2%	8.2%	5.9%	4.5%
Enrolled %	67.1%	66%	69.2%	48.6%
Avg High School GPA	3.9	3.9	3.95	3.94
Typical High School Grades	A-	A-	A-	A-
Admissions Standards	Elite	Elite	Elite	Elite
Applicant Competition	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme
ACT Range	33/35	33/35	34/35	34/35
SAT Range	1500/1570	1480/1560	1500/1570	1500/1570
Submit Test Scores	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)
Application Deadline	Jan 3, 2026	Jan 2, 2026	Jan 5, 2026	Jan 5, 2026

Academics	Dartmouth	Cornell	Penn	Brown
Student to Faculty Ratio	7:1	9:1	8:1	6:1
Popular Majors	Social Sciences (33%) Biology (9%) History (7%) Engineering (7%) Ethnic Studies (7%)	Engineering (17%) Agriculture (13%) Business (13%) Biology (12%) Social Sciences (12%)	Business (26%) Social Sciences (16%) Biology (8%) Engineering (7%) Health Professions (7%)	Social Sciences (15%) Biology (5%) English and Literature (4%) General Studies (3%) Visual and Performing Arts (3%)
Outcomes	Dartmouth	Cornell	Penn	Brown
Graduation Rate	95%	93%	96%	95%
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$104,000	$98,400	$123,600	$87,600
Making Student Loan Payments	87%	87%	84%	89%
Median Student Loan Debt	$13,461	$12,000	$20,633	$15,000
Median Loan Payment	$139	$124	$213	$155

Diversity	Dartmouth	Cornell	Penn	Brown
% Men	17%	19%	26%	15%
% Women	17%	20%	33%	17%
Racial Diversity	Very High	Very High	Very High	Very High
HBCU	No	No	No	No
% White	49%	41%	45%	43%
% Black	7%	6%	7%	7%
% Hispanic	8%	12%	10%	11%
% Native American	2%	0%	0%	0%
% Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%	0%
% Two or More Races	5%	4%	4%	6%
% International	8%	10%	11%	12%
% Unknown Race	5%	8%	3%	7%

Students	Dartmouth	Cornell	Penn	Brown
% In-State	2%	32%	14%	3%
% Out-of-State	80%	55%	69%	81%
Campus	Dartmouth	Cornell	Penn	Brown
Campus Housing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Freshman Dorm Required	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Meal Plan	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Weekend/Evening Classes	No	No	Yes	No
Daycare Facility	No	No	Yes	No
Learn More	Details	Details	Details	Details

Comparable Facts

• Cornell University is larger than than Dartmouth based on total student enrollment (26,264 students vs. 6,746 students)

Dartmouth vs. Cornell Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, Dartmouth or Cornell?

• Cornell University is 2.4% more expensive to attend than Dartmouth for in-state tuition ($65,204.00 vs. $63,684.00)
• Out of state tuition is 2.4% higher at Cornell than Dartmouth College ($65,204.00 vs. $63,684.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at Dartmouth College than Cornell ($17,322 vs. $26,455)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at Cornell University are 2.5% lower than costs at Dartmouth College ($18,554 vs. $19,009)
• More students receive financial grant aid at Cornell University than Dartmouth College (51% vs. 46%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by Dartmouth College students is 17.2% larger than aid received Cornell University ($66,480 vs. $56,741)

Dartmouth vs. Cornell Admissions Difficulty Comparison

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

• The average SAT score at Dartmouth College (1437) is 9 points higher than at Cornell (1428)
• Incoming Dartmouth students have at the same average ACT score (32) as students at Cornell (32)
• Accepted freshman Dartmouth students have at the same average high school GPA (3.9) as students at Cornell (3.9)
• Cornell has a higher acceptance rate (8.2%) than Dartmouth (6.2%)

Dartmouth vs. Cornell Graduation Outcomes Comparison

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

• The graduation rate at Dartmouth is higher than Cornell University (95% vs. 93%)
• Graduates from Dartmouth College earn on average $5,600 more per year than Cornell graduates after ten years. ($104,000 vs. $98,400)
• Cornell University students graduate with a $1,461 lower median federal student loan debt than Dartmouth graduates. ($12,000 vs. $13,461)
• Cornell graduates are paying $15 less per month on federal student loans than Dartmouth graduates. ($124 vs. $139)
• More Cornell graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former Dartmouth students, three years after graduation. (87% vs. 87%)

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