Financing Your Undergraduate Studies

We know that thinking about how to finance your education can be a daunting and intimidating task. The staff at the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program (AIISP) can help you navigate the financial aid process and set you up to network with professionals who can answer your questions.

In addition, our program offers admitted students employment opportunities as well as enrichment and experiential funding to help enhance your Cornell experience.

Questions? Contact us at aiisp [at] cornell.edu (aiisp[at]cornell[dot]edu).

More Information

Cornell provides 100% of need-based aid to students, and guarantees that any family with a total income of less than $60,000, and total assets of less than $100,000 (including primary home equity), will have no parent contribution and no loans. For some families, loans might be necessary, but they will be capped so that the total debt will not exceed certain limits. Try Cornell’s financial aid calculator to receive your estimated eligibility of need-based financial aid.

For more information and to see estimates of aid based on income levels, see Cornell's Commitment to Access and Affordability.

Outside Scholarship Policy: Outside scholarships may be applied to your student contribution and loans; however, they cannot cover the parent contribution.

Student employment can be an important part of financing your undergraduate studies. The American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program (AIISP) offers part-time job opportunities to qualified AIISP undergraduate and graduate students. Priority is given to those who are work-study eligible; however, if we have open positions you may still apply. If you are interested in this opportunity, please aiisp [at] cornell.edu (contact AIISP) to find out more about availability, hours, and compensation.

AIISP offers enrichment and experiential funding for our students. These funds can be used to engage in activities that can add value to your educational experience, such as attending a conference, engaging in a research project, participating in an arts program, or taking an internship, while giving back to Indigenous communities.