After the resounding success of the first year of Cornell College’s Save Your Seat program, the Admission team is kicking off the second year of the program, which provides early financial aid estimates to tens of thousands of students nationwide.
At a time when many families must wait months for clarity on college costs, Cornell’s program is designed to give students earlier insight into the true cost of college, expanding access to higher education.
Last summer, Vice President for Enrollment Management Wendy Beckemeyer, Director of Admission Drew Shradel, and their team set out to find a better way to show that a Cornell College education is affordable and accessible. They developed Save Your Seat, which is a program that provides early, non-binding financial aid estimates to prospective students before they apply, giving families a clearer picture of cost at the very start of their college search.
“Our first year was a huge success,” Shradel said. “We are flipping the admission process on its head by leading with price first. We send estimates to incoming high school seniors at the point when they’re starting their college applications or narrowing their search to where they’d like to visit. Families can see right from the very beginning of that search process that a Cornell education is affordable. We had students who didn’t realize they would qualify for state, federal, or Cornell funding.”
During the summer of 2025, about 20,000 students received the early financial aid award estimates. Nearly 20% of Cornell’s fall 2026 class made their decision early to come to Cornell following the Save Your Seat estimate landing in their inbox. Another round of about 20,000 students will receive Save Your Seat estimates this summer.
The estimates go to students who have raised their hand to learn more about Cornell, whether that’s through filling out a form, opening emails from the college, or chatting with an admission representative at a college fair. The estimates are possible because of Cornell’s guaranteed merit scholarships, calculations published by the Department of Education, historical data, and analysis of decades of data from aid packages given to students.
One incoming first-year student, Jazmine Johnson ’30, shared that the program helped her to feel informed about the financial aid process so she could plan ahead. Johnson deposited to attend Cornell last summer and is looking forward to starting classes in the fall and playing volleyball for the Rams.
“The cost of college was very important. No one wants to be in debt forever, and you want to be fully aware of what you are getting into,” Johnson said. “I really like how the estimate had specific numbers, so I was able to plan ahead for my next four years and start to have more in-depth conversations with my mom about figuring out a long-term plan to make sure I’m making smart financial decisions so that I’ll have a good adult life where I’m not drowning in debt.”
Johnson says she didn’t realize an education at Cornell could be an option.
“I never in a million years thought I’d be able to afford going off somewhere on my own, but just seeing how many scholarships Cornell offers, they want people to be able to come here, which I think is amazing,” Johnson said. “Cornell offers so many different forms of aid. My biggest one was Cornell’s Iowa Promise Scholarship. Once I saw that number, it was like this is a serious option now.”
Beckemeyer says it’s not uncommon to see how misconceptions about college costs can keep families from considering higher education.
“Through Save Your Seat, we provide clear, transparent cost information five or six months earlier than the typical FAFSA timeline so families can make informed decisions,” Beckemeyer said. “When families see the real numbers, they’re often surprised that the education they want for their student is more affordable and within reach.”
After the first round of students received their estimates, which included Johnson, Cornell delivered nearly 30,000 additional estimates to students and their families outside the program as a tool to inform their college search.
The program also includes incentives for early commitment. Students who deposit by Sept. 1 receive perks such as priority housing selection and preferred First-Year Seminar placement. They are also guaranteed the Cornell-funded aid listed in their Save Your Seat estimate, including merit scholarships and institutional grants.
Families who would like to receive an estimate of their cost to attend Cornell can request one online by answering a few short questions.