Stanford is one of the most famous universities in the world. It isn’t part of the Ivy League due to being in California and not on the east coast, but it is right up there with the most prestigious members of the Ivy League. In recent years, it has at times been even harder to get into than Harvard. But the reason to try for Stanford isn’t simply how difficult it is to get to an acceptance letter. Stanford offers an exceptional education across fields and specialties paired with outstanding career development opportunities that launch graduates into the ‘real world’ with the weight of the Stanford alumna network behind them. The acceptance rate is a miniscule 3.8%.
As an applicant, you have the option to apply Restrictive Early Action or Regular Decision. Applying REA comes with major drawbacks, as you can’t apply anywhere else early except public universities through nonbinding avenues, like Early Action. However, we advise most students that there isn’t really a point in applying to Stanford at all if you aren’t going to apply REA. Historically, REA offers students a small boost in acceptance rate, and with such a low acceptance rate you need to take whatever you can get if you are serious about Stanford.
What REA doesn’t offer, though, is a lower bar for admission. Strong Stanford applicants have more than flawless transcripts, they have exceptional outcomes in the hardest programs they have had access to. If their school doesn’t offer many advanced courses, strong applicants seek them out. The average unweighted GPA of accepted students is just a smidge below a 4.0, and the test scores are outrageous.
Stanford requires that applicants submit the SAT or the ACT as part of their application, and there is no getting around. The most recent statistics available around median scores, though, are from when Stanford made scores optional during COVID. This means the data is a little skewed, as students who didn’t achieve outstanding scores probably didn’t submit them. We don’t expect to see the middle 50% of scores for accepted students drop, though. You need to achieve a 35 or 36 on the ACT or a 1550+ on the SAT for a strong chance of acceptance.
Once you have checked Stanford’s quantitative boxes and cleared their academic bar, the difference maker for whether you will get in or not is storytelling. This can be confusing to students and their families who have been so focused on measurable outcomes and awards, but we are really serious about it. An application with all the right things can be absolutely tanked by a weak showing of character and community-mindedness. Getting into Stanford isn’t simply a matter of proving you can succeed there. They also want to see that you will be a positive addition to campus. It’s not just brain power, it’s people power, too.
Next, we’ll get into each of the written portions of the Stanford application to help you craft an impressive application. If it feels overwhelming, reach out. We can help.
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The Stanford application is intensive. There are a lot of questions, and very few of them directly relate to whatever it is you want to study. The key when approaching them, then, is to make each question work for you. Don’t just answer the question as written. Answer it, yes, but also find opportunities within it to tell your strongest stories and share your deepest academic passions. Now, let’s get into it.
SHORT ANSWERS
The short answers are, you guessed it, short. Only 50 words. That is about 3-4 sentences. We think they are a lot of fun!
What is the most significant challenge that society faces today? (50 words)
Press pause on whatever jumped into your mind first when reading this question. Generally, students have an 'impulse’ answer. Sometimes, that impulse is also their best answer. Often, though, it’s more rooted in current events than in big picture global challenges. They don’t want you to tell them what you think the most interesting headline is this month. Instead, start by writing down 3-5 things that could each be an entire section of a newspaper. This might be something like climate change, employment, multi-nation wars, or even human longevity. Then, take those ideas and create 2-3 branches under each. Each of those branches should lead to an issue within the issue. For example, under employment you could put student debt and jobs creation.
You are going to find your topic for your answer this prompt in that sub-level. It’s focused, but not granular, and that is key. Once you have your topic, you need to write a response that subtly connects the challenge you are focused on to your area of academic interest. For example, if you chose jobs creation and want to major in a science field with the goal of going into research, you could focus on how a slowdown in hiring young researchers is going to result in a narrowing, rather than a widening, of research capabilities and ultimately stunt progress.
How did you spend your last two summers? (50 words)
This prompt isn’t a trick question. They really do want to know what you did last summer…and the one before. Do not, then, try to write about that summer 4 years ago when you did something really impressive. Follow the brief of the prompt, and try not to be a downer. Yes, you absolutely want to mention impressive programs or opportunities you seized, but it’s nice to include at least one mention of pure fun. You are a teenager, after all, and they want you to do more at Stanford than hole up in your dorm.
