Some Commonly Asked Questions
About the Regular Decision Admission Process

We hope the information below will answer many of your questions regarding the Stanford admission process.  Please know every application to Stanford is considered both individually and within the context of a very large and talented applicant pool.  This year, more than 25,000 students applied for admission.  We were able to offer admission to less than 2,500.

Is there any way to appeal my admission decision?
No.  Stanford admission decisions are final and there is absolutely no appeal process.  Our admission officers are carefully trained to ensure the most fair and consistent application review process possible.  They read thousands of applications each year and base their decisions on the unique strengths within the context of the entire applicant pool.  Admission selection decisions are made by committee consensus and not by any one admission officer.  As a result, we respectfully ask that you refrain from requesting an appeal or asking others to write on your behalf requesting further consideration.   Regretfully and because of our application volume, appeals or additional letters of recommendation will not be considered or acknowledged.

Are you able to tell me why I was not admitted?
Unfortunately, we cannot provide specific reasons regarding why a candidate was not offered admission.  Decisions are made by committee consensus and we do not record reasons and/or rationale as to why candidates are not offered admission.  Because of the large number of applicants and the relatively small number of available spaces in the class, many students who are academically qualified for admission are ultimately not admitted.    

Why wasn’t I admitted if I was academically qualified for admission?
We have tremendous respect for the students who apply for undergraduate admission to Stanford and we are humbled by their qualifications and their stories.  All applicants are carefully evaluated based on the same set of materials.  We seek to know each applicant individually and to develop an understanding of the applicant within the context of the resources and opportunities available to that student.  Applicants convey their strengths through their academic record, test scores, personal essays, evaluations, activities, and by the fluency of their writing.

Sometimes a candidate is denied admission while someone he or she knows, whose rank in class and/or test scores are lower, is admitted.  This occurs both because we value hard-to-quantify personal qualities and achievements, and because schools, programs and individuals vary so widely.  While you might know another applicant’s rank in class, GPA and test scores, only admission officers see the entire application, including the student’s writing and teacher and counselor evaluations.  Each applicant presents a unique combination of achievement, potential and intellectual vitality, as well as their personal qualities and story.  It is the composite of these factors that ultimately influences our decisions.

What criteria do you use when making decisions?   
The two most important criteria for admission to Stanford are distinguished academic achievement in high school and significant potential to achieve at a high level during the undergraduate years.  Another criterion for admission is involvement/impact outside the classroom, where we seek evidence of sustained commitment and leadership in school and community activities.  We look for students who will make a strong contribution to the Stanford community by demonstrating intellectual vitality and academic leadership, qualities not entirely captured by grade point averages and test scores.  Unfortunately, because there are many exceptional students who apply to Stanford, there are many top students for whom we simply don’t have room.  The majority of our admitted applicants present a 4.0 or higher GPA and the majority of our admitted students report a 700 or above on each section of the SAT (30 or above on the ACT); because we value the personal qualities listed above, in addition to these empirical measures, we were unable to offer admission to all those who presented such outstanding credentials.   Ultimately, we were only able to offer admission to less than 10% of the approximately 25,000 students who applied.

Can I be considered for the waitlist?
No.  Applicants who were selected for our waitlist have already received that decision by letter and email.  We are not able consider any additional applicants for the waitlist.  We aim to provide a final decision on every application whenever possible.  Factors considered in our decision not to offer a space on our waitlist include an understanding of our overall applicant pool and the reality of a relatively small freshman class.  Such decisions are made only after a careful and thorough review. 

Was there a quota for my school or region or any other groups?
No.  We do not have quotas for any particular schools or types of schools, or any geographic region.  Students from nearly 6,000 high schools apply to Stanford each year.  In some schools or regions, only one student applies; in other schools or regions, more than one hundred students apply.  We do not use any racial, religious, ethnic or gender-related quotas in making our admission decisions.

Was financial need part of the admission decision?
An applicant’s need for financial aid is never a factor in the admission decision, except in the case of international students (applicants requiring a student visa to study in the United States).   Stanford adheres to a “need-blind” admission policy for all U.S. citizens and registered permanent residents.  Our financial aid process is completely separate from our admission process.

Can I apply again as a transfer student?
Applicants who are not offered admission are eligible to apply as a transfer student in a future year.  We use the same admission criteria, however, when evaluating transfer applications and we have a similarly qualified transfer applicant pool.  It is also important to note that the transfer admission process is even more competitive than freshman admission.  In recent years, less than 5% of transfer applicants have been admitted.  When reviewing applicants with only one year of college work, we focus primarily on high school grades, test scores and activities.  When the applicant has attended college full time for two years, the strength of the college program and academic achievement at the college level are given primary consideration.  We do not have a preference for the type of institution one attends for college before applying for transfer admission to Stanford.  In fact, the majority of our most recent transfer students were admitted from community colleges.  Applicants are limited to a total of three applications to Stanford, whether for freshman admission, transfer admission, or a combination of both.