ody>Overview
As we review applications, several ideas guide our holistic
evaluation including the central hallmarks of academic excellence,
intellectual vitality and personal context.
Academic Excellence
The primary criterion for admission to Stanford is academic
excellence. We look for your preparation and potential to succeed.
We expect you to challenge yourself throughout high school and to
do very well. The most important credential that enables us to
evaluate your academic record is the high school transcript.
Remember, however, that our evaluation of your application goes
beyond any numerical formula. There is no minimum GPA or test score; nor
is there any specific number of AP or honors courses you must have on
your transcript that will secure your admission to Stanford.
Intellectual Vitality
We want to see your commitment, dedication and genuine
interest in expanding your intellectual horizons; both in what you
write about yourself and in what others write on your behalf. We
want to see the kind of curiosity and enthusiasm that will allow
you to spark a lively discussion in a freshman seminar and continue
the conversation at a dinner table. We want to see the energy and
depth of commitment you will bring to your endeavors, whether that
means in a research lab, while being part of a community
organization, during a performance or on an athletic field. We want to
see the initiative with which you seek out opportunities that expand
your perspective and that will allow you to participate in
creating new knowledge.
Personal Context
Just as no two Stanford students are the same, no two Stanford
applicants are identical. This means that as we review each application,
we must pay careful attention to unique circumstances. We take into
account family background, educational differences, employment and life
experiences. By focusing on your achievements within context, we
evaluate how you have excelled within your unique school environment and
how you have taken advantage of what was available to you in your
school and community.
It is important to know these variables are not listed in order of
importance in our evaluation and selection process. We review
applications in an integrated format where no one portion can be
considered without the other. Academic Preparation
There is no magic formula for getting into college. It is true,
however, your college search has the potential to be enjoyable and
successful if you have:
- taken full advantage of the opportunities available to you in high school
- achieved at a high level all four years
- consulted early on with your secondary school counselor
Recommended High School Curriculum
We respect the responsibility that high schools, principals and
teachers should have in the development of courses and curricula for
their students. For that reason, we do not have a set of required
courses for admission to Stanford. We have found, though, that a
curriculum emphasizing depth and breadth across the core academic
subjects is the best preparation for the academic rigors at Stanford.
Our experience has suggested that students who excel in a curriculum
like the one below are well-suited for the demands of college academics:
- English: four years, with significant emphasis on writing and literature.
- Mathematics: four years, with significant
emphasis on fundamental mathematical skills (algebra;
trigonometry; plane, solid, and analytic geometry).
- History/Social Studies: three or more years. Such courses should include the writing of essays.
- Science: three or more years of laboratory science (including biology, chemistry and physics).
- Foreign Language: three or more
years of the same foreign language. Your study of a foreign
language ought to include the development of four basic skills:
reading, writing, speaking and listening comprehension.
Choosing Courses
We expect applicants to pursue a reasonably challenging curriculum,
choosing courses from among the most demanding courses available at
your school. We ask you to exercise good judgment here, and to consult
with your counselor, teachers and parents as you construct a curriculum
that is right for you. Our hope is that your curriculum will inspire you
to develop your intellectual passions, not suffer from unnecessary
stress. The students who thrive at Stanford are those who are genuinely
excited about learning, not necessarily those who take every single AP
or IB, Honors or Accelerated class just because it has that name.
Advanced Placement Courses and Scores
Our admission process allows–and indeed encourages–the flexibility
of a high school to design the most appropriate curricular offerings and
opportunities for its students. What a course is named or whether it
concludes with a standardized test is considerably less important to us
than the energy a student contributes to the learning process and the
curiosity with which he or she investigates questions and pursues ideas.
Sometimes this challenging high school course load will include
Advanced Placement classes; other high schools choose to offer equally
demanding courses that neither carry the AP designation nor lead to an
AP exam.
We want to be clear that this is not a case of "whoever has the
most APs wins." Instead, we look for thoughtful, eager and highly
engaged students who will make a difference at Stanford and the world
beyond, and we expect that they have taken high school course loads of
reasonable and appropriate challenge in the context of their schools.
As a result, we do not require students to submit AP scores as part
of our admission process. AP scores that are reported are acknowledged
but rarely play a significant role in the evaluation of an application.
Grades earned over the course of a term, or a year, and evaluations from
instructors who can comment on classroom engagement provide us the most
detailed insight into a student's readiness for the academic rigors of
Stanford. Applicant Profile
The following statistics give a general picture of the freshman and transfer
applicants and admits. We caution you against a narrow interpretation
of this data. We are providing it because we are often asked to evaluate
an applicant's chances of admission based on certain criteria. To make
such a judgment without reading an entire application is impossible, but
the following information may prove useful to you. Bear in mind that an
applicant in the top of one group may not be in the same position on
another measure and that the rigor of academic programs varies
considerably among schools.
