How selective are UMass Amherst and Cornell admissions compared with each other?

Cornell is much more selective than UMass Amherst. In practical terms, Cornell is one of the most competitive universities in the country, while UMass Amherst is selective but accessible to a far broader range of strong applicants. An applicant who is comfortably competitive for UMass Amherst would not automatically be competitive for Cornell, because Cornell’s pool is far stronger and more crowded.

The clearest way to think about it is by applicant profile. Cornell is built for students with very high grades in the most demanding courses available, plus a strong overall application that often includes notable academic depth, extracurricular achievement, and clear fit for a specific college or program within Cornell. Even excellent students are denied there every year.

UMass Amherst fits a different part of the admissions landscape. It is still a respected flagship public university, and some majors can be quite competitive, but the school as a whole admits many more applicants with solid to strong academic records. For a student with good grades, a rigorous but not extraordinary transcript, and a well-put-together application, UMass Amherst is much more realistic.

Program choice matters at both schools, but especially at Cornell. Cornell admissions can vary significantly by undergraduate college, and some areas are especially difficult. UMass Amherst also has more selective programs, such as engineering, business, and computer science, so the bar is not identical across majors, but the overall level of selectivity is still well below Cornell’s.