Stanford University
Stanford, California
- Private nonprofit
- Suburb
- 7,554 undergrads
- Admit rate
- 4%Source: College Scorecard
- Average net price
- $12,307per year, after grantsSource: College Scorecard
- Graduation rate
- 92%within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $125,34010 years after startingSource: College Scorecard
What's special
Parents earning under $150,000 with typical assets pay no tuition, and under $100,000 they also pay nothing for housing and food. Home equity isn't counted.
Getting in
- Admit rate
- 4%About 1 in 28 applicants get in.Source: College Scorecard
- Test policy
- Test-optionalScores are considered if you send them, but not required.Source: College Scorecard
- SAT (middle 50%)
- 1510–1580Reading + math, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
- ACT (middle 50%)
- 34–35Composite, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
From Stanford University's own report
These numbers come from the school's Common Data Set for 2025–26, a standard report colleges publish about their applicants and first-year students. Open the report.
89% had a 3.75 or higher. The average was 3.94. Schools count GPA differently (weighted or not), so compare ranges loosely.
- SAT, middle 50%
- 1520–1570First-years who sent scores
- ACT, middle 50%
- 34–36First-years who sent scores
- Top 10% of their class
- 97%100% were in the top quarter.
What the admissions office says it weighs
Very important
- How challenging your classes were
- GPA
- Class rank
- Test scores
- Essay
- Recommendations
- Activities
- A talent or ability
- Character and personal qualities
Considered
- Interview
- Being first in your family to go to college
- Family who went there (legacy)
- Where you live
- Volunteer work
- Work experience
Not considered
- Living in the state
- Religious affiliation
- Showing interest in the school
Where you'd stand
Enter your numbers to see where they'd fall among Stanford University's first-year students. This isn't a prediction: it shows how you compare with students who enrolled, using the sources linked below.
Leave out anything you don't have. Your numbers stay in this browser and fill in on other school pages. See my list
Sources: Stanford University Common Data Set 2025–26; College Scorecard. Test ranges describe enrolled students who sent scores.
What it really costs
Most families pay less than the sticker price. Net price is what's left after grants and scholarships.
- Average net price
- $12,307full-time first-years who got grant aidSource: College Scorecard
- Total cost of attendance
- $92,892sticker price incl. housing, per yearSource: College Scorecard
- Tuition
- $68,544Source: College Scorecard
After you enroll
- Graduation rate
- 92%first-time, full-time students finishing within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Came back for year two
- 98%full-time first-year studentsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $125,34010 years after starting, for students who got federal aidSource: College Scorecard
- Median debt at graduation
- $10,750federal loans, students who finishedSource: College Scorecard
Students
- Undergraduates
- 7,554Source: College Scorecard
- Receive Pell grants
- 22%a sign of economic diversitySource: College Scorecard
- First-generation students
- 30%parents didn't go beyond high schoolSource: College Scorecard
Similar schools
Similar, and easier to get into
- Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA — admits 48%
- Chapman University Orange, CA — admits 65%
- Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA — admits 45%
- University of San Diego San Diego, CA — admits 52%
Also worth a look
- Yale University New Haven, CT — admits 4%
- Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, MO — admits 12%
- Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN — admits 6%
- Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY — admits 4%
- University of Chicago Chicago, IL — admits 4%
- Rice University Houston, TX — admits 8%
Where these numbers come from
Every number on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard page for Stanford University, which draws on what the school reports to the federal government and on federal student aid and tax records. We last pulled the data on November 4, 2026. Different measures cover different years; here's how each one works.
Spot something wrong? Report a data error.