Freshmen Fall 2012
Applicants
Applicants |
Admits |
Admit Rate |
Matriculants |
| 36,632 |
2,427 |
6.6% |
1767 |
High School GPA Ranges
GPA |
Percent of
Applicants |
Admit Rate |
Percent of
Admitted Class |
| 4.0 and above |
55% |
8% |
69% |
| 3.70 - 3.99 |
31% |
5% |
25% |
| below 3.70 |
15% |
3% |
5% |
High School Rank in Class
Rank |
Percent of
Applicants |
Admit Rate |
Percent of
Admitted Class |
| Top 10% |
81% |
6% |
95% |
| 11% - 20% |
12% |
2% |
4% |
| 21% and below |
8% |
1% |
1% |
SAT Critical Reading
Score |
Percent of
Applicants |
Admit Rate |
Percent of
Admitted Class |
| 800 |
8% |
18% |
21% |
| 700–799 |
36% |
11% |
53% |
| 600–699 |
37% |
5% |
23% |
| Below 600 |
19% |
1% |
3% |
SAT Math
Score |
Percent of
Applicants |
Admit Rate |
Percent of
Admitted Class |
| 800 |
14% |
13% |
24% |
| 700–799 |
46% |
9% |
55% |
| 600–699 |
29% |
5% |
19% |
| Below 600 |
11% |
1% |
2% |
SAT Writing
Score |
Percent of
Applicants |
Admit Rate |
Percent of
Admitted Class |
| 800 |
9% |
19% |
24% |
| 700–799 |
39% |
10% |
56% |
| 600–699 |
35% |
4% |
18% |
| Below 600 |
17% |
1% |
3% |
ACT Composite
Score |
Percent of
Applicants |
Admit Rate |
Percent of
Admitted Class |
| 30 - 36 |
69% |
8% |
88% |
| 24 - 29 |
26% |
3% |
11% |
| 18 - 23 |
5% |
1% |
1% |
| 12 - 17 |
0.5% |
1% |
0.1% |
| Below 12 |
0% |
0% |
0% |
ACT English/Writing
Score |
Percent of
Applicants |
Admit Rate |
Percent of
Admitted Class |
| 30 - 36 |
53% |
9% |
78% |
| 24 - 29 |
37% |
3% |
21% |
| 18 - 23 |
10% |
1% |
1% |
| 12 - 17 |
1% |
1% |
0% |
| Below 12 |
0% |
0% |
0% |
Transfer Fall 2012
Applicants
Applicants |
Admits |
Admit Rate |
Matriculants |
| 1,512 |
33 |
2.2% |
27 |
SAT Critical Reading
Score |
Percent of
Applicants |
Admit Rate |
Percent of
Admitted Class |
| 800 |
6% |
8% |
19% |
| 700 - 799 |
24% |
5% |
46% |
| 600 - 699 |
34% |
1% |
19% |
| Below 600 |
37% |
1% |
15% |
SAT Math
Score |
Percent of
Applicants |
Admit Rate |
Percent of
Admitted Class |
| 800 |
13% |
2% |
12% |
| 700 - 799 |
36% |
3% |
50% |
| 600 - 699 |
28% |
1% |
15% |
| Below 600 |
24% |
2% |
23% |
SAT Writing
Score |
Percent of
Applicants |
Admit Rate |
Percent of
Admitted Class |
| 800 |
6% |
5% |
12% |
| 700 - 799 |
28% |
4% |
46% |
| 600 - 699 |
34% |
2% |
31% |
| Below 600 |
32% |
1% |
12% |
ACT Composite
Score |
Percent of
Applicants |
Admit Rate |
Percent of
Admitted Class |
| 30 - 36 |
46% |
4% |
86% |
| 24 - 29 |
35% |
1% |
14% |
| 18 - 23 |
18% |
0% |
0% |
| Below 18 |
1% |
0% |
0% |
ACT English/Writing
Score |
Percent of
Applicants |
Admit Rate |
Percent of
Admitted Class |
| 30 - 36 |
34% |
4% |
71% |
| 24 - 29 |
38% |
2% |
29% |
| 18 - 23 |
22% |
0% |
0% |
| Below 18 |
1% |
0% |
0% |
Application Evaluation
Evaluation of our applicants consists of many things, but four key and common factors are:
Curriculum
We do not have a required high school (or college) curriculum, but
we do make recommendations. We expect freshman applicants have engaged
in a rigorous curriculum and chosen from among the most demanding
courses available in secondary school. It is not necessary to have
loaded your schedule with every advanced course offered; but if such
courses are available to you, we expect you have taken advantage of many
of them. Our most competitive freshman applicants often have four years
(grades 9-12) of English, four years of math (including Calculus), four
years of social studies, four years of science (including Biology,
Chemistry and Physics) and four years of a foreign language.
There is flexibility, however, in how we view an applicant's
curriculum. For example, an applicant may be competitive with just
three years of a foreign language through 11th grade but also with five
math courses taken in the last four years. Conversely, an applicant may
be competitive taking two languages all four years and just three years
of social studies.
While most of our applicants have enrolled in an accredited
secondary school program (or college), students from schools that may
not have undergone the accreditation process as of yet, as well as those
with exceptional circumstances are given equal consideration.
Teacher/Instructor Evaluations
As we read the two required evaluations, we hope to discover
specific evidence of your intellectual vitality. For this reason, we
want to hear from those teachers/instructors who know the most about
your performance in an academic setting. The evaluations for freshman
applicants should be from teachers who taught you in the 11th or 12th
grades in one of the core academic subjects (English, math, foreign
language, social studies or science)–though we will certainly accept
evaluations from earlier grades in unusual circumstances.
Essays
We read essays to get to know you as a person and to learn about
the ideas and interests that motivate you. The strongest essays are
those where the student's genuine voice stands out. Because we want to
discover who you are, resist the urge to "package" yourself in order to
come across in a way you think Stanford wants. Such attempts simply blur
our understanding of who you are and what you can accomplish.
Extracurricular Activities
Learning about your extracurricular activities and nonacademic
interests helps us to discover your potential contributions to the
Stanford community. Students often assume our primary concern is the
number of activities in which one participates. In fact, an exceptional
depth of experience in one or two activities may demonstrate your
passion more than minimal participation in five or six clubs. We want to
see the impact you have had on that club, in your school, or in the
larger community, and we want to learn of the impact that experience has
had on you.
In some cases, exceptional abilities in athletics may influence our
decision if the applicant is otherwise well qualified, but such
abilities never, by themselves, ensure admission to Stanford. | 
