To go to Cornell, you have to be tough. Upstate New York is known for its harsh winters and as an undergraduate, you will have to weather at least four of them. However, to earn a spot at the school in the first place, you have to have an excellent academic record, including quite a few AP® classes. If you can ace more than one AP® exam, you can get through anything – especially cold weather.
Cornell is more likely to let you in if you succeed in your AP® classes because it proves to the admissions committee that you have what it takes to thrive there. But once you get to Cornell, what are you supposed to do with all of your high scores? Can they help you while at college, or were they just a means to get you there? It’s time to sit back, relax, and let us tell you.
We will walk you through everything you need to know about Cornell AP® credits. When you are done reading, you will understand how your AP® results will affect your application, how the school applies them to your undergraduate degree, and even what sort of classes you will need to take. We will also touch on Cornell’s general campus vibe.
Ready to get started? Then let’s go!
Fast Facts about Cornell
• Cornell is located in Ithaca, New York right by the beautiful Finger Lakes region of the state.
• The nearest “big city” is Syracuse, which is about an hour away.
• Cornell is a private university, a member of the super selective Ivy League, and was founded in 1865, making it the youngest Ivy.
• The school’s colors are red and white
• All of Cornell’s sports teams are supported by its mascot, the aptly namedBig Red.
The Numbers
According to the CollegeBoard as of 2015, Cornell has…
• 14,315 undergraduates
• 6,701 postgraduate students
• 3,180 first-time freshmen
The school also boasts a $6.2 billion endowment fund and a 14% admission rate, the highest of any Ivy.
In 2015, 41,900 students applied for 6,315 spots.
But don’t let that 14% admissions rate fool you! In 2015, Cornell rejected 35,585 students, so it is still difficult to earn a spot. To get in, you will need amazing standardized test scores, recommendations from teachers that absolutely adore you, and an impressive academic record.
To create an academic record that will be considered impressive by this admissions committee, you will need to take a few AP® classes and do well on them. Although once you get your scores back, what are you supposed to do with them? Keep reading and we will tell you!
Advanced Standing at Cornell University
Before we get too specific about what you can do with Cornell AP® credits, we need to make sure you know how you are supposed to use your results once you get to Ithaca.
Cornell University is divided up into 14 colleges and schools, each with its own admissions committee, resources, and faculties. When you are admitted to the university, you are in fact specifically admitted to one of these colleges. You can find a list of them on the Cornell website here.
While the graduation requirements for each school are different, their attitudes towards what it known as Advanced Standing are remarkably similar.
That is, when you take AP® or honors classes while you are in high school, you can earn what is called Advanced Standing at Cornell. While all recent high school graduates enter the university as 0-credit freshmen,sometimes students can choose to “accelerate” their Cornell education and do any of the following things:
• Take a semester off and still graduate on time.
• Graduate a semester or even an entire academic year early.
• Skip lower-level classes to take more interesting ones.
Each college at Cornell has the same AP® credit policy; so if you are solely interested in opting out of lower-level classes, then on keep reading!
However, if you know you would like to graduate in less than the typically recommended 8 semesters, then you will need to speak to your academic advisor and the dean of your college no later than the fall of your sophom*ore year.
Cornell’s AP® Credits Policy
While the university is home to 14 colleges, undergraduate work at Cornell is divided into 7 schools. They are as listed below:
•College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
•College of Architecture, Art, and Planning
•School of Hotel Administration (SHA)
•School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR)
There is more than one way to earn Advanced Standing at Cornell. While we will only touch on AP® results in this blog, the undergraduate colleges at Cornell will also consider the following options for credit:
• International Baccalaureate (IB) higher level exams
• French Baccalauréat exams
• British A-Level exams
• SAT® subject tests
• Placement tests offered by some academic departments
So, if you did not go to any American high school, or your high school did not offer any AP® classes, or maybe just not the one for the courses you are hoping to opt out of, you still have a few options to choose from.
It is also important to note the Cornell does not accept credit for “dual credit” classes, although students who take these courses are strongly encouraged to sit for a departmental exam if they believe they belong in upper-level classes.
Now that you understand how to use your AP® results, you are ready to see what you need to earn on each exam for it to be eligible for use. While all of the undergraduate schools have different requirements for graduation, they conveniently share an AP® policy.
