Stanford University is a private research university in Stanford, California. With one of the largest campuses in the US, Stanford watched Silicon Valley grow around it. Fittingly, Stanford is known for its connections to and funding for start-ups, and many companies have been founded on campus and by alumni.
Stanford has three undergraduate schools: the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, the School of Engineering, and the School of Humanities & Sciences. Together, they offer over 60 undergraduate majors to their around 7k undergrads.
Stanford is also one of the hardest schools to get into. Last year, they had a 3.6% acceptance rate. Yes, it is THAT competitive. If you are dreaming of Stanford, you need to stand out as an applicant, and we want to break down how best to do that.
What is Stanford looking for?
The short answer is with a sub-4% acceptance rate, they are looking for the total package. You want everything to be perfect because they look at a lot of factors. They break down these factors and how they weigh them in a document called the Common Data Set.
While you want everything to be “perfect,” pay close attention to the factors listed as “very important.”
Rigor, Class Rank, and GPA
For all top-tier colleges, academics come first. This means you need to show Stanford that you are competitive academically. Stanford has no required units to apply, but they have 20+ recommended units. With a 3% acceptance rate, just treat these recommendations as requirements.
However, it’s not enough to just take these units. You should be taking classes that satisfy these units at the highest possible level. This could mean IB, AP, Honors, Accelerated, and/or dual enrollment. Whatever higher-level classes your school offers, you should take them. You want your transcript to show that you are pushing yourself academically and taking as many challenging classes as possible.
Not all high schools rank their students, but if yours does, you should be trying for a top spot. Last year, 94% of students (from schools that ranked) were in the top tenth of their graduating class.
Even if your school doesn’t rank students, this data can be helpful. Are you a top student at your school? Usually, colleges can tell by looking at your transcript if you are at the top of your class.
You also need an outstanding GPA to get into Stanford. Over 70% of students who got into Stanford had an unweighted 4.0.
You want to get as close to a 4.0 unweighted as possible to help your chances of getting into Stanford. Key word: unweighted. Most, if not all, students have an even higher weighted GPA since most accepted candidates also take accelerated classes.
Test Scores
Stanford is currently test-optional, but we would venture a guess that that won’t be for long. We are advising our students to send socres, so you should try to send scores, too. Stanford considers them “very important” if submitted, and 72% of matriculated students sent scores. However, you only want to submit scores that align with what Stanford expects from their students. You should try to submit scores higher than the 50th percentile.
This means submitting scores higher than the average student. At Stanford, these scores are high. Many of the scores in the 75th percentile are perfect scores. This means over 25% of students submitted perfect scores in these categories. The TLDR here is 1) you should submit scores if you can, and 2) they should be high.
Extracurriculars
Extracurricular activities are “very important.” Stanford wants to see impressive resumes, and your extracurricular activities are also one of the main places to showcase your talent/ability.
There is no one perfect resume, but competitive extracurricular resumes share a couple of common factors.
They speak to your interests:
It should be immediately apparent from your activities what interests you are super passionate about. Remember, your activities tell a store. If you love dance but there isn’t a single dance team or club on your activities list, the reader won’t know about that interest. We want to see what makes you tick outside of school.
They showcase an academic passion:
Stanford wants students who pursue their academic passions outside class. Even if you are the best student at your school, if you aren’t learning outside of the classroom, Stanford isn’t for you. For example, if you hope to study literature, you should have activities like volunteering at a library, taking a summer course on Shakespeare, doing an internship at a publishing house, and/or being the editor of your school’s LitMag. It should be clear to the reader what you hope to major in just from your activities.
They don’t skimp on commitment and leadership:
There are hundreds of talents and abilities that your resume can showcase. However, two that you need to show are commitment and leadership. Stanford will not be impressed with a two or three-hour-a-week commitment. They want to see you push yourself to get involved in meaningful ways. Prioritize the activities that mean the most to you. Take on leadership roles in them and see them through.
Bonus points if your activities feature volunteer or work experience. But remember, they still want to see commitment and passion. Once a week, low-commitment volunteering isn’t going to help you here.
Recommendations and Essays
There is no section of the Common App called “Characteristics/Personal Qualities.” Instead, your character comes through in your recommendations and essays.
Honestly, you can’t really control your recommendations, but we hope you have teachers who will gush about you. However, you fully control your essays, and you need to make them shine.
We have a ton of blogs about how to write a great Common App essay (and we think this one is especially helpful), but if you need a crash course, we got you. Excellent Common App Essays do a couple of things.
They tell a good story.
They showcase some of those positive characteristics and qualities that we mentioned earlier.
They are well-written and creative.
This might seem simple, but it is a lot to ask for 650 words. If you don’t know where to start, we would be happy to help.
Stanford also has a supplement. It is pretty long and also pushes applicants to be creative. You need to give yourself time to brainstorm and edit. Don’t try to rush this one.
In short, you need to be an all-around slay to get into Stanford. Many students with great grades and scores don’t get in. So, you need to show Stanford you are the whole package. They want to see passion, interests, and motivation along with perfect grades and scores. It is a lot to ask. But if you are nervous, we can help.
Need application help? Reach out!