What is Sanford University acceptance rate?

Stanford University is considered one of California's best private research universities. The university began its operations in 1885 with Leland Stanford University.  The university is very prestigious and ranks 3rd in the QS world university rankings in 2024.  The university is very selective when it comes to giving admissions, and the acceptance rate in the university is as low as 5 %, as cited by the U.S. News & World Report. 

The acceptance rate for undergraduate courses at Stanford University is 3.95% for the year 2025, which is below 5.19% in the year 2024. The increasingly low acceptance rate in the university raises major questions regarding the requirements to be fulfilled to get admission to Stanford University. 

Eligibility criteria for getting Admission to Stanford University

The students admitted to the university are offered many graduate, undergraduate, and doctoral courses on its California Campus. This helps in attracting a large number of students from different parts of the world. The admission criteria at Stanford University vary from course to course. 

Eligibility criteria for getting admission in Undergraduate courses

• The candidate is required to get high scores in “SAT” or “ACT” examinations.
• The student should have at least five subjects each semester during high school. 
• In high school, students must have Mathematics, English, Science, Social science, and any foreign language. 

Eligibility criteria for taking admission in graduate courses

• The candidate must have a US bachelor's degree or equivalent from another international university.
• Students must clear the “Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)” by the given deadline in case the student does not have English as their first language. 

Important documents required 

To be admitted to Stanford University, candidates must submit some documents during admission. The types of documents required depend on the course selected by the candidate.

The must-have documents for getting admission to undergraduate courses are :

• Filled application form
• Letter of recommendation from counselor
• School report card
• Official transcript or academic results from the previous education institution
• Recommendation letters from at least two teachers.
• ACT or SAT scores. 

Documents for getting admission to postgraduate courses and doctoral courses are :

• Filled application form from the official website
• Statement of Purpose consisting of one to two pages with 12 font and a one-inch margin.
• CV or resume of the candidate
• Three recommendation letters from employers or professors.
• Transcripts from the previous university
• A test score of “Foreign Language (TOEFL)” 
• GRE scores

The documents required for postgraduate and doctoral admissions must be submitted online, reducing the need for physical documents. 

Average scores and tests required to get admission to Stanford University

The university accepts applications submitted along with scorecards for TOEFL, SAT ACT, and GRE, depending on the courses the students select, whether postgraduate, graduate, or doctoral. Students from the US who are willing to take admission to undergraduate courses must submit their ACT or SAT scores. On the other hand, international students seeking admission to undergraduate courses must submit SAT or ACT along with English proficiency test scores. 

Stanford University has dismissed the standardized test required in undergraduate courses for 2027. However, the students can still apply for the standardized test if theft wants to appear; however, it is their own decision. The marks scored in standardized scores will not increase the chances of getting selected for the university.

The admission requirements of Stanford University state that the candidates seeking admission to the university need to appear for at least or more tests to get admission in the graduate courses at Stanford University. 

Subject tests and GRE general tests: The test depends on the courses selected by the candidate, and the students are required to appear in the GRE.  It is recommended that the students seeking admission to Stanford appear in the GRE, as these tests can be sent to Stanford during the admission procedure. 

TOEFL internet-based test: If the candidates taking admission to Stanford did not have English as their first language, then it becomes important for the students to pass the TOEFL to get admission to Stanford University. 

The minimum course required in TOEFL depends on the course selected by the candidate.  Some of the major courses and TOEFL scores required by the candidates are:

• Doctoral programmes- 100
• Other masters programmes- 89
• Master programs ( other than the school of engineering)- 100

Most popular courses at Stanford University

Stanford University is located centrally in California and has 16,937 students enrolled in 200 graduate and 63 undergraduate courses. 

Some of the most popular undergraduate courses at Stanford University are:

• Bioengineering
• Astronautics and Aeronautics
• Computer Science
• Civil Science
• Economics
• Energy resource engineering
• Geophysics
• Geological sciences

The university is also known for providing some of its most distinguished postgraduate courses. Some of the famous postgraduate courses at Stanford University are:

• Applied Physics
• Statistics
• Biomedical informatics
• Learning, design, and technology
• Electrical engineering
• Chemical engineering
• Computational and mathematical engineering
• Application evaluation process at Stanford University

Steps taken by Stanford to evaluate the application submitted for admission to the university

Stanford uses a holistic approach to provide admission to students by checking their eligibility to be a part of some of the most brilliant minds in the world. Some of the major factors considered during the process of evaluation are:

• Academic preference: The university considers the scores achieved by the candidate in their school, showcasing the students' potential and ability to face new challenges throughout their academic life.
• Extracurricular activities: The institute evaluates this factor to assess what extra the candidate can bring to Stanford. It helps provide all-around development for the candidate by providing time outside academics in the university.
• Intellectual Vitality: The university evaluates the SOP or the statement of purpose submitted by the students to identify the desire of the candidate to gain success and the impact they can create on the people around them. 
• Context: As each candidate brings different skills and experiences to the university,  Stanford uses Context to judge the students' achievements.  It evaluates the resources available for the students and how they use them for their development. 

Every criterion mentioned above is an important aspect of the admission process at Stanford University. All these factors are not considered on an individual level. Rather, the admission committee does a holistic review to analyze the applications. 

Useful tips for getting admission to Stanford University

Stanford University is considered one of the world's top universities, with a very low acceptability rate. Therefore, it becomes very important for the candidates to prepare an application that answers the essential questions and helps the admission committee analyze the candidate's personality from the application form. 

Some useful tips for making the admission application to Stanford stand out from others are:

• The candidate's statement should be in the form of a story that should provide information regarding the important aspects of life, feelings when you were introduced to the subjects for the first time, and what factors motivated the candidate to select the subject for the future. 
• Refraining from spamming the application form with long and unnecessary content is advisable. It is important to write crisp and to-the-point answers,
• Proofreading the application form is necessary as it helps highlight the potential errors present in the ap[application form. 
• It is also important to highlight the achievements, milestones, and extracurricular activities that impacted the candidate's growth in their personal and professional life.
• To gain an advantage during the admission process, it is important to use recommendations from teachers and employers as they help showcase the candidate's excellence in front of the admissions committee. 
• Focus on providing answers showcasing the students' interest in gaining knowledge at the university. 

Application deadlines

The university invites applications for its undergraduate and postgraduate courses every year. The undergraduate program provides two decision plans for the students seeking to enroll at Stanford University. These are:

• Regular decision: This is the most commonly used process for applying to the university. It uses a standard admission process and is advisable for students wanting to improve their academic performance. It allows the students to retake their standardized test before the admission process.
• Restricted Decision: The process is also known as the non-binding application process. It is for those students whose first choice of university is Stanford University. The method is also suitable for students who think their profiles are good for selection.