Cornell Financial Aid in the Trump Era

This is a two part series. The first part discusses Cornell’s financial aid policies and the second part covers the impact of the July 4 budget reconciliation bill and the 2026 proposed budget.

Cornell continues to provide financial support to its students despite recent shifts in federal government expectations. Cornell set its financial aid budget for 2025-26 and is currently making financial aid offers to incoming students. This was done while Cornell did not know the outcome of Congressional action on the 2025 budget reconciliation bill or the federal budget for the fiscal year starting October 1, 2025.

General Financial Aid

For the year ending June 30, 2024, Cornell’s tax return reports that Cornell awarded the following scholarship totals:

(The Cornell Tech campus is not listed because it has very few financial aid opportunities.) These funds are administered by the Office of Financial Aid in Ithaca and comparable offices at Weill Cornell and Cornell Tech. Financial aid decisions are based upon the FAFSA and CSS forms that collect  financial information  about the student and his or her family .

Cornell then applies a formula to determine financial need. The University claims to meet 100% of demonstrated  financial need for each student. International students and non-DACA undocumented students are excluded from this commitment.

The FAFSA Simplification Act, which went into effect for Fall 2024, expanded eligibility for Federal Pell Grants. Of all undergraduate students, 50% received less than $1,000 of aid; 21% received Pell Grants, and 29% were not eligible for Pell Grants but received more than $1,000 of aid. 

As a general goal for undergraduate financial aid, “Cornell meets 100 percent of demonstrated financial need for all eligible undergraduates with annual aid offers that include Cornell grants and endowed scholarships, Pell grants and NY State grants (when eligible), work-study, and zero or low student loans, depending on total family income.”  Cornell adds, “Cornell financial aid offers … will cover tuition for most families making up to $125,000 annually, and cover tuition plus housing and food for most families making up to $75,000 annually, with typical assets. Many families making more than $125,000 annually also receive substantial grant or scholarship offers that do not need to be repaid.”

Cornell additionally allows students to seek a redetermination of their financial aid package based upon a change in family circumstances or appeal a proposed aid package due to unique circumstances or special needs.

By implementing a numerical formula, Cornell prevents discrimination in financial aid based upon race or other prohibited grounds. 

The goal of Cornell’s Financial Aid Office is to provide fair and equal treatment of all students. Cornell’s financial aid process is currently subject to two pending class action lawsuits alleging that Cornell violated the antitrust laws in coordinating financial aid practices with other peer universities.

There are a large number of scholarship endowments that are awarded by the Financial Aid Office. Many of these endowments are limited to benefit just students who fit in a category described by the donor. For example, the George Washington Fields LLB 1890 Scholarship Fund is named for Cornell’s first black LLB graduate. On Cornell Giving Day 2025, 29 donors gave $18,102 to this fund. However, each award from this fund fit into the scholarship amounts determined by the financial aid formula, and this fund increased the overall scholarship pie size rather than increasing the scholarship amounts granted to specific black law students.

Cornell also administers the New York State-funded EOP / HEOP program to provide “supplemental financial assistance” to students from disadvantaged groups.

The Financial Aid office additionally administers the Work Study Program, which creates student jobs that are either 75% or 50% funded with federal funds. Work-study pay counts toward the self-help portion of a student’s financial aid package.

As explained in Part Two, the Big Beautiful Bill Act and Trump’s 2026 federal budget will reduce the amount of federal assistance available to be built into Cornell’s financial aid packages, requiring Cornell to fund a greater portion of each student’s package.

RELATED: Cornell Law Professor Launches Equal Protection Project

Access Fund

There are several programs designed to provide aid outside the financial aid formula that are administered by the Dean of Students’ Office, specifically its Centers for Student Equity, Empowerment, and Belonging. The mission of that office includes,

“The Centers work together to support student equity, empowerment, and belonging. This is accomplished through identity-based programs, resources and community spaces. Each area focuses on identity exploration and celebration, involvement opportunities, leadership development, support, and allyship. The Centers encourage students to explore and embrace the depth of their multiple identities to foster a more profound understanding of themselves and others.”

Cornell does not disclose how much it allocates each semester to the Access Fund. However, it does have announced caps on what an individual student can receive from the fund – $500 per year per undergraduate and $300 per graduate student.

On Cornell Giving Day 2025, 136 donors gave $23,180 toward the Access Fund. This included a $5,000 gift from Fred Van Sickle, Cornell Vice President of Alumni Affairs and Development. The fund is also supported by the annual, generic fundraising for Student and Campus Life.

Other Aid

Cornell offers additional assistance to students in need. First, there is Anabel’s Grocery, which has been subsidized by the VP for Student and Campus Life. This is located in Anabel Taylor Hall. On Cornell Giving Day 2025, 179 donors gave $18,575 to Anabel’s. Second, the Cornell Food Pantry, located in an unoccupied fraternity house at 109 McGraw Place. Third, the Cornell Dining Department supports “Swipe Out Hunger,” which allows students with unused guest meal swipes from their meal plans to donate them to feed students in need. Finally, “The Wardrobe” in Room 210 Barnes Hall loans professional clothes to students for their interviews. The Wardrobe is administered by Cornell Career Services.

CSTEP and STEP

Cornell participates in the New York State-funded CSTEP and STEP programs. At Cornell, the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP) was merged with a similar program for non-New York State residents to form Pre-Professional Programs (P3). Cornell advertises, “Active P3 participants can apply for financial assistance for an opportunity related to their professional development or for support with graduate school examination prep courses and exam fees.” These funds are awarded by the Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives on top of other financial aid.

The Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) focuses upon preparing high school students to pursue STEM in college and careers. The Einhorn Center administers STEP and works with the middle schools and high schools of the Ithaca City School District. The application form asks about gender and race as well as eligibility for subsidized student lunch programs.

The Association for Program Administrators of CSTEP and STEP, Inc. (APACS) represents the 62 CTEP programs and 56 STEP programs in New York State. In January 2024, Asian parents sued New York claiming that the program criteria discriminates against Asian students. Cornell claims that it only considers school lunch eligibility for STEP, and the Trump Administration has not taken a position on CSTEP or STEP. On July 8, 2025, NYS issued a memo instructing administrators to stop using race or ethnic data in determining STEP eligibility.

“The state of New York has raised the white flag of surrender in our lawsuit, but not high enough,” said William Jacobson, founder of EqualProtect.org, who challenged the STEP eligibility. “Word games are not acceptable,” Jacobson said. “The state must do away with the racially discriminatory eligibility requirements completely and permanently, or we will ask the court to order it.”

In general, the Trump Administration is tightening up eligibility standards for a number of federal financial aid programs and even for SNAP food stamps.

The bottom line is that although Cornell goes to great lengths to ensure that its financial aid is spread fairly among eligible students, having the Access Fund distribute cash separately from the central financial aid office leaves Cornell open to accusations of giving certain identity groups an inside track on getting those funds.