Students walk on the campus of Cornell University on Sept. 30, 2026, in Ithaca, New York.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
As Cornell University faces scrutiny over its handling of sexual assault allegations, some prospective students are reconsidering whether to apply, according to college admissions consultants who spoke with CNBC.
The concerns come just weeks before Cornell's Nov. 1 early-decision deadline, when applicants must decide whether to submit an application under a binding agreement to attend the Ivy League university if admitted.
Amid public outrage over the handling of the 2024 alleged incident and the ensuing Jane Doe lawsuit, some high school seniors have decided to take the school out of consideration, according to Christopher Rim, president and CEO of college consulting firm Command Education.
"I originally had nine students applying to Cornell, four were early — now we have zero applying early," he said.
The lawsuit centers on a civil complaint filed in September by a former student identified as Jane Doe. She alleges that in October 2024 she was sexually assaulted at one of the school's fraternity houses on Cornell's campus in Ithaca, New York.
Jamie Beaton, co-founder and CEO of college consulting firm Crimson Education, also said he is "seeing some Cornell applicants reconsider applying there based on campus safety and culture concerns."
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Cornell directed CNBC to Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff's Oct. 13 message. In a statement, the university said it is conducting an independent review, led by former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, to examine long-standing policies and practices. Separately, Cornell suspended all fraternity parties and social events for the remainder of the 2026-27 academic year.
"These conversations, and campus protests, have underscored my deep conviction that we must do better: that the time for meaningful and lasting change at Cornell, and at campuses across the country, is now," Kotlikoff said in the statement.
What comes next is key, Rim said. "It's very important for Cornell to make sure they do the right thing and make actual changes to their policies," he said. "Then they are going to have to convince students and families they are serious about it."
Will Cornell's application numbers change?
Changing course so close to the early-decision deadline can be difficult for applicants who have spent months tailoring their applications to a specific Cornell school, a distinctive part of the university's application process, according to Beaton.
Some applicants "feel psychologically committed," he said, and are "staying the course, and are holding onto hope that the scrutiny on Cornell will force it to make serious reforms to institutional conduct and culture as a result of this."
In some cases, applying early decision can improve an applicant's odds of admission but leaves less time to work on the application or compare options. The regular-decision deadline for Cornell is Jan. 2.
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Going forward, "what we expect is that things will be loud in the short term," Beaton said, referring specifically to this application cycle. But he added that there will likely be minimal long-term movement in application volumes or yield, which is the percent of students who choose to enroll after being admitted.
"Scandals at highly selective universities don't move application volumes in a lasting way, since the pull of the brand, the outcomes and the network is too strong," Beaton said.
Cornell is the largest Ivy by undergraduate enrollment. With an acceptance rate under 10%, Cornell most recently admitted 5,776 applicants to the Class of 2030, according to the university's independent student newspaper, The Cornell Daily Sun.