Is Cornell or Swarthmore more difficult to get into?

Swarthmore is typically a bit more difficult to gain admission to overall, although both schools are exceptionally selective and neither should be treated as predictable. Its entering class is much smaller than Cornell’s, so Swarthmore has fewer seats available while drawing a highly self-selecting pool of applicants with very strong academics and intellectual engagement.

Cornell enrolls a substantially larger undergraduate class and receives applications through several distinct colleges. Selectivity can therefore vary meaningfully within Cornell: some programs are especially difficult to enter, while others may be somewhat less constrained. An applicant’s intended Cornell college matters more than the university-wide comparison.

Swarthmore’s small liberal-arts setting means admission readers look closely for evidence that a student will thrive in an intensive, discussion-driven academic community. Cornell has broader academic scale and more program-specific evaluation, so strong preparation for the chosen school or major can carry particular weight.