How To Get Into Stanford

Stanford University is one of the nation’s most challenging institutions of higher learning to be accepted to. The caliber of this elite university rivals every Ivy League school there is, so it’s no wonder it’s referred to as the “Ivy of the West.” 

Because the school has such a renowned reputation, it’s no surprise that it also has one of the lowest acceptance rates in the U.S.

Founded in 1885 by a California senator, Leland Stanford, and his wife, Jane, the university was a tribute to the couple’s only son, Leland Jr., who died from typhoid fever in 1884. They thought a university would be a fitting memorial to the boy and donated an enormous fortune to the project. 

The new university opened on October 1, 1891, as Leland Stanford Junior University, which is still its legal name today. Former president Herbert Hoover, a member of Stanford’s Pioneer Class of 1895, was a huge benefactor who helped the university get back on its feet in the 1920s after a series of unfortunate events.

Today, Stanford is a proud university, and rightly so. There are 2,300 faculty members who teach at a student-to-faculty ratio of 5:1. There are more than 70 major fields of undergrad studies available and 200 graduate programs taught through the university’s seven schools, which are:

• The Graduate School of Business
• The Graduate School of Education
• The School of Engineering
• The School of Humanities and Sciences
• The School of Law
• The School of Medicine
• The Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

Every Stanford school was founded on and sustains exceptional depth and breadth of excellence, which facilitates multidisciplinary study. 

Stanford accepts the Common Application, so when you fill it out, you are applying to the entire university and not to a particular school, major, or department. The university encourages applicants to indicate their prospective majors on their applications. However, this doesn’t mean students are locked into those majors. 

If you’re determined to join a future class of Stanford Cardinals, you should learn all you can about how to get accepted into Stanford. Work extremely hard through your entire high school career to earn a perfect GPA, achieve very high test scores, and graduate near the top of your class so you can make an impression on the Stanford admissions committee. 

Looking for information on how to get accepted into Stanford? Below are some of the most common questions about becoming a Cardinal:

Stanford’s acceptance rate is down there with Columbia, Princeton, and Harvard and is even more selective than Yale, MIT, and Caltech. According to U.S. News & World Report, Stanford is ranked the #3 national university, and its current acceptance rate is estimated to be between 3.5% and 4.5%. 

For the class of 2026, Stanford did not disclose its specific acceptance rate. However, for the class of 2025, the university received 55,471 applications from hopeful would-be freshmen. Stanford accepted only 2,190 of them, for an acceptance rate of 3.95% — an all-time low for the school.

Here’s some evidence of how dramatically admission rates to Stanford have changed over time — the class of 1978 had an acceptance rate of 31%. The university hasn’t had an acceptance rate in the double digits since the class of 2011 rolled through.

If you’re on a mission to learn all you can about how to get accepted into Stanford, the best place to start is with current student profiles. Knowing the GPAs, test scores, class rankings, and other information about students accepted by the university will give you an idea of what you’re up against and what the admissions staff expects.

There is no set cut-off for a class rank that Stanford requires for admission. However, class rank is very important in the admissions decision-making process. An impressive 96% of the members of Stanford’s class of 2025 graduated in the top 10% of their high school classes.

Stanford also does not require a certain GPA minimum for admissions. The average unweighted GPA for students joining the class of 2025 was 3.96. More than two-thirds of them graduated from high school with a perfect unweighted 4.0. Fewer than 4% of students who were invited to join the Stanford student body had GPAs lower than 3.74.

During typical admission cycles, Stanford requires applicants to submit scores from either the ACT or the SAT. The school does not require a certain score to be admitted. There is also no score that guarantees admission.

During the 2022–2023 application cycle, Stanford was test-optional. The university asks students to visit the school’s COVID-19 update page for current policies.

For students who did submit test scores during the most recent round of applications, the average scores were as follows:

• 50% of students reporting SAT scores had scores between 1420 and 1550
• 50% of students reporting ACT scores scored between 31 and 35
• 80% of students scored between 1400 and 1600 on the SAT
• 86.5% scored between 30 and 36 on the ACT

While Stanford typically does require test scores, it does not require the ACT writing section or the SAT essays. The school reviews applications with scores that have either been self-reported or officially reported. If you self-report scores and are offered admission, you will be required to have the College Board or ACT send in official score reports to the school.

