Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Acceptance rate
3.7%
Tuition
$62,484/year
Cost total
~$84,000/year
Room & board
$20,000/year
Application fee
$90
QS Rank
#5 (2025)
Financial Aid
Meets 100% of need; families below $75K often pay no tuition. Average aid package around $60,000/year.
Scholarships
- Stanford Scholarship (need-based)
- Knight-Hennessy (graduate)
Admission & Deadlines
Holistic admission via Common App. Restrictive Early Action: Nov 1. Regular Decision: Jan 2.
Test Requirements
SAT 1500-1570 or ACT 34-36 typical range; currently test-optional. Very strong GPA and course rigor expected.
Essays & Recommendations
Common App personal statement + Stanford short essays and short questions. 2 teacher + 1 counselor recommendation.
Extracurriculars & Interview
Depth of impact matters more than number of activities. Alumni interview may be offered based on availability.
Housing
On-campus housing generally available across all four years through residential communities.
Step-by-step application plan
- Open Common App and choose Stanford.
- Decide REA vs RD strategy.
- Prepare Stanford essays and recommendations.
- Submit application and aid documents.
- Track interview invite and portal updates.
Undergraduate Programmes
- Computer Science
- Economics
- Human Biology
- Engineering
- Mathematics
- Communication
- Symbolic Systems
- Data Science
Graduate Programmes
- MBA
- JD
- MD
- MS Computer Science
- MS Electrical Engineering
- PhD programmes