Stanford is located in Stanford, California, and is one of the hardest schools to gain access to not only in the country, but in the world. Statistically, it is significantly harder to get into Stanford than most of the Ivy League schools. The overall acceptance rate for the Class for 2029 was 3.8%.
It is important to note that, behind that absurd number, Stanford is not only for the elite or international geniuses. In the Class of 2029, 58% of students were from American public schools. Only 28% of enrolled first-years came from private schools, and 14% were international. Accepted students also come from all over the country — all 50 states, in fact. There are nearly 7,300 undergraduate students total, and even more externally sponsored research projects happening on campus. Unsurprisingly, a lot of students want to be there. They receive more than 60,000 applications, and the yield rate for accepted students is 80%. In this post, we are going to break down your best way into Stanford.
What Are My Application Options?
Stanford offers two avenues for admission. You can choose to apply Regular Decision, which is regular, or Restrictive Early Action, which is anything but. Restrictive Early Action is a type of early application that only a handful of colleges and universities use. A variation of Early Decision, REA keeps your options open big picture, but seriously limits them in the early application round.
Whereas a student can apply ED to a dream school, and then non-binding EA to a dozen schools should they wish, REA is different. When a student applies REA to Stanford, they don’t commit to attending if accepted, but can only apply to Stanford in the early round. There is a small exception. Stanford does not permit REA applicants to apply to any private universities early (binding or non-binding), but applicants can apply to public universities. This is an important caveat because it offers a chance at a safety net, no matter what happens with Stanford.
Stanford does not release their REA acceptance rate. It is estimated by industry experts that the Stanford REA acceptance rate follows the trend we see across top-tier universities, which is that the early acceptance rate is 2-3x the overall acceptance rate. If this truly holds for Stanford, the REA acceptance rate is around 7%.
Why Should I Apply Restrictive Early Action To Stanford?
Stanford does not release the REA acceptance rate independent from the overall acceptance rate, but it is estimated by industry experts (like us!) to be between 8% and 10%. We skew toward the lower end of the range.
What this means is that REA is your best way into Stanford if you are 1) really focused on Stanford and 2) already a strong applicant. In fact, we’d go so far as to say that REA is the only good option if you are set on Stanford and in a great position for a Stanford acceptance.
We’ll break down what it takes to be a strong candidate for Stanford in a moment, but for now let’s linger on the “why” of it all. The why is because gaining acceptance to Stanford is so exceptionally difficult. Getting into Stanford is so statistically unlikely that you really need to take every advantage you have access to. Even 1% is a meaningful boost when the odds are so low.
We help strong students get into Stanford. Learn more here.
What Can You Do?
Getting into Stanford requires a strategy. The best strategies, especially when chasing a school like Stanford, are grounded in the foundational aspects of a strong application. There is no one factor that ‘fixes’ your Stanford candidacy. Instead, it’s all “yes ands.” Below, we break down each piece of an exceptional Stanford application. Ideally, you have time to execute on each. Not having much time before your application is due isn’t an excuse, though. You need to do as much as you can with the time you have left before submitting.
Grades
Your grades are the most important part of your Stanford application. This isn’t because straight-As will get you in, but because exceptional grades are the foundation that any applicant needs to have to be seriously considered. Simply having all As doesn’t meet the challenge Stanford sets forth. They want to see the best grades in the hardest classes across all academic subjects.
The five core areas that Stanford wants to see you excelling in are English, math, social studies, science, and a foreign language. Luckily, they map out what they want to see more specifically. This includes at least three years of study of the same language, three years of history, three years of lab science, and four years of English and math. While they understand that what exact courses you take could be limited by availability at your school or simple scheduling conflicts, that doesn’t give you a free pass. Remember, they are saying the minimums are just that — minimums. And how many students do you think get into Stanford by doing the minimum?
Scores
Alongside your grades, standardized test scores — either the SAT or ACT — prove your academic credentials. They know that scores are not everything, but they also know that a high standardized test score confirms your ability to absorb and regurgitate information. That same absorption would serve you well at Stanford, so they like to know that you can do it.
