Cornell College
Mount Vernon, Iowa
Perched above the splendid Cedar River Valley in Eastern Iowa, Cornell College graduates students with strong backgrounds in the liberal arts—students who can write, think, and communicate effectively. With its One-Course-At-A-Time calendar, Cornell offers a unique opportunity for students to learn through in-depth and focused study, which minimizes distractions, increases flexibility, and helps students better retain their knowledge.
Get to know Cornell College
College Highlights
Cornell’s unique calendar gives students plenty of flexibility for experiential learning. Students can even get course credit for internships and independent study.
ONE-COURSE-AT-A-TIME
Founded in 1853, Cornell is an attractively diverse, selective, independent, coeducational, residential college community dedicated to fostering growth. Rather than following a traditional academic calendar, Cornell’s academic year is comprised of nine terms, each lasting about three and a half weeks each, During these terms, both students and professors dedicate all their time to only one course of study. Also described as the block plan, OCAAT provides Cornell students with optimal focus and flexibility, combined with small classes of about fifteen students.
Cornell’s OCAAT approach to education allows students to focus on only one subject for each academic term, or block. Students are able to devote their full attention and best efforts to each and every class. They gain a depth of understanding through an immersive experience in each interactively designed and discussion-rich class. Courses are substantial and are valued at four credit hours.
ENROLLMENT BY ETHNICITY
Non-U.S. Citizen: 5%
Hispanic/Latinx: 7%
Black or African American, non-Hispanic: 6%
White, non-Hispanic: 74%
Native/Indigenous American or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic: 1%
Asian, non-Hispanic: 2%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic: 0%
Two or more races, non-Hispanic: 2%
Race and/or ethnicity unknown: 2%
At Cornell, students don’t slip through the cracks. With small class size and students enrolled in only one course at a time, personal attention is guaranteed.
FACULTY MENTORSHIP
Mentoring is a valued part of the education at Cornell. Faculty truly know their students and actively cultivate and empower them to pursue their interests. Since Cornell professors teach only one course at a time, they are able to focus exclusively on the needs of the students in each class, often leading to longer, in-depth discussions. Many professors feel they are better teachers within the OCAAT schedule because they have the flexibility to concentrate on students’ interests, to travel, and to conduct research with their students without the scheduling restrictions of semester-based calendars.
Cornell’s campus is always crawling with activity. Students all share the same basic schedule, which makes it easy to participate in organizations, clubs, athletics, and service.
SCHOOL LOCATION
Located in Mount Vernon, Iowa, a rural town of four thousand in eastern Iowa, Cornell is twenty miles southwest of Cedar Rapids and twenty miles north of Iowa City. The Cedar Rapids metro area has urban amenities typical for its size, including Eastern Iowa Airport, and calls itself the City of Five Seasons. Iowa City has a metro population of one hundred and twenty thousand, and the combined eastern Iowa corridor of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City offers numerous entertainment and cultural options for students.
Mount Vernon, Iowa—30 minutes from Iowa City, 20 minutes from Cedar Rapids, 2 hours from Des Moines, and 3-4 hours from Chicago.
With nearly all graduating within four years, students at Cornell stay on course. Cornell alumni also have one of the highest graduate-school attendance rates in the country.
ALUMNI NETWORK
Cornell’s Alumni Network provides students with high-profile internship opportunities, funding, networking, job shadowing, and externships. Alumni return to campus to conduct mock interviews and to speak about their employment experiences and lines of work. Cornell graduates are prepared for life after college and feel that their college experiences prepared them to be thorough and efficient.
Admission
TEST SCORES
Optional
FRESHMAN PROFILE
SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing
25th Percentile: 548 | 75th Percentile: 650
SAT Math
25th Percentile: 520 | 75th Percentile: 630
ACT Composite
25th Percentile: 23 | 75th Percentile: 29
ACT Math
25th Percentile: 22 | 75th Percentile: 27
ACT English
25th Percentile: 21 | 75th Percentile: 30
Tuition & Cost
Tuition: $45,288
Fees: $626
Room: $4,680
Board: $5,470
Contact Cornell College
Contact Admissions
Campus Location
600 First Street SW
Mount Vernon, IA 52314