10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
+$295,810at year 10Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
Cornell University
⌖ Ithaca, NY · 68 reportable field-and-credential outcomes
MODELED SCENARIO · Strong payoff
+$295,810 over 10 years
Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.
Observed earnings clearly outpace the comparison earnings and estimated education cost in this scenario.
5.0 yrsModeled economic break-even
+100%Modeled 10-year ROI
$104,057Observed earnings · year 5
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK
Estimated payoff over ten years.
The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.
FEDERAL COST DATA
Four ways to read college price.
Annual college-wide figures from the current College Scorecard release. Average net price covers full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving federal aid; public-college figures use in-state students. Program tuition and individual aid offers may differ.
Cost, completion and earnings context
$28,690Average net price / year
$88,140Cost of attendance
$104,057Median earnings · year 5 after completion
95.4%Completion rate
8.8%Admission rate
15,995Student size
NATIONAL CONTEXT
How this college compares
Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.
EARNINGS PATH
Reported earnings over time
$70,710Year 1
$113,372Year 4
$104,057Year 5
Separate federal cohorts may underlie different measurement years.
The college average is not the whole story.
Observed earnings vary substantially by field and credential at the same institution.
1Law · Doctoral Degree$259,8512Computer Science · Master's Degree$235,7623Business Administration, Management and Operations · Master's Degree$226,6324Computer Science · Bachelor's Degree$223,3095Operations Research · Master's Degree$203,3406Computer and Information Sciences, General · Master's Degree$196,8827Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions · Master's Degree$163,5868Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering · Master's Degree$156,103Observed year-4 earnings · compare like fields and credentials before deciding
Comparable colleges in NY
Currently operating private nonprofit institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive—not a quality ranking.
Troy, NY
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Annual net price
- $36,228
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $102,764
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- +78%
Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
- Annual net price
- $29,882
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $115,118
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- +134%
Columbia University in the City of New York
- Annual net price
- $21,590
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $112,647
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- +154%
Clarkson University
- Annual net price
- $30,305
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $89,882
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- +49%
Explore exact field-and-credential outcomes
| Federal field | Credential | Earnings, year 4 | Federal debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Law | Doctoral Degree | $259,851 | Not available |
| Computer Science | Master's Degree | $235,762 | Not available |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | Master's Degree | $226,632 | Not available |
| Computer Science | Bachelor's Degree | $223,309 | $14,698 |
| Operations Research | Master's Degree | $203,340 | Not available |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General | Master's Degree | $196,882 | Not available |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | Master's Degree | $163,586 | Not available |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering | Master's Degree | $156,103 | Not available |
| Human Resources Management and Services | Master's Degree | $155,909 | Not available |
| Operations Research | Bachelor's Degree | $151,709 | $15,000 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | $147,241 | $14,750 |
| Agricultural Business and Management | Bachelor's Degree | $145,218 | $13,258 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General | Bachelor's Degree | $144,389 | $15,500 |
| Veterinary Medicine | Doctoral Degree | $143,425 | Not available |
| Systems Engineering | Master's Degree | $142,846 | Not available |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services | Master's Degree | $141,532 | Not available |
| Economics | Bachelor's Degree | $137,935 | $15,500 |
| Mathematics | Bachelor's Degree | $134,455 | $14,146 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering | Master's Degree | $132,449 | Not available |
| Engineering, General | Bachelor's Degree | $128,207 | Not available |
| Mechanical Engineering | Master's Degree | $128,130 | Not available |
| Public Policy Analysis | Bachelor's Degree | $126,767 | $15,750 |
| Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology | Bachelor's Degree | $124,242 | $16,099 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering | Master's Degree | $120,467 | Not available |
| Physics | Bachelor's Degree | $118,649 | $15,961 |
| Chemical Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | $116,165 | $14,361 |
| Human Resources Management and Services | Bachelor's Degree | $112,713 | $15,000 |
| Hospitality Administration/Management | Bachelor's Degree | $112,289 | $13,987 |
| Mechanical Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | $112,212 | $15,500 |
| Statistics | Bachelor's Degree | $111,090 | Not available |
| Hospitality Administration/Management | Master's Degree | $105,553 | Not available |
| Medicine | First Professional Degree | $103,352 | Not available |
| Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | $103,016 | $13,102 |
| Public Administration | Master's Degree | $100,325 | Not available |
| Agricultural Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | $99,600 | $15,502 |
| Area Studies | Bachelor's Degree | $96,976 | $17,625 |
| Political Science and Government | Bachelor's Degree | $95,391 | $14,400 |
| Apparel and Textiles | Bachelor's Degree | $94,967 | Not available |
| Civil Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | $91,242 | $12,750 |
| Civil Engineering | Master's Degree | $90,197 | Not available |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's Degree | $89,275 | $15,500 |
| Communication and Media Studies | Bachelor's Degree | $88,463 | $14,418 |
| City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning | Master's Degree | $86,756 | Not available |
| Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other | Bachelor's Degree | $85,883 | $13,465 |
| Food Science and Technology | Bachelor's Degree | $84,147 | $15,750 |
| Architecture | Master's Degree | $83,284 | Not available |
| History | Bachelor's Degree | $82,031 | $16,884 |
| Chemistry | Bachelor's Degree | $79,311 | $15,121 |
| Psychology, General | Bachelor's Degree | $78,049 | $14,157 |
| Architectural Sciences and Technology | Master's Degree | $76,785 | Not available |
| Landscape Architecture | Master's Degree | $74,689 | Not available |
| Sociology | Bachelor's Degree | $73,200 | $11,900 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services | Bachelor's Degree | $73,066 | $15,500 |
| Architectural Sciences and Technology | Bachelor's Degree | $71,914 | $17,315 |
| Biology, General | Bachelor's Degree | $69,083 | $16,000 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | Bachelor's Degree | $68,088 | $16,500 |
| Agriculture, General | Bachelor's Degree | $67,954 | $15,599 |
| English Language and Literature, General | Bachelor's Degree | $65,089 | $16,275 |
| Nutrition Sciences | Bachelor's Degree | $60,728 | $13,750 |
| Plant Sciences | Bachelor's Degree | $58,960 | $15,990 |
| Animal Sciences | Bachelor's Degree | $52,967 | $14,100 |
| Fine and Studio Arts | Bachelor's Degree | $41,784 | $17,153 |
| International Agriculture | Bachelor's Degree | Not available | $11,550 |
| City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning | Bachelor's Degree | Not available | $14,275 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | Not available | $15,500 |
| Materials Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | Not available | $18,000 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services | Bachelor's Degree | Not available | $15,500 |
| Public Health | Bachelor's Degree | Not available | $12,133 |
Earnings, price, completion and enrollment are observed federal measures. ROI, payoff and break-even are modeled scenarios built from those measures and fixed assumptions. College payoff is not the payoff of every degree at this school; use the program table for a more precise comparison.