Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Stanford University

Find Schools Near

Stanford University Overview

Stanford University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Stanford, California. Stanford is considered a suburb and offers tranquility and safety near the excitement of a city center.

What Is Stanford University Known For?

1,771 Undergraduate Awards
$48,172 Avg Cost After Aid
5% Acceptance Rate
  • Stanford has an impressive student to faculty ratio of 4 to 1.
  • Students at Stanford have an easier time paying back their loans. The school's student loan default rate is only 1%, compared to the national rate of 10.1%.
  • Although it may not be available for every major, the doctor's degree is the highest award a student can attain at Stanford.
  • In 2017-2018, 99% of the faculty were full-time.
  • After graduation, Stanford bachelor's degree recipients go on to jobs where they make $94,000 a year. That's about 130% more than their peers at other schools.

Best Schools

Stanford University Rankings

We have ranked Stanford as #5 out of 2,587 colleges and universities in the country in our 2022 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 1% of all schools in the nation! It is also ranked #4 out of 204 schools in California.

Our rankings are based on an outcomes-based approach rather than subjective ones used by other media outlets. As such, we utilize data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard, among other sources. Visit our rankings and methodology section to learn more.

Stanford has also been awarded the following overall awards by our latest rankings.

Rank Ranking Name Share
#1 Best Doctor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#5 Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#5 Best Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#5 Best Graduate Certificate Schools Tweet It - Post It

Program Level Awards

These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at Stanford.

Rank Ranking Name Share
#1 Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#1 Best Mathematics & Statistics Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#1 Best Computer & Information Sciences Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#1 Best Biological & Biomedical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#1 Best Business, Management & Marketing Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#1 Best Ethnic, Culture & Gender Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#1 Best Engineering Technologies Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#2 Best Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#2 Best Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#4 Best Education Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It

Awards From Around the Web

The following table lists some notable awards Stanford has earned from around the web.

Rank Ranking Name Source
#1 Best Healthcare Schools Healthcare Degree Search
#1 Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools College Factual
#1 Best Psychology Schools College Factual
#1 Best Computer & Information Sciences Schools College Factual
#1 Best Engineering Technologies Schools College Factual
#1 Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools College Factual

Where Is Stanford University?

undefined

Contact details for Stanford are given below.

Contact Details
Address: Stanford, CA 94305
Phone: 650-723-2300
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/stanford
Twitter: http://twitter.com/stanford

How Do I Get Into Stanford?

You can apply to Stanford online at: commonapp.org/

Admission Requirements for Stanford

Submission Required?
High School GPA recommended
High School Rank neither required nor recommended
High School Transcript required
College Prep Program recommended
Recommendations required
SAT or ACT Scores required
TOEFL recommended

How Hard Is It To Get Into Stanford?

5% Acceptance Rate
52% Of Accepted Are Women
72% Submit SAT Scores
The acceptance rate at Stanford is 5%, which means the school is highly selective when deciding who will be admitted and who won't. Even if you have great grades and test scores, that may not be enough. So be sure to look for ways to make your application memorable.

Approximately 48% of accepted students are men and 52% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 5%, and the acceptance rate for women is 6%.

Average Test Scores

About 72% of students accepted to Stanford submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 700 and 770. Math scores were between 720 and 800.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Stanford University  ( 700 to 770 )
200
800

SAT Math Scores for Stanford University  ( 720 to 800 )
200
800
Stanford received ACT scores from 45% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT English scores ranged between 33 and 36. Math scores were between 30 and 35. Composite scores were between 31 and 35.

ACT English Scores for Stanford University  ( 33 to 36 )
1
36
ACT Math Scores for Stanford University  ( 30 to 35 )
1
36
ACT Composite Scores for Stanford University  ( 31 to 35 )
1
36

Can I Afford Stanford University?

$48,172 Net Price
7% Take Out Loans
0.5% Loan Default Rate
The overall average net price of Stanford is $48,172. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group.

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.

Student Loan Debt

Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At Stanford, approximately 7% of students took out student loans averaging $11,765 a year. That adds up to $47,060 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at Stanford is 0.5%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.

Stanford University Undergraduate Student Diversity

5,752 Full-Time Undergraduates
51% Women
60% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
There are 6,366 undergraduate students at Stanford, with 5,752 being full-time and 614 being part-time.

undefined

There are also 9,587 graduate students at the school.

Gender Diversity

Of the 5,752 full-time undergraduates at Stanford, 49% are male and 51% are female.

undefined

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

The racial-ethnic breakdown of Stanford University students is as follows.

undefined
Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 1,403
Black or African American 456
Hispanic or Latino 992
White 1,616
International Students 649
Other Races/Ethnicities 636

Geographic Diversity

California students aren't the only ones who study at Stanford University. At this time, all 50 states and the District of Columbia are represented by the student population at the school.

Over 127 countries are represented at Stanford. The most popular countries sending students to the school are China, India, and Canada.

Online Learning at Stanford University

0 Took All Classes Online
936 Took At Least One Class Online
0.0% Avg Growth Over 4 Years
In 2019-2020, 936 students took at least one online class at the school.

The following chart shows how the online learning population at Stanford has changed over the last few years.

undefined

This school is the 18th most popular in California for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2019-2020.

