Cornell helps set its students on the path to the American Dream, according to the Equality of Opportunity Project’s “Mobility Report Cards: The Role of Colleges in Intergenerational Mobility.”

The new study, reported in-depth by The Upshot/New York Times Jan. 18, examined millions of anonymous tax records for its mobility report card. Mobility rate was defined as the fraction of a college’s students who come from a family in the bottom fifth of the income distribution and end up in the top fifth of the income distribution.

Cornell stands as the top Ivy – on an indicator that combines access and outcome – in economic mobility. About 16 percent of its graduates move up at least two income quintiles from their income status when they were students, according to the data. Specifically, Cornell graduates whose families were in the bottom national income quintile as students, have a 59 percent chance of substantially climbing the economic ladder to join the top national income quintile as adults. That indicator places Cornell third among Ivy schools, with only Princeton (66 percent) and Columbia (61 percent) obtaining better economic mobility from the bottom to top income quintiles.

In terms of students’ families in the top-fifth quintile – those families who earned $110,000 or more annually – Cornell ranked nearly last (seventh) among Ivy schools at 64 percent. Princeton at 72 percent and the University of Pennsylvania at 71 percent, were the top schools. Among students whose families are in the bottom national income quintile ($20,000 or less), the university is fourth among Ivy schools, according to the Times’ data.

Ten percent of Cornell students come from the top one percent, or families that earned more than $630,000 annually, which ranks last among the Ivies. Dartmouth was No. 1 at 21 percent, and Brown was No. 2 at 19 percent.

While Cornell enrolls larger numbers of low-income and underrepresented minority students than most of its peer institutions – yet has a smaller endowment per student than most – the university provides robust financial aid packages to all admitted students with financial need. The Cornell undergraduate financial aid budget for 2016-17 is approximately $239 million, which includes $31.7 million from the university’s endowment.

“The university upholds its founding commitment to ‘any person, any study.’ Today, Cornell is more affordable for most students who receive financial aid than it was 20 years ago,” said Barbara Knuth, senior vice provost and dean of the Graduate School, who administers the undergraduate admissions office.

Cornell also has a higher percentage of students receiving Pell Grants than many elite colleges and universities, including those that have joined the new Bloomberg American Talent Initiative, a consortium of schools aiming to attract accomplished low-income students.

“We participate in an array of effective partnerships that focus on socio-economic diversity and enhancing college access, such as ‘Say Yes to Education,’ New York state opportunity programs and the College Board’s Realizing Your College Potential program,” said Knuth. “Our need-blind admission and need-based financial aid policies meeting full demonstrated need for every admitted student makes Cornell accessible to all, regardless of economic status. And all graduates receive a world-class education that opens the door to the future.”