Amherst College vs Cornell University

Amherst, MA · Ithaca, NY · largest Scorecard gap: median earnings (6 yr)

Scorecard match plate

Pair MA:NY

PRIVATE-NP-PAIR · CROSS-STATE · ACCEPT-TIGHT · NET-SPLIT · EARN-SPLIT · DEBT-PAR · COMPLETE-HIGH · GAP-EARN

  • PRIVATE-NP-PAIR Private nonprofit pair
  • CROSS-STATE MA × NY
  • ACCEPT-TIGHT Tight admission
  • NET-SPLIT Net-price split
  • EARN-SPLIT Earnings split
  • DEBT-PAR Debt near-par
  • COMPLETE-HIGH High completion
  • GAP-EARN Largest gap · Median Earnings (6 yr)

Instrument codes from this pair's College Scorecard ownership, geography, acceptance, net price, earnings, debt, and completion, plus the ENROLL-RACE · narrow · 2013–2023 decade-path stamp below, not a ranking or recommendation.

Decade path · College Scorecard

Nearly parallel enrollment growth

ENROLL-RACE · narrow · 2013–2023

Undergraduate headcount rose at both Amherst College and Cornell University across 2013–2023 on similar paces, while acceptance rates tightened on both sides, a growth-under-squeeze pattern rather than a pure size race.

  • Cornell University: enrollment grew +11.4% over 2013–2023; fitted +168 students/yr fitted, r² 0.87.
  • Amherst College: enrollment grew +6.8% over 2013–2023; fitted +12 students/yr fitted, r² 0.41.
  • Amherst College: acceptance rate tightened -31.2% across 2013–2023 (r² 0.80).
  • Cornell University: acceptance rate tightened -47.6% across 2013–2023 (r² 0.94).

College Scorecard institution series; dollars are nominal. Direction claims require r² ≥ 0.40 on the fitted annual slope, otherwise the page reports the observed range. Descriptive history, not a recommendation.

Scorecard metrics

Cards ordered by relative gap on this pair. Teal = better side.

Largest gaps: Amherst College vs Cornell University

  1. MEDIAN-EARNINGS-(6 Cornell University leads on median earnings (6 yr) ($87,830 vs $62,537 at Amherst College)
  2. MEDIAN-EARNINGS-(1 Cornell University leads on median earnings (10 yr) ($104,043 vs $77,644 at Amherst College)
  3. AVG-NET-PRICE Amherst College leads on avg net price ($23,367 vs $28,690 at Cornell University)

Amherst College profile · Cornell University profile · Compare other colleges

Also on the Scorecard board

Median Earnings (6 yr) and other Scorecard questions

On median earnings (6 yr), who leads between Amherst College and Cornell University?
Cornell University leads on median earnings (6 yr) at $87,830 versus $62,537 at Amherst College. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
On median earnings (10 yr), who leads between Amherst College and Cornell University?
Cornell University leads on median earnings (10 yr) at $104,043 versus $77,644 at Amherst College. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
On avg net price, who leads between Amherst College and Cornell University?
Amherst College leads on avg net price at $23,367 versus $28,690 at Cornell University. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard College Scorecard institution outcomes (earnings, completion, debt); median earnings (6 yr) focus for this pair · 2025