Stanford University Admissions 2024: Requirements, Admission Process and Fee

Do you dream of cracking the Stanford University admissions as an international student? While not recognized as an Ivy League, the university’s reputation supersedes many of the institutes in the group. Its acceptance rate of 3.7% indicates its selectiveness for learners worldwide having access to its top-notch programs and cutting-edge research. So if Stanford is your dream school, then this blog will help you navigate the university’s admissions process from start to finish. Read on to know more!

Founding	1885
Location	Stanford, California, USA
Nicknames	The Farm, Cardinal
Student Body	~17,000 undergraduate and 10,000 graduate students
Acceptance Rate	3.7% (2024)
Ranking	#5 (QS World University Ranking 2024) #2 (THE World University Ranking 2024) #3 (US News and World Report National Universities 2024)
Application Deadline	1 November 2024 (Restrictive Early Action) 5 January 2025 (Regular Decision)
Notable Alumni	Sergey Brin (Google co-founder) Larry Page (Google co-founder) Condoleezza Rice (Former U.S. Secretary of State) Phil Knight (Nike co-founder)

Stanford University: An Overview

Founded as a memorial to the founder’s son Leland Stanford in 1885, Stanford is a prestigious private research university located in California, about 30 miles south of San Francisco. The institute is located in a suburban setting in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley, with a sprawling 8,180-acre campus, one of the largest in the US.  Consistently ranked among the world’s top universities (#3 in US News & World Report 2024), Stanford has 7 schools offering undergraduate and graduate programs in humanities, sciences, engineering, business, law, education, and medicine. 

This year, the institute has seen an enrollment of 7,841 undergraduate and 9,688 graduate students for the Class of 2027. 

Stanford University Admissions: Acceptance Rate

Stanford University admissions are highly selective, with an acceptance rate of only 3.7%. Students are evaluated on their academic and non-academic factors, some of which are as follows:

1. Volunteering/extracurricular involvement
2. First generation student
3. Geographic residence & ethnic status
4. Alumni
5. Full-time work experience
6. Character/personal qualities

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Stanford University Admissions: Ranking

Every year, Stanford University admissions see an inflow of 1700 freshmen and 30 transfer students worldwide, justifying the institute’s global position among its competitors. Given below is the university’s ranking as evaluated by some of the popular frameworks:

QS World University Ranking 2024	#5
THE World University Ranking 2024	#2
US News and World Report National Universities 2024	#3

Top Programs Offered at Stanford University

Stanford University admissions allow international students to choose from a plethora of top-ranked programs. The university offers undergraduate programs in 67 fields and 200 graduate degree programs in all, with the following qualifications:

1. BA, 
2. BSc, 
3. MA, 
4. MS, 
5. PhD, 
6. DMA
7. MD
8. MBA
9. MSM
10. JD
11. JSD
12. JSM 
13. LLM
14. MFA
15. MLS
16. MLA
17. MPP
18. ENG

Here’s a breakdown of some of the strongest areas that particularly attract international applicants:

Discipline	Rank
Accounting & Finance	#2
Biological Sciences	#3
Communication and Media Studies	#4
Engineering and Technology	#2
Global MBA	#1
Law	#5
Medicine	#3
Politics & International Studies	#5

Stanford University Admissions Deadline

For 2024, the Stanford University admissions deadlines are 15 October 2024 (Restrictive Early Action) and 5 December 2024 (Regular Decision). Students are advised to apply for Early Action to increase their chances of acceptance. Given below are some other important dates regarding the university’s admission process:

Event	Deadline
Standard Application Deadline	1 November (RestrictiveEarly Action) 5 January (Regular Decision)
Notification of Missing Documents	Mid-November (Restrictive Early Action) Mid-February (Regular Decision)
Decision Release	Mid-December (Restrictive Early Action) Early April (Regular Decision)
Student Reply Date	1 May (for both Early Action and Regular Decision)

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Stanford University Admissions Requirements

The general admission requirements for Stanford University admissions for international students are as follows:

Undergraduate Programs

1. High school transcripts
2. 3 essays (100-250 words)
3. Q and A (50 words)
4. 2 Letters of recommendation
5. English Language Proficiency: TOEFL iBT – 100+
6. Standardized test scores: SAT – 1440 – 1570, ACT – 34-35

Graduate Programs

1. Official transcripts from all high schools.
2. 2 essays (500 words each)
3. A minimum GPA of 3.5 
4. GRE: 161 (Quant), 162 (Verbal); GMAT: 650+, LSAT, or MCAT scores (depending on the program).
5. 2 letters of recommendation (for UG courses) and 2-3 LORs (for PG courses).
6. English Language Proficiency: TOEFL iBT – 100+
7. Resume
8. Interview

Stanford University Admission Process

Stanford University admissions generally involves the following steps for international applicants:

1. Carefully research the university’s official website for your choice of program.
2. Familiarize yourself with all admission requirements, including standardized testing and visa considerations.
3. Stanford uses either the Common Application or Coalition Application for undergraduate admissions. Graduate programs often have their own application portals.
4. Gather all the necessary documents to submit with your application.
5. Complete the online application form, ensuring all required documents and essays are uploaded by the deadline.
6. Pay the application fee (USD 90 for UG programs, USD 125 for graduate programs).
7. Decisions are typically released in early April for Early Action and by mid-July for Regular Decision. International students might be notified a little later due to additional processing.

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FAQs

We hope this blog gave you a complete overview of Stanford University admissions for international students in 2024. Tune into Leverage Edu for more such updates on study-abroad universities. Thank you for reading!