School Location:

STANFORD, CA

School Type:

PRIVATE RESEARCH UNIVERSITY

How difficult is it to get into Stanford?

Stanford is an incredibly selective school, and as such, all students should consider it a “high reach” school, no matter their academic stats and applicant profiles. Of the 53,733 students who applied to be admitted to Stanford’s Class of 2027, 2099 were admitted, yielding an acceptance rate of just 3.9%. Students applying to Stanford should work hard in school to earn top grades and to demonstrate great character, as Stanford reports that rigor of courses. GPA, class rank, recommendations, and application essays are very important in their admissions considerations. Nonacademic factors such as talent, character, and extracurricular activities are also very important to the Stanford admissions committee. If you’re undeterred by a low admission rate, read on to learn more about Stanford and its admissions process!

What is the campus like at Stanford?

Stanford is fondly referred to as “the Farm” by its many alumni because before the formation of the university, the campus was used as a family farm, housing the Stanfords’ horses. Now, over a hundred years later, you can still see remnants of the time gone by, and horses are still stabled in the foothills of campus. Stanford, CA is directly adjacent to Palo Alto, so any time you step off campus you’re technically setting foot in a new city, though you’d never know it.

Stanford has a sprawling campus of 8,180 acres. The campus is replete with natural scenery, with everything from lakes, to creeks, to hills that students can hike—all without leaving campus.

Approximately 8,000 undergraduate students call Stanford home. Of these 8,000, 97% choose to live on-campus in undergraduate student housing, which is guaranteed to students for all four years of their undergraduate studies. This results in a tight-knit community at Stanford. There are plenty of opportunities to join one of the 600+ organized student groups, of which 30 are religious organizations and over 100 are committed to the arts. Many students choose to live in a culturally themed house, join a club sports team, or do research at a lab. One in five undergraduate students join one of the 24 fraternities or sororities recognized on campus,

If you think you’re going to miss those home-cooked meals, don’t worry—the food on campus is great! There are multiple restaurants on campus ranging from take-out to upscale and the dining halls provide consistently delicious and healthy options for students. Stanford students take their academics very seriously, but they also pride themselves on being able to let loose and enjoy themselves–it is California after all!

What is Stanford known for?

Stanford is known as one of the top research universities in the world and a pioneer in the field of computer science. The university fuels the startup culture in Silicon Valley, and alumni work at nearly every major tech giant in the U.S. and beyond. Additionally, Stanford is known for its lively, creative, and wacky culture that is representative of the progressive San Francisco Bay Area.

Beyond its world-renowned academics, research opportunities, idyllic location and award winning athletics, the school is also known for its rich traditions, like fountain hopping on campus, the Wacky Walk, and Senior Dinner, among others.

How diverse is Stanford?

Stanford has a diverse student body: of the 8,054 undergraduate students attending Stanford in the fall of 2023, 924 or 11.5% were international, 1,486 or 18.5% were were Hispanic, 654 or 8.1% were Black of African American, 1,917 or 23.8% were white, 63 or .07% were American Indian or Alaska natives, 2,175 or 27% were Asian, and 19 were Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders.

How do I apply to Stanford?

Stanford offers two different application timelines: Restrictive Early Action (REA) and Regular Decision. Restrictive Early Action is non-binding, though students who apply through this application option may not apply to any other private college or university early, whether through early action, early decision, restrictive early action or other. That being said, students who apply REA to Stanford can apply to any other public university with a non-binding early application plan or deadline, or any other school with a non-binding rolling admissions. Stanford reports that the majority of admitted students apply regular decision.

Restrictive Early Action Standard applications are due November 1, (REA Application with the Arts Portfolio due October 15), and Regular Decision applications are due January 5th.

Students who wish to apply to Stanford must submit the following application components:

• Common Application
• $90 application fee
• ACT or SAT test scores (optional for students applying in fall 2024; required for students applying in the fall of 2025)
• School Report form
• Counselor letter of recommendation
• Official transcript(s)
• Two teacher letters of recommendation
• Midyear transcript (due by February 15th)
• Optional Arts Portfolio