Stanford University

Stanford University Overview

Stanford University is a private, nonprofit school in a suburban setting in Stanford, California. Stanford was founded in 1891 and the school currently enrolls around 17,680 students per year, including 7,645 undergraduates. Stanford offers on-campus housing for students. Most students live in off campus housing.

📆 Mark your calendar! The deadline to apply regular decision to Stanford for Fall 2023 is January 2. Regular decision applicants for Fall 2023 should find out if they have been admitted by April 1.

Student Activities at Stanford

Are you interested in music or performing? At Stanford you can join a campus band, sing in a chorus, or perform with one of the school's theater groups.

Are you interested in journalism and communications? Stanford students can write for the campus newspaper, host a radio show or be a producer for the student-run television channel.

Interested in Greek life? Stanford has fraternities and sororities.

Planning to play sports? Stanford has many options for athletes. See them all and learn more about life at Stanford on the Student Life page.

Is Stanford a Good School?

Different people have different ideas about what makes a "good" school. Admissions criteria, acceptance rate and average GPA are good indicators of how competitive an institution is.

Let's take a look at these areas to get a clearer view of what Stanford offers and if it could be the right college for you.

Stanford Acceptance Rate 2022

It is extremely difficult to get into Stanford. The acceptance rate at Stanford is 4%. Out of 55,471 applications received in 2022, 2,190 students were offered admission.

Retention and Graduation Rates at Stanford

Retention refers to the number of students that stay enrolled at a school over time. This is a way to get a sense of how satisfied students are with their school experience, and if they have the support necessary to succeed in college.

Approximately 98% of first-year, full-time undergrads who start at Stanfordcome back their sophomore year. 95% of Stanford undergrads graduate within six years. The average six-year graduation rate for U.S. colleges and universities is 61% for public schools, and 67% for private, non-profit schools.

Job Outcomes for Stanford Grads

Job placement rates after graduation and average starting salaries can all give important clues about the value of a degree from a specific school. 50% of graduates from Stanford recieve at least one full-time job offer within six months of graduating.

The average starting salary for recent Stanford grads is $78,000 a year. Average starting salaries vary by discipline, but the average starting salary for all 2021 graduates was around $60,000 a year.

Stanford's Endowment

An endowment is the total value of a school's investments, donations, and assets. Endowment is not necessarily an indicator of the quality of a school, but it can give you a sense of how much money a college can afford to invest in expanding programs, improving facilities, and support students.

For more information about Stanford's endowment, check with the school directly. For each full-time student, Stanford spends about $104,781 a year.

Tuition and Financial Aid at Stanford

Tuition is another important factor when choose a college. Some colleges may have high tuition, but do a better job at meeting students' financial need.

Stanford meets 100% of the demonstrated financial need for undergraduates. The average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $59,402 a year.

In 2020, students graduated with an average of $23,318 in student loans for each student with debt. For context, compare this number with the average national debt, which is around $36,000 per borrower.

The 2023-2024 FAFSA Opened on October 1st, 2022

Some financial aid is available on a first-come, first-served basis, so fill out the FAFSA early. Visit the FAFSA website to apply for student aid. Remember, the first F in FAFSA stands for FREE! You should never have to pay to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), so don't give your money (or info!) to any website that claim you do.

Learn more about Tuition and Financial Aid at Stanford.

Based on this information, is Stanford the school for you? Remember, the best school for one person may not be the right school for someone else! So ask yourself: Is Stanford a good school for you?

If Stanford University seems like a school you want to apply to, click the heart button to save it to your college list.

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Click below to find out more about the admissions requirements and deadlines, student life, academics, majors and more.

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Then use the college admissions predictor to take a data science look at your chances of getting into some of the top colleges and universities in the U.S.

Where is Stanford?

Stanford is located in the suburban setting of Stanford, California, less than an hour from San Francisco and San Jose.

If you would like to see Stanford for yourself, be sure to plan a visit! The best way to reach campus is to take U.S. Highway 101 to Stanford, or book a flight to the nearest airport, San Francisco International.

You can also take a virtual campus tour to get a sense of what Stanford and Stanford are like without leaving home.

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