So, without further ado, here is what your AP® scores can do for you at the undergraduate colleges of Cornell:
English
AP® Exam Name | Minimum Score Required | Number of Cornell Credits Awarded | Cornell Course Placement |
| AP® English Language and Composition | 4 | N/A | Varies by college |
| AP® English Literature and Composition | 4 | N/A | Varies by college |
Language
AP® Exam Name | Minimum Score Required | Number of Cornell Credits Awarded | Cornell Course Placement |
| AP® French Language and Culture | 4 | 3 | Department of Romance Studies determines placement |
| AP® French Literature | 4 | 3 | Department of Romance Studies determines placement |
| AP® German Language and Culture | 4 | 3 | Department of German Studies determines placement |
| AP® Italian Language and Culture | 4 | 3 | Department of Romance Studies determines placement |
| AP® Spanish Language and Culture | 4 | 3 | Placed out of Spanish 1220 and Spanish 1230 |
| AP® Spanish Literature and Culture | 4 | 3 | Department of Romance Studies determines placement |
Math
AP® Exam Name | Minimum Score Required | Number of Cornell Credits Awarded | Cornell Course Placement |
| AP® Calculus AB | 3 | 4 | Placed out of MATH 1106 and MATH 11010 |
| AP® Calculus BC | 3 | 4 / 8 | Placed out of MATH 1106, MATH 1110 / Placed out of the previous courses, as well as MATH 1120, MATH 1220, and MATH 1910 |
| AP® Macroeconomics | 4 | 3 | Placed out of ECON 1120 |
| AP® Microeconomics | 4 | 3 | Placed out of ECON 110 and HADM 1410 |
| AP® Statistics (excluding engineering students) | 3 | 4 | Placed out of AEM 2100, ENGRD 2700, HADM 2010, ILRST 2100/STSCI 2100, MATH 1710, PAM 2100, PAM 2101, PSYCH 3500, SOC 3010, STSCI 2150 |
Science
AP® Exam Name | Minimum Score Required | Number of Cornell Credits Awarded | Cornell Course Placement |
| AP® Chemistry | 5 | 4 | Placed out of CHEM 2070 and CHEM 2090 |
| AP® Computer Science A | 5 | 4 | Placed out of CS 1110 |
| AP® Environmental Science (excluding engineering students) | 5 | 3 | Placed of out EAS 1101 and NTRES 2010 |
| AP® Physics 1 | 5 | 4 | Placed out of PHYS 1101, PHYS 2207 with a 5 on AP® Calculus BC |
| AP® Physics 2 | 5 | 4 | Placed out of PHYS 2202, PHYS 2208 with a 5 on AP® Calculus BC |
| AP® Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism | 5 | 4 | Placed out of PHYS 2213 |
| AP® Physics C: Mechanics | 5 | 4 | Placed out of PHYS 112 or PHYS 2207 |
Social Studies
AP® Exam Name | Minimum Score Required | Number of Cornell Credits Awarded | Cornell Course Placement |
| AP® European History | 4 | 4 | Placed out of HIST 1510 and HIST 1511 |
| AP® United States History | 4 | 4 | N/A |
| AP® World History | 4 | 4 | N/A |
We pulled all of our information straight from the Cornell website, so if you would like to do some further investigation, now you know exactly where to look.
Here’s what Cornell says about its AP® credits policy:
Advanced placement credit is college credit that students earn before they matriculate as freshmen and that may count toward the degree and/or degree requirements as specified by the individual college at Cornell. Its primary purpose is to exempt students from introductory courses and to place them in advanced courses. Its value is that it allows students to include more advanced courses in their course of study.
So, you can use your Cornell AP® credits to opt of major requirements and required general education course, although these vary by undergraduate college. Keep reading to find out which ones apply to you!
Cornell’s Undergraduate Academic Requirements
To find out the required course of study for the college you are interested in (or have been admitted to!) click on its name in the list below and it’ll take you to it.
•College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
•College of Architecture, Art, and Planning
•School of Hotel Administration (SHA)
•School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR)
After you know what your college requires you to take, you can decide which of your AP® credits to use.
Campus Vibe
Ithaca is a gorgeous topographical region of New York. There are lovely rolling hills, and even waterfalls on Cornell’s campus! Check it out:
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
If you love nature, it’s definitely a good place to be. Sometimes people might feel like the area is too isolated for their tastes, but the vibrancy of campus life makes up for that.
There is always a play to see, lecture to attend, paper to write, or snack to grab with your friends. At Cornell, there is a place for everyone.
A Quick Review
Here are a few things to remember as you plan your Cornell course load with AP® results in mind:
• Cornell accepts AP® scores of 3, 4, & 5for course credit.
• These requirements vary by undergraduate college.
• The required general education classes vary by undergraduate college.
• You can use AP® credits to opt out of these requirements, as well as certain major requirements.
So now you know everything you need to about Cornell AP® Credits!
What are the next steps?
If you are not currently taking any AP® classes, before you sign up, make sure to check out our list of the hardest AP® classes and test here, and the easiest ones here.
If you are taking a few AP® classes, make sure to check out our study materials so you can ace them. We have helpful reviews available for AP® Physics, AP® Chemistry, AP® United States History, and everything in between.
From your friends at Albert.io, good luck out there!
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