How to Apply for Stanford University
With a GPA of 3.95,
Stanford requires you to be at the top of your class. You’ll need nearly straight A’s in all your classes to compete with other applicants. Furthermore, you should be taking hard classes – AP or IB courses – to show that college-level academics is a breeze.
If you are currently a junior or senior, your GPA is hard to change in time for college applications. If your GPA is at or below the school average of 3.95,
you’ll need a higher SAT or ACT score to compensate. This will help you compete effectively against other applicants who have higher GPAs than you.
SAT and ACT Requirements
Each school has different requirements for standardized testing. Most schools require the SAT or ACT, and many also require SAT subject tests.
You must take either the SAT or ACT to submit an application to Stanford. More importantly, you need to do well to have a strong application.
Stanford SAT Requirements
Many schools say they have no SAT score cutoff, but the truth is that there is a hidden SAT requirement. This is based on the school’s average score.
The
average SAT score composite at Stanford is a
1520 on the 1600 SAT scale.
On the
old 2400 SAT, this corresponds to an
average SAT score of 2220.
This score makes Stanford
Extremely Competitive for SAT test scores.
Stanford SAT Score Analysis (New 1600 SAT)
The 25th percentile New SAT score is 1450, and the 75th percentile New SAT score is 1590. In other words, a
1450 on the New SAT places you below average, while a 1590 will move you up to above average.
Here’s the breakdown of new SAT scores by section:
| Section |
Average |
25th Percentile |
75th Percentile |
| Math |
770 |
730 |
800 |
| Reading |
38 |
37 |
40 |
| Writing |
38 |
36 |
40 |
| Composite |
1520 |
1450 |
1590 |
Stanford SAT Score Analysis (Old 2400 SAT)
The 25th percentile Old SAT score is 2080, and the 75th percentile SAT score is 2360. In other words, a
2080 on the Old SAT places you below average, while a 2360 puts you well above average.
Here’s the breakdown of old SAT scores by section:
| Section |
Average |
25th Percentile |
75th Percentile |
| Math |
750 |
700 |
800 |
| Reading |
735 |
690 |
780 |
| Writing |
735 |
690 |
780 |
| Composite |
2220 |
2080 |
2360 |
SAT Score Choice Policy
The Score Choice policy at your school is an important part of your testing strategy.
Stanford has the Score Choice policy of
“All Scores.”
This means that Stanford requires you to send all SAT scores you’ve ever taken to their office.
This sounds daunting, but most schools don’t actually consider all your scores equally. For example, if you scored an 1300 on one test and a 1500 on another, they won’t actually average the two tests.
In fact, we researched the score policies at Stanford, and they have the following policy:
For the SAT, we will focus on the highest individual Critical Reading, Math and Writing scores from all test sittings.
Some students are still worried about submitting too many test scores. They’re afraid that Stanford will look down on too many attempts to raise your score. But how many is too many?
From our research and talking to admissions officers, we’ve learned that
. The college understands that you want to have the best chance of admission, and retaking the test is a good way to do this. Within a reasonable number of tests, they honestly don’t care how many times you’ve taken it. They’ll just focus on your score.
If you take it more than 6 times, colleges start wondering why you are not improving with each test. They will question your study skills and ability to improve.
But below 6 tests, we strongly encourage retaking the test to maximize your chances. If your SAT score is currently below a 1590,
. You don’t have much to lose, and you can potentially raise your score and significantly boost your chances of getting in.
Application and Stanford Questions
Application for Stanford University is done by the following online method either the
Coalition Application or the
Common Application . In addition, we require the Stanford Questions, which you can access in either application once you add Stanford University to your list of colleges. You must submit the Stanford Questions online through the Coalition or Common Application.
When you apply to Stanford, you apply to the university as a whole, not to a particular major, department or school. We encourage you to indicate prospective majors and career interests in the application, but please know you are not bound by these selections in any way.
Listed below are the Coalition Application and Common Application personal essay prompts, followed by the Stanford Questions.
Coalition Application Essay Prompts
Choose one of the following prompts for your personal essay. The Coalition recommends you write an essay between 300 and 400 words and no longer than 500 to 550 words.
- Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.
- Describe a time when you made a meaningful contribution to others in which the greater good was your focus. Discuss the challenges and rewards of making your contribution.
- Has there been a time when you’ve had a long-cherished or accepted belief challenged? How did you respond? How did the challenge affect your beliefs?
- What is the hardest part of being a teenager now? What’s the best part? What advice would you give a younger sibling or friend (assuming they would listen to you)?
- Submit an essay on a topic of your choice.
Common Application Essay Prompts
Choose one of the following prompts for your personal essay. The Common App sets a 250-word minimum and a 650-word maximum.
- Some students have a background, identity, interest or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
- The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
- Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
- Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma—anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
- Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
- Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
- Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
Stanford Short Essay Questions
Please write a short essay in response to each of the below three essay topics. There is a 100-word minimum and a 250-word maximum for each essay.
- 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.
- 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—know you better.
- Tell us about something that is meaningful to you, and why?
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