Your fear is not unfounded if you are dreading the stressful process of applying to an Ivy League university like Stanford, Harvard, or MIT, which holds the record for having the lowest rates of admission. The acceptance rates at Stanford are among the lowest in the nation.
You might be interested in putting your computer science expertise to the test at Stanford University, right in the heart of Silicon Valley. But you must understand that Stanford’s acceptance rate, at just 4, makes it one of the toughest. 7%. Out of the nearly 40,500 applicants, only 1,357 students were accepted for admission in 2019. Even if you have excellent test scores, it is extremely competitive because of Stanford’s acceptance rates.
AdmissionSight will guide you through the process of deciding whether Stanford is the right university for you and, if so, how to stand out as an applicant. Although it will take a lot to stand out among the many applicants applying this year, To begin with, you must excel and rank at the top of your class. Additionally, you ought to have an ACT score of 35 or a roughly 1570 SAT score.
However, let’s take a look at the demographics of the students admitted to Stanford University in 2019 before we dive into the statistics.
Stanford is among the oldest schools in the United States. Leland Stanford, a former governor of California, and his wife Jane established the university in 1885 in honor of their son Leland Jr. Stanford, California’s main campus is situated in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County.
This might be one of the explanations for why Californians make up the majority of the admitted students. However, it is irrelevant where you are from or what race you are. Even though Stanford has one of the lowest acceptance rates in the nation, they believe in giving every brilliant mind an equal chance.
Many students applying to Stanford may also find the following “How to Get Into” blogs to be of interest:
Let’s start by looking at the most recent admissions information.
Stanford Acceptance Rate
Sadly, Stanford won’t be making any admissions information for the Class of 2026 public just yet. For many months, not even the total number of applicants will be known. However, we believe that the acceptance rate for the Class of 2026 will be around 3. 5-4. 5%.
Just 2,190 out of 55,471 applicants were accepted by Stanford for the Class of 2025. This acceptance rate of 3. 95% was an all-time low for the university. For a historical perspective, the Class of 1978 had a 31% acceptance rate; the Class of 2011 was the last time the school had an acceptance rate in the double-digits
Stanford Admissions – SAT, GPA, and Class Rank
The mid-50% SAT range for the Class of 2025 was 1420-1570; the ACT the range was 32-35 The prior year, an incredible 83% scored above a 700 on the math section of the SAT; 77% scored above a 700 on the reading section Ninety-six percent had earned a place in the top 10% of the graduating high school class and the average GPA was a 3 96. Amazingly, 96%% of freshmen had a 3. cumulative unweighted GPA of 75 or higher throughout their high school careers
It’s important to remember that Stanford’s last two admissions cycles were test-optional due to COVID-19.
Admissions Trends & Notes – (Class of 2025)
- 18% of the Class of 2025 are first-generation students; down from 20% the previous cycle
- After being accepted into the Class of 2024, 369 members of the Class of 2025 took a year off.
- With 2,126 students (including those who took a gap year), the class of 2025 was the biggest in school history.
- The percentage of international students rose from 9. 9% (Class of 2024) to 12%.
- The acceptance rate fell from 5. 19% to 3. 95% between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 admissions cycles.
Be Great at One Thing; Not “Well-Rounded”
Stanford is looking for the upcoming stars in a number of fields. The next generation of Supreme Court Justices (Breyer, Kennedy, O’Conner, Rehnquist), business leaders (Sergey Brin, Reed Hastings, Phil Knight), writers, politicians, athletes, actors/actresses, and Nobel Prize-winning scientists are just a few of the notable Stanford alumni listed below.
Even if all ten of your extracurricular activities are impressive, spreading yourself too thin won’t impress the Stanford admissions committee. Shining in one or two areas is key. Check out our previous blog post, How Many Extracurricular Activities Do I Need for College?, for tips on how to stand out on the extracurricular front.
How Stanford Evaluates Applicants
Class rank, GPA, standardized test scores, extracurricular activities, secondary school record rigor, talent/ability, character/personal qualities, and application essay are among the nine factors listed by Stanford as being “very important” to the admissions process. They rank zero factors as “important” and seven as “considered. These include the interview, first-generation status, legacy status, location, racial or ethnic background, volunteer work, and previous paid employment.
When applying to Stanford, it is crucial to have some sort of “hook” regarding extracurricular activities. For instance, Stanford, which hosts 36 varsity sports teams, has the best athletic program in the entire nation. More than 350 of the 900 students involved in intercollegiate sports receive athletic scholarships. Your chances of being admitted to Stanford exponentially increase if you are a star athlete being actively courted by a coach there, especially if your academic performance is “in range.” If you don’t like sports, maybe you’re a great speaker and will join the Stanford Debate Society, or maybe you’re a talented ethnographer, playwright, cellist, poet, scientist, robotics engineer, app designer, or community activist.