Stanford follows the guidelines below pertaining to testing:

• The university will superscore scores across two versions of the SAT if taken
• Stanford will superscore SAT scores from all test sittings
• The school will focus on the highest composite ACT score from all sittings

It’s important to note that the College Board discontinued SAT subject tests in 2021, so these tests are not required by Stanford University.

Make sure that you take the most rigorous classes available to you during high school. Stanford is looking for students who don’t shy away from challenges. 

With that being said, Stanford does recommend that you have the following under your belt in order for you to be prepared for college-level curriculum:

• At least three years of lab science, including biology, physics, and chemistry
• Three or more years of social studies and history
• At least three years of the same foreign language
• Four years of English
• Four years of math

Stanford also recommends you take five academic classes every semester, including during your senior year of high school.

The admissions staff expects you to work hard in your school’s most challenging courses. It looks more favorably on an A- in an AP or IB class than an A+ in its easier counterpart. Stanford doesn’t have a set list of required high school classes because the school understands that not every student has access to the same classes. 

Suppose that you are taking International Baccalaureate (IB) and/or Advanced Placement (AP) courses. In that case, you are not required to submit test scores along with your application, but you have the option to do so if you’d like.

If you are enrolled in an IB diploma program outside of the U.S., you’ll be required to send your predicted IB marks.

If you’re currently a student in the British education system, you will need to submit your predicted A-Level grades and GCSE results to Stanford. Typically, students in this situation will have taken no fewer than three full A-Level courses if they are applying to Stanford, even if they may not have taken final exams.

The answers you provide for the required essay prompts as part of your application to Stanford are extremely important. Therefore, you need to make sure to devote plenty of time to them and begin writing draft responses months ahead of time. 

Make sure you have at least an idea of which school at Stanford you’ll want to attend. Within any required writing prompts and sometimes in essays, it’s recommended that you reference your chosen school and write with that school in mind. 

The required essay prompts are part of the Common Application, but there are also Stanford-specific supplemental prompts. Your answers to each of the three short essay prompts should be between 100 and 250 words.

1. Describe something that is meaningful to you and tell why it’s important
2. Write a letter to your future roommate that reveals something about yourself
3. Discuss an experience or idea that makes you excited about learning

One of the most important things to remember about the essays is that they shouldn’t repeat information that is already stated elsewhere on your application. Instead, use the essay prompts to show admission faculty why Stanford is a good match for you and why you would benefit Stanford. 

Interviews with Stanford alumni are optional and designed to allow you to explore what it’s like to go to Stanford from the perspective of an alumnus. The admission office also uses interviews as a chance to learn about you.

There are no guarantees that you will be offered an optional alumni interview, as alumni are available only in certain areas. However, if you are offered one, it’s strongly recommended that you take it. If you are not offered one, your application will not suffer any consequences and will still be considered complete. Applicants are not able to request interviews. 

Whether you choose to apply to the Early Action round for admissions or the Regular Decision round, there are critical deadlines you need to abide by when submitting your application materials:

• Early Action application with art supplement: October 15
• Standard Early Action application deadline: November 1
• September is the last month for ACT testing for Early Action
• October is the last month for SAT testing for Early Action

For the Regular Decision round:

• December is the last month for ACT and SAT testing
• December 1 is the deadline for applications with art supplements
• January 5 is the deadline for Regular Decision applications

The Early Action option is a non-binding one that is an excellent choice if you are 100% committed to Stanford and will go if invited. It may also be ideal if you have a strong transcript up through your junior year of high school.

There are certain policies in place for Early and Regular Action admissions at Stanford. If you apply to Stanford for the Early Action round, you won’t be able to do so at other universities.

However, you are allowed to apply to any university under their regular plans. If your application is deferred, you can apply to another college’s Early plan.

If you choose to apply to the Early Action round, there are three possible action decisions:

• You are offered admission, in which case you will have until May 1 to accept or decline the offer
• You are denied admission, in which case you may not reapply in Regular Decision
• The university defers your application to Regular Decision, and you will have an answer by April 1.

The Regular Decision round is the traditional application action plan. It may be right for you if your grades are improving your senior year, you’re retaking SATs or ACTs, or you’re working on a monumental activity or project in the fall of your senior year.

After you submit your application, be on the lookout for an email with instructions on how to log into your Stanford portal. 

The Stanford portal is where you can check your application status. You can also update your application there and see if other materials, like SAT and ACT scores and official transcripts, have been received. This will also be where you log in to view your admission decision letter. 

Make sure you begin researching how to get into Stanford early in your high school career and enlist all the Stanford admission help you can!