B.S. in Hotel Administration application requirements

Secondary-School Subjects/Requirements:

• 16 units, including 4 of English, 4 of mathematics (including 1 of pre-calculus), 2 of science (including 1 of chemistry),  and 3 of one foreign language (successful completion of level 3)

Secondary-School Subjects/Recommendations:

• Calculus is strongly recommended, unless precalculus is completed in grade 12
• Calculus is preferred to AP statistics
• An additional unit of science

Special Requirements:

• A resume submitted with your admissions application

Recommended additional preparation:

• Rigorous high school curriculum and an outstanding record of academic achievement
• Initiative, curiosity, teamwork, ingenuity
• Hospitality or service-industry exposure
• Applicants are encouraged to explore our virtual visit options
• Interviews are not offered

Effective for students applying for Fall 2026 or beyond, first-year applicants will be required to submit standardized test scores. Students can self-report their scores in their application, matriculating students will be required to provide official scores upon enrolling at Cornell.

For the SAT, Cornell considers the highest section scores across test dates, and participates in the College Board Score Choice program. For the ACT, Cornell can consider the ACT-provided superscore and your highest section scores across all dates. (Be sure to use the superscore option when sending your official scores.) The science section of the ACT is not required.

Cornell’s SAT code is 2098, and our ACT code is 2726.

Please refer to the Cornell University Undergraduate Admissions Standardized Testing Policies page for more information.

Yes, the office of admissions hosts undergraduate information sessions for the SC Johnson College of Business. These sessions include an overview of each school — the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration and the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management — as well as admission requirements and advice regarding the application process and a short Q&A session with staff and current students. Additionally, we host specific Q&A-centered events which are driven by your questions and interests. We encourage you to register in advance and take time to consider what questions you have and what information you’re looking to find.

Qualifying scores from AP, IB, GCE, or A-level courses can count as a maximum of 15 credits toward Nolan School degree requirements.

The University Credit by Exam policies (including Nolan-specific policies) and articulations can be found in the Catalog.

Interviews are not offered as part of the Nolan School’s undergraduate admissions process.

Cornell University is committed to equity and access for all students. If the $80 application fee causes financial hardship for your family, you may be eligible for a fee waiver. Please follow the Common App instructions to apply for a fee waiver.

To apply for a fee waiver, you need to submit one of the following documents:

• The Common App Fee Waiver Request: To be completed by your guidance counselor/college advisor as part of the school forms process (more information and online submission available at Commonapp.org)
• The College Board Request for Waiver of College Application Fee Form (from your guidance counselor/college advisor if you used SAT fee waivers) or the ACT Fee Waiver Form (from your guidance counselor/college advisor if you used ACT fee waivers)
• The NACAC Application for Fee Waiver Form: To be completed by your guidance counselor/college advisor
• A letter from your guidance counselor/college advisor, or a representative from a social service or community agency, stating that the fee would cause financial hardship

If you cannot apply for a fee waiver by one of these methods, please contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office at 607.255.5241.

Mail fee waiver documentation to:

Undergraduate Admissions OfficeCornell University
410 Thurston Avenue
Ithaca, NY 14850

You must also meet the following requirements:

• 3 units of foreign language (from high school or college)
• 1 unit of chemistry (from high school or college)
• 1 unit of precalculus (from high school or college)
• 1 college-level microeconomics course
• A college-level writing course which meets the requirements established by the Knight Institute

Note: Our program includes rigorous quantitative analysis coursework. If your precalculus credit is from high school and you have not since taken math at a higher level, we strongly encourage you to enroll in a higher-level math (college calculus, college algebra, etc.) prior to your enrollment in the Nolan School.

If you’re a rising junior, you can apply to the Nolan School’s undergraduate program. If you’re currently in your junior or senior year, you’re no longer eligible. However, we encourage you to consider our Masters of Management in Hospitality (MMH) program.

Up to 60 credits can be transferred from other accredited colleges or universities.

If you’re admitted, we’ll conduct an official credit transfer evaluation to determine which courses will transfer in.

Qualifying scores from AP, IB, GCE, or A-level courses can count as a maximum of 15 credits toward Nolan School degree requirements.

The University Credit by Exam policies (including Nolan-specific policies) and articulations can be found in the Catalog.

Advanced Placement

The primary purpose of advanced placement (AP) credit is to exempt students from introductory courses and to place them in advanced courses. Students who receive AP credit may not subsequently enroll in a similar course as outlined in the Courses of Study for credit at Cornell unless the AP credit is retracted.

International Baccalaureate Credentials: GCE/A-level and International Baccalaureate (IB) consideration of credit awards for General Certificate of Education “A” level examinations and International Baccalaureate higher level (HL) examinations are summarized in the University Courses of Study.

With qualifying scores, Nolan School students may be awarded AP or IB credit only in free electives, with the following exceptions:

• AP microeconomics—a score of 5 will fulfill HADM 1410
• IB economics—a score of 7 will fulfill HADM 1410 and 3 free elective credits
• AP English language and comp or AP English literature and comp—a score of 5 will fulfill the First-Year Writing Seminar
• IB English literature HL—a score of 7 will fulfill the First-Year Writing Seminar
• AP statistics—the Nolan School will not accept advanced credit for statistics

Transfer decisions for the fall semester are released on a rolling basis during May and June.

All decisions are released via an online notification system, so it is important to keep your email address updated. For more information, please visit the How to Apply page.