What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed? (50 words)
We love this question, and there aren’t many bad answers as long as your response is earnest. Don’t try, then, to find an answer that is what they ‘want’ to hear. That isn’t the point here, and there isn’t any magic bullet answer, either. Remember, too, that “historical moment” doesn’t mean that it must be a century ago or more. It could be a thousand years in the past, or when you were 10 years old. What your response should be, though, is tied to your academic area of strongest interest in some way. It doesn’t need to be an obvious link, but if it is obvious, you should illustrate the link in your response.
Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family. (50 words)
This one is really interesting to us because it’s easy to make your response about your ‘gold star’ activity, but that is probably going to come up in one of the longer essays. We encourage our students to focus on an outlier here that takes up a lot of their time, but that isn’t in pursuit of their academic interest. We especially love jobs and family responsibilities here, because they help illustrate you as a fully formed human, not simply an academic interest.
List five things that are important to you. (50 words)
First, this does need to be a list and there should only be five things. Beyond that, though, it’s really up to you. We guide our students to make their answer here a balance of fun and earnestness focused on stuff that won’t come up in the application otherwise but that absolutely essential to understanding you.
ESSAYS
After the quick takes, Stanford serves up three 250-word supplements that are each very different but that speak to one central theme: they are looking to feel connected to you. The goal of these essays is not to impress them. Sure, you probably will impress them, but what you really want to accomplish here is making them like you. Stanford finding you impressive doesn’t, on its own, get you in. They have to want to grab a coffee with you, too.
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. (250 words)
This is an opportunity to bring the application readers into your deepest enthusiasm. We’ve had student successfully write about the link between octopuses (not octopi, fyi) and neuroscience, how moons get their names, and the potency of material history. The connective thread between those three examples is the exact genuine enthusiasm that Stanford wants to see in any strong response.
Once you have your topic, you need to figure out the structure of your response. It needs to be one thing: a story. Do not tell them about what you care about, show them. The reader should finish this supplement excited to learn more after their done with applications for the day. Consider using storytelling techniques like dialog and imagery to increase the impact of your short essay.
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 – get to know you better. (250 words)
This supplement is another way for Stanford to test whether you are a real human. Sure, you can get great grades (and that is certainly true of you if they have made it to this point in your application), but can you live with someone else in harmony?
The response truly needs to be a letter, too. So, structure it like one with “Dear Future Roommate,” and all. Follow that with something they would absolutely learn by living with you. Maybe you are a snacking fiend and especially love spicy snacks. Perhaps you plan to bring the line of small stuffed animals that have lived at the foot of your bed for the past decade. If you like to start the day with a particular podcast or playlist, say that. Make it fun, light-hearted, and not too honest. Yes, you are a teenager, but the readers for Stanford admissions do not need to know that you struggle to work through the mountain of clothes on your floor. There will be plenty of time to learn to neaten up, right now we are focused on getting into Stanford.
Please describe what aspects of your life experiences, interests and character would help you make a distinctive contribution as an undergraduate to Stanford University. (250 words)
This prompt is hard because it is so wide. You could write about anything for you, but that doesn’t mean that you should cram a bit of everything into your answer. Focus, instead, on one specific arena or theme and then use it to highlight a handful of ways you would contribute to Stanford. For example, maybe you have done your school musical each year and the community that you found backstage has shifted your idea of what matters most and how to contribute to those around you. The one thing you are focusing on for this theoretical response is the school musical. The larger themes, though, are teamwork, community, resilience, a willingness to make (and learn from) mistakes, and the power of connection through art.
Each of those themes are things you can bring to Stanford, and you want to incorporate specific ways you’d continue pursuing these themes as part of the Stanford community. These could be clubs, student groups, or campus traditions. Pick a few strategically that would make sense as extensions of your focus for the storytelling portion of the supplement.
Getting into Stanford does require certain non-negotiables. You need to have the grades. You need to have the scores. Then there are the soft things, and that is where essays do crucial work making your case for Stanford admission. We can’t change your transcript, but we are experts at the soft stuff that, ultimately, gets you in. So, get in touch.
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