As a private university, Cornell operates four state-assisted “statutory” or “contract” colleges pursuant to the authority set forth in Article 115 of the New York Education Law.
to serve the people of the State(NY), Cornell is proud to accept as many people as it can (as exemplified by the guaranteed transfer admission option given to some high school seniors, and transfer agreements from many NYS community colleges)
https://blogs.cornell.edu/david/2013/04/23/what-does-land-grant-really-mean-and-why-should-you-care/