Cornell has standard policies for the General Certificate of Education “A” level examinations (biology, chemistry, economics, English literature, further mathematics, mathematics, philosophy, and physics) and International Baccalaureate higher level examinations (anthropology, biology, chemical and physical systems, chemistry, computer science, economics, English literature, mathematics, physical science, or physics).

In addition, you can submit your results for the French Baccalaureate or German Abitur for possible credit, depending on the subject or specialization. If you hold other secondary-school credentials and have been admitted to Cornell, we encourage you to sit for the advanced placement examinations (College Entrance Examination Board) or for the departmental examinations given during Orientation Week.

Please contact the Cornell registrar for specific questions on any credentials.

International Nolan School applicants must have a strong command of the English language, as all of our courses are taught in English. If any of the following conditions apply to you, you may not be required to submit test scores to demonstrate English language proficiency:

• Your native language is English
• You have attended high school in a country where English is an official language for the four years immediately before your expected enrollment at Cornell
• You have a minimum score of 35 out of 40 on the SAT reading test or a minimum score of 30 on both the ACT reading and English sections

If none of these conditions apply to you, you most likely will be required to submit scores for an accepted English language proficiency examination.

If your native language is not English, you did not receive an acceptable minimum score on the SAT or ACT test, or you have not attended high school in a country that has English as an official language for four years prior to enrollment at Cornell, you will have to achieve certain test scores for English language proficiency. We consider many examinations and qualifications to meet the English language proficiency requirement. Some representative tests and passing scores include:

• TOEFL iBT (100)
• iTEP (5.5)
• IELTS Academic (7.5)
• Duolingo English test (120)
• PTE Academic (70)
• Cambridge English Scale C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency (191)
• Initial View assessment
• Vericant assessment

International students will find invaluable services, information, and resources at Cornell’s Office of Global Learning—from obtaining a visa, OPT and CPT, and getting to know other students, to registering for courses, shopping for groceries, and finding a job. The Office of Global Learning also offers virtual advisement via Zoom or phone (in-person advisement has been suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic). Contact the office for more information: international@cornell.edu.

Yes. If your transcript or any other materials are not in English, please submit an original copy and an official certified English translation.

The Nolan School independently evaluates all potential transfer credits when it offers admission to a student; however, Cornell is typically unable to award credit for military training experience.

We consider many factors in our holistic admission review process. Military training and experience are included among those factors, as they can demonstrate your leadership, discipline, and decision-making qualities, among others. In addition, appropriate academic preparation in high school or college, and the ability to articulate your intellectual interests in your application essay, will help make you a strong candidate.

The Nolan School enrolls transfer students in both the fall and spring semesters. The application for fall transfer will be available in early March. The fall deadline to apply is May 1, 11:59 pm ET. Applicants can expect to receive their admissions decision by late June.  The application for spring transfer will be available in early October and the deadline to apply is December 1, at 11:59pm ET.  Applicants can expect to receive their admission decision in early January.

Internal transfer applicants should have a very strong academic record in their current program and complete all the course requirements listed below. In addition to coursework, your internal application to the Nolan School will be evaluated on qualitative factors such as work experience, volunteer activities, leadership positions, internships and your ability to explain in detail why the transfer to the Nolan School is a good fit for you.

• • Current Cornell first- or second-year (i.e. rising second- and third-year) degree-seeking students currently enrolled outside the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business are eligible to apply for internal transfer.

• • Preference is given to current first-year applicants.

• • Current third-year (junior) and fourth-year (senior) students are not eligible for internal transfer.

• • Students who are not eligible for internal transfer: Current third year and fourth year students; students who transferred to Cornell from another university or college; Cornell students who have already internally transferred

Dyson School students are discouraged from applying to the Nolan School and will likely not be admitted. The Dyson and Nolan Schools share academic options, resources and outcomes within the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, making internal transfer between the schools nonessential.

• • Minimum Cornell GPA of 3.0

• • Completion of ECON 1110 or an equivalent microeconomics course

• • Full-time (12-credit-minimum) standing each semester, with few, if any, S/U graded courses

• • Good standing in current college

• • Current curriculum requirements are subject to change and internal transfers will be held to the major requirements for the year in which they matriculate to Nolan.

The essay has a maximum word count of 650. Please consider elaborating on any or all of the questions below that help you explain why you are applying to internally transfer to the Nolan School:

• • How your interest in the Nolan School or the SC Johnson College of Business has developed, and how you have explored it;

• • How the Nolan School provides you with the tools and instruction you desire to pursue at Cornell, compared to other options you have considered;

• • Describe your professional goals/interests and why you feel Nolan will help you to attain these goals, compared to other academic paths.

• • Describe communities and formative activities that you engage in at Cornell (work/volunteer experiences, clubs, research) and how they have shaped you;

• • Share any additional information the Nolan School should know about you (e.g. personal/family situations, independent study, summer plans) that further clarify your interest.

• • Is there anything else your target college should know about you (e.g. personal/family situations, independent study…) that further clarifies your interest?

If you have questions, please register to attend our information sessions and/or office hours. Walk-ins and special appointments are not available for internal transfer applicants.

Dates for information sessions and office hours will be posted on this page during the fall semester by the end of August and during the spring semester by the end of January.

There is no requirement to attend an information session or office hours. Further, attendance is not an evaluative part of the application process.

Our office does not review resumes or application materials prior to their official submission as part of your internal transfer application.

Attend an information session to understand the internal transfer process including eligibility and coursework requirements. The first 30 minutes will be the presentation and remaining time will be held for Q&A.