Head-to-head · 72 cross-admits
When applicants got into both, 92% chose UPenn. Side-by-side on admissions, costs, and outcomes — sourced from 72 self-reported decisions and ABA 509 filings.
Choice, not ranking
These are decisions, not opinions. Scholarship offers, location, intended practice, and personal fit are all priced into the split.
Cross-admit decision
Chose UPenn
Median scholarship (chose UPenn)
Median scholarship (chose Cornell University)
View all-time (227 cross-admits)
Trend · UPenn's share
Lowest cycle
Highest cycle
Admissions
Rankings, LSAT/GPA, acceptance & yield 2026 ABA 509
Financial
Sticker price, scholarships, and debt burden 2026 ABA 509
Employment & outcomes
Post-graduation placement and bar passage 2025 ABA Employment
Cross-admit by cycle
How preferences shifted over recent cyclesRelated comparisons
Other popular cross-admit matchups
Harvard University
134
New York University
112
Georgetown University
112
Yale University
90
Columbia University
82
Harvard University
140
Columbia University
98
University of Pennsylvania
72
Georgetown University
66
University of Michigan
65
Overview
About UPenn vs Cornell University
Across 72 applicants admitted to both schools and self-reporting on LSD, 92% enrolled at University of Pennsylvania and 8% at Cornell University. The split has shifted -4 points across the tracked cycles.
These numbers reflect every factor that goes into a real decision: scholarship offers, geographic preference, intended practice area, and fit. Choosing one school doesn't mean it's "better" — it means the pool of cross-admits, weighing their options, ended up there more often. Pair this with the scholarship distribution and employment outcomes above for full context.
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Detailed comparison narrative
This page compares University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University across admissions data, cost of attendance, and employment outcomes — plus cross-admit decision data from 72 applicants admitted to both.
Based on 72 applicants admitted to both schools, 92% chose to attend University of Pennsylvania. This cross-admit data reflects real enrollment decisions from verified law school applicants on LSD.Law.
In the U.S. News rankings, University of Pennsylvania is ranked #4 compared to #13 — a gap of 9 positions that often correlates with differences in employment outcomes and peer assessment scores.
University of Pennsylvania is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, while Cornell University is in Ithaca, New York. Regional placement matters: graduates tend to find employment near their law school, so location should factor into your decision alongside rankings and cost.
Employment outcomes differ substantially: University of Pennsylvania places 67.1% of graduates into large law firm positions, compared to 56.9% for the other school. This 10 percentage point gap is significant for applicants targeting BigLaw careers.
Among cross-admitted applicants, Cornell University offered a median scholarship of $150,000 compared to $129,000, a difference of $21,000 that may factor into enrollment decisions.