Cornell University
What Cornell says
Exact quotes from Cornell’s official pages, checked word for word on Oct 22, 2026.
Students who are in good standing in the college at the conclusion of a semester may request to take a leave of absence to suspend their studies prior to the start of the upcoming semester.
— as.cornell.edu ↗…for a future term prior to the term start, they must officially request the leave via our online request form before the first day of the next term.
— duffield.cornell.edu ↗Leaves are granted for a minimum of one or two semesters depending on conditions and expire after five years.
— as.cornell.edu ↗Voluntary Personal (Non-Health) Leaves are granted for no less than one full semester and no greater than two years for undergraduates.
— duffield.cornell.edu ↗Unaffiliated undergraduate students will be required to submit an official request to rejoin when attempting to return from any type of leave of absence.
— duffield.cornell.edu ↗Voluntary Personal (Non-Health) Leave Can be requested for an immediate in-semester leave or for a future semester leave
— duffield.cornell.edu ↗Written by AI from the quotes and pages we read. It may be incomplete or wrong; the school’s own pages win.
- Cornell personal leave appears to be granted by each undergraduate college.
- Engineering looks like it needs the request before the first day of the next term.
- Rules and limits differ by college; Arts & Sciences and Engineering were read.
- Reasons accepted: any personal reason (Engineering; Arts & Sciences requires good standing).
- Time away allowed: A&S 5 yrs; Engineering 2 yrs.
- Classes start Jan 25.
Before you decide
Check on the following…
- Will my spot be held?Check how long your school keeps your place and whether you have to apply to come back.Ask: Registrar
- Will I graduate later?A term off can push back your graduation. Ask which required classes only run in the spring.Ask: Academic advisor
- Is there a deadline to ask?Some schools want your leave request before January. Find out the exact date and the form.Ask: Dean’s office or registrar
- What happens to my scholarships and aid?Ask whether your scholarships and grants pause while you’re away or end, and what you need to do to get them back.Ask: Financial aid office
- When would I have to start repaying loans?Student loans usually stop being deferred when you’re not enrolled. After a short grace period, often six months, payments can start.Ask: Financial aid office
- Will I still have health insurance?A student health plan usually needs you to be enrolled. Make sure you’re covered from January to April.Ask: Student health office
- What about my housing?Ask whether you can leave your housing contract without a penalty and whether you’ll get housing when you come back.Ask: Housing office
- I’m on a student visa. Does this affect it?For F-1 students, not enrolling usually ends your visa status. Talk to this office before anything else.Ask: International student office
Hackathon
Student founder community
Entrepreneurship center
Hard-tech team
- Cornell FSAE Racing ↗Formula SAE project team.
- Cornell Hyperloop ↗Engineering project team building Hyperloop pod technology.
- Cornell Mars Rover ↗Interdisciplinary rover team (University Rover Challenge).
- Cornell Rocketry Team ↗Engineering project team; Spaceport America Cup competitor.
- Cornell University Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (CUAUV) ↗Builds autonomous submarines for RoboSub.
Why 87
Spend the winter building. Southbound runs Jan 11 to Apr 11, 2027 in Miami. Acceptance is rolling.
What we could find (checked Oct 22, 2026). Not final: confirm dates and aid with your school before you act. Some source pages show no date or blocked our automated check. Confirm the details with your school. We date pages from server timestamps, page metadata, “last updated” text, PDF dates and the Wayback Machine.