So, you just heard back from Stanford. If you are reading this post, the answer wasn’t what you were hoping for. In this post, we’re going to give you a clear path forward and towards a dream school.  

Getting deferred from Stanford stings. You set your sights on one of the most selective universities in the world, poured time and energy into your application, hit submit… and now you’re sitting here. It’s not a no, but it’s definitely not a yes, and that’s disappointing. It’s disorienting! But, good news, you’re still under consideration, and there are concrete next steps you can take to give yourself the best shot possible and set yourself up for success no matter what happens.

Stanford University inspires action and innovation. As one of the most prestigious and selective universities in the United States — often with the lowest acceptance rate of any school — they have a well-earned reputation for gathering together the best of the best on the California campus. The student body is split nearly evenly between undergraduate and graduate students, with fewer than 18,000 total enrolled and 7,554 undergraduates as of fall 2024. The campus is massive at over 8,000 acres (more than 1 acre per undergrad), and is packed with labs, resources, and opportunities. Stanford has delayed releasing their acceptance data in recent years, ostensibly because the rate of acceptance is so low that they don’t want to discourage applicants. The most recently published acceptance rate, for the Class of 2028, was 3.61%.