by our College Data Analytics TeamThis overview lays out the cost of attending Cornell College, including attendance costs, projected four- and two-year degree costs, average net price, debt outcomes, and how aid is distributed across income levels.
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Published attendance costs at Cornell College stands at about $64,336.00 a year.
The three scenarios below move from the full sticker price, to the net price after average aid, to the net price low-income students typically pay.
| Tuition and fees | $52,660.00 |
| + Room, board & other expenses | $11,676.00 |
| Total cost | $64,336.00 |
| That is 96% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $64,336.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$42,615.00 |
| Net price | $21,721.00 |
| That is 34% below the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $64,336.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$49,840.00 |
| Net price | $14,496.00 |
| That is 56% below the national average net price. | |
| Go deeper on the components with tuition and fees plus living costs. |
Published costs have climbed year over year at about 3.3% per year; the projections below compound that across a degree. Below, the cost is projected across a degree for three students at once — low-income with aid, average aid, and no aid. Loan figures amortise the projected total over ten years at 6.8%.
| Projected 4-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 3.3% | 3.3% | 3.3% |
| Freshman year | $14,979.00 | $22,445.00 | $66,481.00 |
| Senior year | $16,529.00 | $24,767.00 | $73,357.00 |
| Total 4-year net price | $62,982.00 | $94,373.00 | $279,526.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $23,994.00 | $35,953.00 | $106,489.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $725.00 | $1,086.00 | $3,217.00 |
| Total amount paid | $86,976.00 | $130,326.00 | $386,015.00 |
| Projected 2-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 3.3% | 3.3% | 3.3% |
| Freshman year | $14,979.00 | $22,445.00 | $66,481.00 |
| Senior year | $15,479.00 | $23,194.00 | $68,698.00 |
| Total 2-year net price | $30,458.00 | $45,639.00 | $135,180.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $11,604.00 | $17,387.00 | $51,499.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $351.00 | $525.00 | $1,556.00 |
| Total amount paid | $42,062.00 | $63,026.00 | $186,679.00 |
See the full net-price breakdown in the net-price section.
Net price reflects the true cost to attend after grant and scholarship aid is deducted. This is the more honest cost figure for most families, since it accounts for institutional and federal aid.
| Average net price (on-campus) | $23,634.00 |
| Average net price (off-campus) | $25,079.00 |
The real cost varies by income because need-based aid scales with financial need. The breakdown below splits average net price across income brackets:
| Family income | Average net price |
|---|---|
| Under $30,000 | $18,285.00 |
| $30,000 to $48,000 | $17,873.00 |
| $48,001 to $75,000 | $22,174.00 |
| $75,001 to $110,000 | $26,134.00 |
| Over $110,000 | $30,897.00 |
Use Cornell College Net Price Calculator, or reach out to the financial aid office.
Dig into how aid is awarded on the grants & scholarships detail.
Median graduate debt at Cornell College is $21,500.00, landing it in the Moderate ($20-30k) burden category.
The percentile breakdown reveals the full debt landscape:
| Percentile | Debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| 10th | $5,500.00 |
| 25th | $9,500.00 |
| Median (50th) | $21,500.00 |
| 75th | $28,000.00 |
| 90th | $35,000.00 |
The gap between 10th and 90th percentile borrowers gives a sense of how uneven debt outcomes are.
For the full borrowing and repayment picture, see the student loan debt page.
Debt at graduation is far from uniform across income levels. The table below divides borrowers into three income tiers:
| Family income | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| Low income | $14,000.00 |
| Middle income | $21,750.00 |
| High income | $21,500.00 |
Debt at graduation often differs for first-generation students.
| Student group | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $23,125.00 |
| Continuing-generation students | $20,000.00 |
First-generation borrowers from Cornell College hold $3,125.00 in additional median debt versus continuing-generation peers.
Pell Grants are the federal government’s primary need-based undergraduate aid program. Comparing Pell recipients vs non-recipients shows how debt is distributed by need.
The median debt difference between Pell-eligible and non-Pell graduates of Cornell College works out to $808.00. The Department of Education flags this school for a Pell-debt-inequity pattern.
The federal default-rate classification for Cornell College is Low (<5%).
| Window | Cohort default rate |
|---|---|
| 2-year | 2.9% |
For scale, federal Stafford loan disbursements at Cornell College come to $69,451,573.00 distributed across 4,351 recipients.
Veterans and active-duty students can access dedicated federal education aid including the GI Bill and Tuition Assistance from the Department of Defense.
| GI Bill recipients | 10 |
| Avg GI Bill amount | $30,581.00 |
Explore GI Bill and military aid in detail on the veteran aid breakdown.
Use the figures above as a launch point, then think through Cornell College, a few questions are worth asking:
Use the pages below to go deeper on a specific part of the cost story:
Data sources. Figures on this page draw from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and MediaFactual editorial review. Net-price calculator and financial-aid office links are taken from the institution’s own published data.