While over 16,000 undergraduate students at Cornell prepare for the final four weeks of class this semester, another 5,776 students in the recently-admitted Class of 2030 anticipate their arrivals to campus and commitment decisions.
The Sun spoke to some admits who shared their decision stories, excitement and nerves about attending Cornell.
Decision Day
Informally known as “Ivy Day,” all eight Ivy League schools release their regular decision acceptances on the same day — this year, Ivy Day fell on March 26. Regular decision admits in Cornell’s Class of 2030 opened their application portals on to a burst of confetti and the University’s alma mater.
While the majority of students were accepted through regular decision, others applied and received decisions through other means, such as a binding early decision application or the QuestBridge National College Match, which offers a binding decision with a full-ride scholarship for low-income students.
Regardless of each student’s acceptance timeline, opening up decisions elicited a range of reactions across the admits.
Nerves ran rampant for some. Anushka Pophali, from Basking Ridge, New Jersey, plans to study healthcare policy if she commits to Cornell, and shared that her lead-up to Ivy Day was not stress-free.
“I was super, super nervous leading up to Ivy Day,” Pophali wrote to The Sun. “I spent most of that Thursday in a daze while my friends tried to distract me from my feelings of impending doom.”
She added that she felt "extremely relieved" and cried after receiving her acceptance.
Upon opening his acceptance, “[four] years of stress basically vanished at once” for Josh McMurray ’30, a student from Hollywood, Florida who plans to major in math and is also considering double or triple majors in sociology and statistical science. He also had a tearful acceptance.
“I sobbed for roughly 30 minutes,” McMurray added.
Others, such as Felisha Liang ’30, a fiber science student from Taiwan, felt differently before the decision arrived. Ivy Day did not feel like a “make-or-break moment” for Liang, who had already been accepted into another program she liked.
“I wasn’t particularly nervous,” Liang wrote to The Sun. “... It felt more like if I got in then that's incredible, but if not I'll be okay, and I think that mindset helped me stay grounded.”
Some felt pure happiness after opening their decisions, like Pennsylvanian Eliza Moore ’30, who received an early decision acceptance and plans to study government at Cornell.
“When I got into Cornell, I was overjoyed!” Moore wrote to The Sun. “It felt like all of my hard work had finally paid off. My parents were so excited and proud of me.”
Kendrick Sellers ’30, a Chicago native who plans to study biology on the pre-medicine track at Cornell, described feeling “starstruck” upon receiving his acceptance.
Sellers received a full-ride scholarship to Cornell through the Posse Foundation. The Posse Foundation works to “broaden the pool of students who enroll at the best institutions of higher education” by supporting students who may be “overlooked because of structural inequality and an over-reliance on traditional measures of aptitude,” according to the foundation’s website.
“My experience with the Posse Foundation has been amazing,” Sellers wrote to The Sun. “I had to go through [three] rounds of interviews, the last one being with admissions representatives from Cornell, which I really enjoyed!”
Why Cornell
Recent admits shared a multitude of reasons behind their decisions to apply to the University, including specific programs, the physical landscape and the campus atmosphere.
The range of academic opportunities at Cornell — including approximately 80 majors that span eight specialized colleges — appealed to many members of the recently admitted Class of 2030.
Pophali was specifically interested in Cornell’s 3 + 3 Accelerated Pathway Scholar Program, which allows students to receive both a bachelor’s degree and J.D. within six years.
Claire Corcoran, an admit from Portland, Oregon who has not fully committed, decided to apply in part because of the materials science and engineering major, which is not offered at many other schools, she wrote.
Cecilia Mayville, an admit from Chagrin Falls, Ohio who plans to study chemical engineering, wrote that she “decided to apply because of [the Cornell Laboratory for Accelerator-based ScienceS and Education].”
CLASSE is a campus lab that uses x-rays, high energy electrons and proton beams to study fields ranging from DNA folding to the early universe.
The academic opportunities also attracted Delisha Gupta ’30, who hails from Delhi, India and plans to study mechanical engineering.
“Cornell has a plethora of research opportunities for engineering students and that was definitely one of the factors that led me to apply,” Gupta wrote. “Also, there’s so much flexibility with the curriculum here, and I’m so glad that I have the opportunity to explore my options before I need to decide my major.”
A combination of factors contributed to McMurray’s choice to apply early to the College of Arts and Sciences.
“Cornell stood out to me because it was the perfect mix of my ideal environment,” McMurray wrote. “The beautiful scenery in Ithaca, highly-respected academics, post-grad career opportunities, and large but connected student body confirmed that Cornell is the place for me.”
For Kirtu Hariharan ’30, an incoming student from Basking Ridge, New Jersey who plans to study government and public policy, the decision to apply to Cornell wasn’t immediate. Hariharan’s first visit to Cornell in December of her junior year felt “gloomy and snowy,” she wrote to The Sun.
“But I came back in April or May, and I had an amazing tour there,” Hariharan added. “Walking outside in the sun, listening to stories of college and what Cornell was like really changed my perspective and suddenly it became one of my top [three] choices.”
Looking Ahead to Fall 2026
Admits to the Class of 2030 — if they choose to commit to Cornell — are currently preparing for their next four years on campus while experiencing a variety of emotions.
“I’m really excited about all of the tiny things like packing for my dorm or class registration,” Corcoran wrote, adding that “it just feels really different from the high school atmosphere.”
Henry Xu ’30, who is from Long Island, New York and plans to study electrical and computer engineering, also expressed excitement about the upcoming transition.
“It’s a whole new open-ended experience, and I can’t wait to experience college life and getting to be more independent,” Xu wrote.
For Liang, the move to campus in the fall is a source of both eagerness and nerves.
“This will be my first time living away from my parents, which feels both freeing and a little daunting.” Liang wrote. “At the same time, I’m looking forward to learning at my own pace and taking classes that genuinely interest me, because I do feel like I haven't been able to fully enjoy [the] learning process because of the rigid education system.”
Lorelei Guan ’30, an incoming hotel administration student from Columbia, Missouri, also anticipates finding freedom at Cornell.
“It's like opening a new door,” Guan wrote.
Coral Platt is a member of the Class of 2029 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a staff writer for the News department and can be reached at cplatt@cornellsun.com.
