college students, up from 844 in 2020. The university practices need-blind admission for U.S. applicants.
=== Financial aid ===
Cornell University, under Section 9 of its original charter, ensures equal access to education by admitting students without distinction based on rank, class, occupation, or locality. The charter also mandates free instruction for one student from each Assembly district in New York state.
From the 1950s to the 1980s, Cornell collaborated with other Ivy League institutions to establish a uniform financial aid system. Although a 1989 consent decree ended this collaboration due to an antitrust investigation, all Ivy League schools still offer need-based financial aid without athletic scholarships. In December 2010, Cornell pledged to match any grant component of financial aid offers from the seven other Ivy League schools and MIT and Stanford for accepted applicants considering these institutions.
In 2008, Cornell introduced a financial aid initiative, which incrementally replaced need-based …