Who Actually Gets Into Stanford?
Let’s examine the demographics of the current Stanford undergraduate student body:
Geographically, the Cardinal student body is comprised of students from:
- California: 35%
- Other U.S.: 52%
- International: 13%
Like most elite institutions, Stanford likes to claim that its class includes students from almost every state by achieving a certain level of geographic diversity. Only the Class of 2025 has members from 77 nations and 49 states. Therefore, as opposed to someone who lives in California or New York, your location is more likely to improve your chances of admission if you are from the Deep South or a sparsely populated state like Montana or Idaho.
The breakdown of the total undergraduate student body’s ethnic composition was as follows:
- White: 29%
- Asian American: 25%
- Hispanic: 17%
- African American: 7%
- American Indian: 1%
- International: 11 %
- Two or more races: 10%
Looking at the different high schools the members of the Class of 2025 attended reveals the following:
- Public: 60%
- Private: 27%
- International: 13%
- Homeschool: 1%
The gender breakdown of current undergraduates is as follows:
Yield Rate
Stanford%E2%80%99s yield rate%E2%80%94the percentage of accepted students who elect to enroll, divided by the total number of students who were admitted was 80% for the Class of 2025, placing it behind Harvard University (85%) and Yale (83%) for the highest figure of any school in the country Dartmouth and Penn both have yield rates between 70-77%. Elite schools like Duke, Notre Dame, and Cornell sport yields above 60%
Tips for Applying to Stanford
The following information should be known by all 55,000 Stanford applicants:
- Although it is not required, all applicants may choose to participate in an optional alumni interview as part of the admissions process. Volunteers email invite candidates, and the actual interview can be conducted in person or via video chat.
- Visit our blog, College Interview Tips, for guidance on the kinds of questions you should be prepared to ask or to answer.
- Due to their aforementioned extraordinarily high yield rate, Stanford does not take “demonstrated interest” into account. Consequently, you do not need to contact the university specifically for this purpose. They simply don’t have to worry about this factor because of their high yield rate, which can have a more significant impact at many other institutions.
- Do everything you can to “bring your application to life. This means looking for recommenders who can highlight your passion and make the unique qualities and characteristics of your personality stand out on the page. Essays will also be key….
- There are eight of the supplemental essays and short answers that Stanford requires, yes, you read that right, eight, and in the cycle of 2021–22, they were as follows:
Short Response Questions (50 words each)
- What is the most significant challenge that society faces today?
- How did you spend your last two summers?
- What historical event or moment would you have liked to have seen?
- Give a brief description of one of your extracurricular activities, your job, or any obligations you have to your family.
- What one Stanford experience are you most looking forward to?
Essay Questions (250 words each)
1) Both inside and outside of the classroom, the Stanford community is highly curious and eager to learn. Think about a concept or event that genuinely inspires your desire to learn.
2) Virtually all of Stanford’s undergraduates live on campus. Send your prospective roommate a note that reveals something about you or that will help us all get to know you better.
3) Describe for us something important to you and why.
The admissions committee advises “you to spend time reflecting on who you are and what is meaningful to you” for all eleven essays (plus the Common App). Be honest with yourself in your essays and let your true voice shine through. “Getting to respond to so many inquiries that call for intimate, profound, and sincere explanations is a wonderful way to endear yourself to the admissions officer reviewing your application.
Should I Apply to Stanford?
Stanford should definitely be on your college list if you are at the top of your high school class and have outstanding test scores. It can help to give you a real chance at admission if you have some sort of “hook,” whether it be in the fields of sports, music, theater, or STEM. But regardless of how intelligent and successful you are, this university is a “reach” school for every single teen. Even if you are a “perfect” applicant, you should still balance your college list with “target” and “safety” schools. Consult our blog post How to Create the Perfect College List for more details on creating a properly balanced list of potential colleges.
Asking Stanford Students How They Got Into Stanford | SAT/ACT, GPA, ECs, Common App Essay & MORE
FAQ
What percent of Stanford is out of state?
60. 08% of Stanford students come from out of state, and 12 26% come from out of the country.
What is the lowest GPA Stanford will accept?
To have your application reviewed or to be admitted to Stanford, there is no set minimum GPA, test score, or number of AP or honors courses you must have taken.
Is Stanford or Harvard harder to get into?
One of the most prestigious and well-respected universities in the world is Harvard University. Did you know that 17 current astronauts and 30 living billionaires attended Stanford University? HarvardStanfordClass of 2025 Acceptance Rate3 43%3. 95% (approx).
Is Stanford harder to get into than MIT?
Admissions. MIT and Stanford both have acceptance rates right around 4%. Technically, for 2020-2022, Stanford’s acceptance rate was 3. 95% while MIT’s was 3. 96%, which are essentially exactly the same. That means both schools are very competitive.