Once an applicant submits all of the required application materials; applications are prepared for review. Both the processing and review take some time and we ask that you be patient as we receive close to two thousand applications each year.  The times mentioned below are estimates and will be shorter for spring admissions and possibly longer for fall admissions. These timelines are neither definitive nor guaranteed. 

  • The processing of applications by the Computer Science M.Eng. Office begins about two weeks prior to the application deadline. 
  • Applications received after the deadline will not be reviewed. Please ensure you have submitted your online application by the posted deadline.
  • Approximately three weeks after the deadline, applicants will be able to check the status of their application on the Activity page in College Net. The notes section will indicate if anything has yet to be received. (The timeline is more condensed for spring admissions due to a smaller pool of applicants. Expect approximately 3 weeks of processing time.)
  • Should an application be deemed incomplete at processing, a reasonable time will be allowed for the applicant to supply the missing materials.
  • *SPECIAL NOTE: Your name on your application should be exactly the same as the name you registered under for any required tests. Inconsistent names result in the inability of our system to accurately match your TOEFL/IELTS scores to your application, cause much confusion, and may prolong the processing and review of your application unnecessarily.
  • Applicants should check their online application status page for information on what materials are missing.
    • Once an application has been processed and found to be complete the status will be changed from "In Progress" to "Complete."
    • If your application says "Incomplete", check the "notes" section for what is missing.
    • If nothing is missing and the status still reads "Incomplete", your application has not yet been checked again for missing information and will be soon.

    • Occasionally the admissions committee will request additional information from an applicant in order to more accurately assess their credentials. Decisions in these cases will take additional time, however, the notification procedure is the same.

  • Review of complete applications takes approximately five to six weeks after processing, depending on the number of applications received. (The timeline is condensed for spring admissions. Expect decisions within a month of the application deadline.)
  • Once the applications have been reviewed and decisions have been made, applicants who are being offered admission will receive their admission offer letters via e-mail with instructions on responding, information about Cornell and the CS M.Eng Program, and resources to help make a well-informed decision.
  • All correspondence will be sent via e-mail to the address indicated on the admission application. Please make sure the e-mail address you report on your application remains valid until the admissions process is complete.
  • We do not provide admission decisions over the telephone or in response to third-party inquiries. NO EXCEPTIONS!
  • Once an admission offer is made, applicants will have approximately 1 month to respond to the offer. (The timeline is condensed for spring admissions. Response to an admission offer is required within two to three weeks of notification.)
    • The response includes completing an online response form (with the required deposit,) and for international students, financial certification documents. 
  • If an applicant has been declined an offer of admission they will be notified approximately two months after the deadline date. These applicants will receive their decision via e-mail.
    • No admission decisions will be provided over the telephone. NO EXCEPTIONS! (The timeline is condensed for spring admissions. Notification for declined applications will be sent out about 5-6 weeks after the deadline.)
    • It is not practical for us to comment on individual applicants as to why they were not offered admission. Please refrain from asking for feedback on why your admission was denied.