The Cornell application process is the same for international students as it is for prospective students in the United States. International first-year applicants are welcome to apply under the early decision plan (deadline November 1) or the regular decision plan (deadline January 2).
Please be sure to review the First-Year Applicants page for more information.
Cornell will typically defer a student's offer of admission to permit them to complete required military service. If you are an admitted student wishing to defer enrollment for one or two years, you can submit an official request to Cornell undergraduate admissions by visiting your Applicant Portal and completing the Deferral Request Form. You can indicate your interest in connecting with an admissions officer about deferral plans before submitting an official request.
Effective for students applying for Fall 2026 or beyond, first-year applicants to all undergraduate colleges and schools will be required to submit standardized test scores. Please visit our Standardized Testing Policy webpage for details.
Cornell's admission committees want to review at least three years of a student's secondary school records which list the subjects the applicant has studied, and the marks received for each subject taken. State or national tests, or other external exams taken, should also be included (GCSE, Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education, ICSE, etc.).
Your transcripts do not need to be evaluated by a credential evaluation service. We are familiar with all educational systems and will evaluate your credentials here. We need to receive your transcripts as they are issued by your school/college in their original grading system (including English translations). Your grades should not be converted to a U.S. grade point average (GPA). We will evaluate the classes you have taken and the grades you received in those classes, rather than using an overall GPA to assess academic achievement.
The application and requirements are the same for all students. All applications are reviewed by the specific Cornell undergraduate college or school to which a student has applied. The selection committees read applications based on where you currently attend school, rather than by your citizenship status. Your application will be read with others from the school you attend and those from the same state (U.S.) or country.
International students receive information about the student visa process and the required documents for the I-20 after they are admitted to Cornell. The I-20 will be issued by Undergraduate Admissions Office staff.
All applications are reviewed by the specific Cornell college or school to which a student has applied. The evaluation process is based on where a student currently attends school, rather than by citizenship status. International students attending the same high school are evaluated as a group, as are applicants from the same state (U.S.) or country.
Cornell accepts official documents only. All transcripts should be translated into English and sent to Cornell online by the applicant’s school official. If online submission is not possible, the school official should mail the translated transcript(s) to:
Undergraduate Admissions Office
Cornell University
410 Thurston Avenue
Ithaca, NY 14850
All applicants for matriculated undergraduate study at Cornell are categorized as either first-year applicants or transfer applicants. We do not have a separate process through which non-traditional students apply for admission.
Students should submit their application using the Common Application, which can be completed and submitted online. To learn more, please see the How to Apply webpage
