Stanford University

Stanford, CA · Private · 7,554 undergrads

• Admit rate: 3.6% (53,733 applicants)
• SAT middle 50%: 1510–1580 (ACT 34–35)
• Undergraduates: 7,554 (12.8% international)
• Average net price: $13,807 (per year after aid)
• Graduation rate: 92% (within 6 years)

Deadlines

• Restrictive Early Action: Nov. 1, 2026
• Regular Decision: Jan. 5, 2027

Essays

Short question 1 (3-50 words)

What is the most significant challenge that society faces today?

Short question 2 (3-50 words)

How did you spend your last two summers?

Short question 3 (3-50 words)

What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed?

Short question 4 (3-50 words)

Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family.

Short question 5 (3-50 words)

List five things that are important to you.

Intellectual vitality essay (100-250 words)

The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning.

Roommate letter (100-250 words)

Virtually all of Stanford's undergraduates live on campus. Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate—and us—get to know you better.

Distinctive contribution (100-250 words)

Please describe what aspects of your life experiences, interests, and character would help you make a distinctive contribution as an undergraduate to Stanford University.

Editor's notes

• Stanford hands you eight writing spaces and tells you which quality it's reading for: intellectual vitality. Spread your story across them. The 50-word answers can carry details that won't fit anywhere else, so don't waste them on filler.
• REA is for students whose junior-year record is already done and strong. Stanford says most admits come through Regular Decision and suggests RD if your grades are rising or you're retaking tests. A REA denial ends your year, so don't rush a weaker file.
• Stanford reads grade 9 as a transition year and focuses on grades 10 through 12. If ninth grade was rough, the trend matters more than the start.
• Check where your arts portfolio fits before Oct. 15. Submitting one moves your whole Common App deadline two weeks earlier in REA.

Sources

1. Stanford Undergraduate Admission, First-year requirements and deadlines
2. Stanford Undergraduate Admission, Application and essays
3. Stanford Undergraduate Admission, Standardized testing
4. Stanford Undergraduate Admission, Interview
5. Stanford Undergraduate Admission, Regular Decision and Restrictive Early Action
6. Stanford Undergraduate Admission, Application fee and fee waiver
7. Stanford Common Data Set 2025-2026 (linked from Stanford IRDS)
8. Stanford Undergraduate Admission, Admission overview
9. Stanford Undergraduate Admission, Afford
10. Stanford Financial Aid Office, Student budget 2026-27
11. Stanford Undergraduate Admission, Policies