Scholarships overview

Cornell College offers an attractive merit scholarship program. Many of our students earn academic scholarships, ranging in value from $10,000 to full tuition. Iowa students are also eligible for a $22,000 Promise Scholarship for Iowans. Fine arts scholarships are available in music, theatre, and art and are awarded to students regardless of major.

Scholarship applications and details

Your application for enrollment to Cornell automatically qualifies you for academic scholarships, as well as the Promise Scholarship for Iowans if you are from Iowa. Fine arts scholarships require a separate application along with an audition or portfolio.

General scholarship guidelines

All students admitted to Cornell are eligible for Cornell scholarships. Scholarship recipients often qualify for additional need-based financial assistance, including grants, work-study programs and loans. Scholarships are renewable annually if you make satisfactory academic progress, with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0.

Scholarship decisions and notification

Scholarship decisions will be based on your overall attractiveness as a candidate for admission and on the date you submitted your application. You are not guaranteed an award simply by satisfying the eligibility criteria associated with a particular scholarship, and in some cases you may be offered a scholarship at a higher or lower level than your eligibility would indicate. You may be awarded a combination of a Cornell scholarship and award, though the award will be limited in value to $4,000 or less.

Academic scholarship notifications are made at the time of admission. For students who choose to audition for a music scholarship, notification of an academic or music scholarship will occur once the music audition process is complete.