Getting in
For Fall 2025, 60,646 first-year students applied to Stanford, 2,302 were admitted and 1,839 enrolled: an acceptance rate of 3.8%.
Source: Stanford Common Data Set 2025-2026 (opens in a new tab), section C1. Read Oct 1, 2026.
By school or major. Stanford's Common Data Set reports one first-year acceptance rate for the whole university, with no rate by school or major.
Source: Stanford Common Data Set 2025-2026 (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.
Restrictive early action. Stanford has no early decision plan. The Common Data Set lists its Restrictive Early Action dates but gives no early action counts, so it gives no early round acceptance rate.
Source: Stanford Common Data Set 2025-2026 (opens in a new tab), sections C21 and C22. Read Oct 1, 2026.
Majors
73 majors across 1 school. Every undergraduate major in Stanford's official Bulletin for 2026-27, with the degree it leads to. Minors, honors programs and graduate programs are left out.
Bachelor's degree programs73
- Aeronautics and Astronautics (BS)
- African and African American Studies (BA)
- American Studies (BA)
- Anthropology (BA)
- Archaeology (BA)
- Art History (BA)
- Art Practice (BA)
- Asian American Studies (BA)
- Bioengineering (BS)
- Biology (BS)
- Chemical Engineering (BS)
- Chemistry (BS)
- Chicana/o - Latina/o Studies (BA)
- Civil Engineering (BS)
- Classics (BA)
- Communication (BA)
- Comparative Literature (BA)
- Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (BA)
- Computer Science (BS)
- Data Science (BA)
- Data Science (BS)
- Design (BS)
- Earth and Planetary Sciences (BS)
- Earth Systems (BS)
- East Asian Studies (BA)
- Economics (BA)
- Economics (BS)
- Electrical Engineering (BS)
- Energy Science and Engineering (BS)
- Engineering (BS)
- Engineering: Architectural Design (BS)
- Engineering: Atmosphere and Energy (BS)
- Engineering: Biomechanical Engineering (BS)
- Engineering: Biomedical Computation (BS)
- Engineering: Engineering Physics (BS)
- Engineering: Sustainable Architecture and Engineering (BS)
- English (BA)
- Environmental Systems Engineering (BS)
- Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (BA)
- Film and Media Studies (BA)
- French (BA)
- Geophysics (BS)
- German Studies (BA)
- History (BA)
- Human Biology (BA)
- Human Biology (BS)
- Iberian and Latin American Cultures (BA)
- Individually Designed Major in Engineering (BS)
- International Relations (BA)
- Italian (BA)
- Jewish Studies (BA)
- Linguistics (BA)
- Management Science and Engineering (BS)
- Materials Science and Engineering (BS)
- Mathematics (BS)
- Mechanical Engineering (BS)
- Music (BA)
- Native American Studies (BA)
- Philosophy (BA)
- Philosophy and Religious Studies (BA)
- Physics (BS)
- Political Science (BA)
- Psychology (BA)
- Public Policy (BA)
- Religious Studies (BA)
- Science, Technology, and Society (BA)
- Science, Technology, and Society (BS)
- Slavic Languages and Literatures (BA)
- Sociology (BA)
- Spanish (BA)
- Symbolic Systems (BS)
- Theater and Performance Studies (BA)
- Urban Studies (BA)
Source: Stanford Bulletin 2026-27, Programs (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.
Deadlines for Fall 2027
For students applying in fall 2026, entering fall 2027
| Plan | Apply by | Decision | Binding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restrictive Early Action | November 1 | By mid-December | No |
| Regular Decision | January 5 | By early April | No |
Applications close at 11:59 pm in your local time zone. If you send the optional Arts Portfolio, the Common App is due earlier: October 15 for Restrictive Early Action and December 5 for Regular Decision. The reply date is May 1.
Source: Stanford Admission, First-Year Applicants: Requirements and Deadlines (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.
Restrictive Early Action is not binding: if you are admitted, you have until May 1 to respond. While you apply this way, you may not apply early to any other private college, or to a public university under a binding plan such as early decision. If you are not admitted, that decision is final and you may not reapply in Regular Decision. If you are deferred, you get a final decision by early April.
Source: Stanford Admission, Regular Decision and Restrictive Early Action (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.
Testing
For students applying in fall 2026, entering fall 2027
Stanford requires the ACT or SAT. You self-report your highest scores in the application, and official scores are needed only if you enroll. There is no minimum score and no preferred test.
Source: Stanford Admission, Standardized Testing (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.
The Common Data Set also marks the SAT or ACT as required to be considered for admission for fall 2027 applicants, with scores due by January 15.
Source: Stanford Common Data Set 2025-2026 (opens in a new tab), section C8. Read Oct 1, 2026.
Applying next year?
For students applying in fall 2027, entering fall 2028
Not announced yet. When we checked Stanford's admission pages on October 1, 2026, we found no announced changes for fall 2028 entry. The deadlines and rules above are for fall 2027 entry.
Source: Stanford Admission, First-Year Applicants: Requirements and Deadlines (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.
Cost, and what families paid after aid
The published cost of a year at Stanford, 2026-2027:
| Tuition | $67,731 |
|---|---|
| Housing and food | $22,944 |
| Student fees allowance | $2,610 |
| Books and supplies allowance | $855 |
| Personal expenses allowance | $3,405 |
| Travel | not published |
| Total | $97,545 |
Travel varies by where you live, so it is not in the $97,545 total. New students also pay a one-time $525 orientation fee and a $250 document fee, which Stanford adds to a first-year budget, so a first year costs $775 more.
Source: Stanford Financial Aid, The Student Budget (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.
Average net price per year, by family income, 2023-24:
| Family income | Paid after grants |
|---|---|
| $0 to $30,000 | -$2,536 |
| $30,001 to $48,000 | -$193 |
| $48,001 to $75,000 | $3,212 |
| $75,001 to $110,000 | $11,092 |
| Over $110,000 | $53,882 |
| All incomes | $13,807 |
What first-year, full-time students who received federal aid paid after grants and scholarships, by family income, in 2023-24, the latest year the Department of Education publishes. Your own price comes from Stanford's aid offer.
Source: College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.
Similar schools
Chosen for how close each is to Stanford University on acceptance rate, public or private, location and majors offered.
California Institute of TechnologyPasadena, CA · Private3.8% admitted$16,075 average net price
Harvard UniversityCambridge, MA · Private4.2% admitted$19,066 average net price
University of ChicagoChicago, IL · Private4.5% admitted$14,860 average net price
Princeton UniversityPrinceton, NJ · Private4.4% admitted$6,128 average net price
Yale UniversityNew Haven, CT · Private4.7% admitted$23,777 average net price
Admitted: each school's latest first-year acceptance rate, so the year can differ from school to school; each school's page names its year and source. Average net price: what federal aid recipients paid per year after grants, 2023-24, and the in-state figure for a public university.