Online Affordability Rankings of Stanford

The following table shows how Stanford is ranked for affordability for both in-state and out-of-state students among colleges and universities that are not mostly online.

Major Tuition for In-State Students Tuition for Out-of-State Students
Physics #4 #4
Biomedical Engineering #13 #13
Applied Mathematics #16 #16
Statistics #19 #19
Materials Engineering #25 #25
General Biology #25 #25
Chemical Engineering #28 #28
Physical Sciences #30 #30
Medical Illustration & Informatics #43 #43
Biological & Biomedical Sciences #49 #49
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering #61 #61
Computer Science #64 #64

This is the #1,689 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at Stanford regardless of major.

The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of Stanford majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.

Major 1-Year Growth Rate
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 2%
Civil Engineering 2%
Computer & Information Sciences 1%
Computer Science 1%
Health Professions 9%
Mathematics & Statistics 8%
Statistics 21%

The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at Stanford ranks compared to all other partially online schools that offer a specific major. Note that the majors may or may not be offered online at Stanford.

Major Growth Rate Rank
Applied Mathematics #10
Materials Engineering #10
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering #22
Chemical Engineering #22
Statistics #25
Mechanical Engineering #40
Civil Engineering #49
Electrical Engineering #67
Medical Illustration & Informatics #73
Computer Science #85
Mathematics & Statistics #106
Engineering-Related Fields #116
Engineering #216
Engineering Technologies #339

When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.

Stanford University Undergraduate Concentrations

The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.

Major Bachelor’s Graduate Certificate Master’s Doctor’s TOTAL
Computer Science 307 0 306 32 645
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods 0 0 460 22 482
Mechanical Engineering 54 2 163 57 276
Electrical Engineering 46 0 142 84 272
Civil Engineering 6 1 177 36 220
Engineering-Related Fields 76 0 130 8 214
Law 0 0 0 182 182
Human Biology 142 0 0 0 142
Other Engineering 105 1 23 10 139
Cognitive Science 106 0 10 0 116
Economics 90 0 11 14 115
General Education 0 0 81 29 110
General Biology 63 0 22 17 102
Physics 18 0 23 57 98
Applied Mathematics 39 0 47 11 97
Medicine 0 0 0 92 92
Geological & Earth Sciences 31 0 36 25 92
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 8 1 65 15 89
Legal Research 0 0 82 5 87
Biomedical Engineering 35 0 25 26 86
Political Science & Government 57 0 11 18 86
Statistics 0 0 66 12 78
Child Development & Psychology 52 0 3 12 67
International Relations & National Security 42 0 23 0 65
Teacher Education Subject Specific 0 0 63 0 63
Mathematics 50 0 2 10 62
General English Literature 47 0 1 12 60
Materials Engineering 8 0 33 18 59
Chemical Engineering 11 0 22 25 58
Area Studies 21 0 32 2 55
History 35 0 6 12 53
Communication & Media Studies 19 0 28 4 51
Chemistry 18 0 4 29 51
Science, Technology & Society 44 0 0 0 44
Public Policy 20 0 23 0 43
Sociology 16 0 18 6 40
Anthropology 19 0 10 10 39
Ethnic Studies 37 0 0 0 37
Fine & Studio Arts 25 0 9 2 36
Natural Resources Conservation 0 0 28 3 31
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology 0 0 0 29 29
Public Health 0 0 25 3 28
Linguistics & Comparative Literature 19 0 0 8 27
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services 0 0 27 0 27
Music 8 0 14 5 27
Genetics 0 0 12 14 26
Teacher Education Grade Specific 0 0 25 0 25
Philosophy 19 0 2 4 25
Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology 0 0 21 3 24
Liberal Arts General Studies 0 0 18 0 18
Neurobiology & Neurosciences 0 0 0 17 17
Physiology & Pathology Sciences 0 0 0 17 17
Romance Languages 16 0 1 0 17
Drama & Theater Arts 13 0 0 2 15
Classical Languages & Literature 10 0 0 4 14
Environmental Engineering 13 0 0 0 13
Medical Illustration & Informatics 0 0 12 1 13
East Asian Languages 1 0 6 5 12
Sustainability Science 0 0 12 0 12
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 7 0 5 0 12
Biological & Biomedical Sciences (Other) 0 0 0 10 10
Urban Studies 10 0 0 0 10
Petroleum Engineering 0 1 4 4 9
Microbiological Sciences & Immunology 0 0 0 8 8
Cell Biology & Anatomical Sciences 0 0 0 7 7
Religious Studies 1 0 1 3 5
English Literature (Other) 0 0 2 2 4
Slavic, Baltic & Albanian Languages 2 0 0 1 3
Germanic Languages 2 0 0 0 2
Archeology 2 0 0 0 2
Other Philosophy & Religious Studies 1 0 0 0 1
Business Administration & Management 0 0 0 0 0
Other Business, Management & Marketing 0 0 0 0 0
Public Relations & Advertising 0 0 0 0 0
General Psychology 0 0 0 0 0
Design & Applied Arts 0 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 1,771 6 2,372 1,044 5,193

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.