Strong, even perfect, standardized test scores will not get you into Stanford, though. They are a must-have for your application, but they don’t fix anything else that is weak.
If you want your test scores to help your application, an SAT over 1550 or an ACT of 35+ is necessary. Not that puts you in the top end of the Middle 50% range, however. You aren’t exceptional submitting a 1550. You are simply within top quadrant of the middle range of recently accepted students.
Stanford also likes to know your AP scores, which are self-reported in the Common App. Official reports are later expected if accepted.
Extracurriculars
Of the tens of thousands of applicants who apply to Stanford each year, about half (we estimate) are highly qualified applicants numbers-wise. They have the grades and the scores to succeed at Stanford, and could show up on campus and not stand out negatively. Where the truly strong Stanford applicants stand out, though, is in how they spend their time outside of the classroom.
Impressive applicants do impressive things that go beyond the standard, but what does ‘impressive’ even mean when you’re dealing with Stanford?
If you want to stand out as a Stanford applicant, you need to go outside of the box and off-script. Doing the types of activities that you can find at almost any high school (debate, Model UN, robotics team, anything like that) is fine. It shows that you can play well with others and hopefully be in a leadership role Junior year, so it looks strong on your application. That isn’t enough, though. Doing the school activities and competitive camps during breaks is great, but you need to push beyond that.
We know this is asking a lot of you in a fairly vague way, so let’s get specific. One recent student accepted to Stanford had a summer internship for an aerospace start-up in California and moved there for the summer, living independently. Another recent student built a super impressive engineering project, which demanded learning trade skills in his free time. Both show a high school student going way above what’s expected of a 17 year old.
Essays
The really impressive independent projects you pursue are not going to shine brightest in the activities section. The activities section is a quick summary of your greatest hits, and barely gives room to stay anything. Where you want to be focusing on telling your story, then, are in the essays.
The biggest mistake we see Stanford-focused students make in their essays is both simple and, luckily, avoidable.
Students who want to go to Stanford have accomplished a lot, and they’ve worked hard for those accomplishments. They want to make sure that Stanford knows every award they’ve won, every recognition they have received, and every impressive thing they have accomplished. None of that is bad, but it can actually tank your application.
This is because what will get you into Stanford isn’t one more trophy, it is telling your story. Not the story about other people recognizing your greatness, but the story of what led you there in the first place. Stanford wants to feel your passion jump off the page. They want to know what makes you tick. They don’t want a list of facts, they want story.
We work with our students to write those stories that move the Stanford application readers from their heads to their heart. You need them to fall in love with you, honestly, not just be impressed by you. We help make that happen.
Apply Early
There are a few situations where you shouldn’t apply to Stanford REA. The first is obvious: you aren’t a strong applicant. If that is the case, it’s time to shift your goals. If you are a strong applicant, it’s possible that REA doesn’t work well for you because you’re waiting on an outcome from a big project that could be a difference-maker for your application. Or maybe the classes you have access to senior year are much harder than what you’ve been able to take in the past, and showing a full semester of grades from senior fall would strengthen your application.
For most strong Stanford applicants, though, applying REA is the best option. Remember, it is also a risk. You are giving up a powerful tool (Early Decision) and a safety net (Early Action) by applying to Stanford REA. But if you truly love Stanford, that risk may be well worth it.
If you apply REA, you will be accepted, rejected, or deferred. Deferral means that a decision on your application is postponed until spring. You’ll hear back as part of the regular decision cohort. A deferral is not a soft rejection, but there are steps you need to take between applying to Stanford REA and the RD deadline to ensure that you have strong updates to share should you receive a deferral.
Getting into Stanford is exceptionally difficult. Jokingly, people sometimes say “no one gets in.” But that’s just a joke. Not only do thousands of students get in every year, but we work with students accepted by Stanford each application cycle. So, why not you?
We help strong students pull off Stanford acceptances. Contact us to Learn more.