How to Get Into Stanford: What Actually Works

Acceptance Rate: 3.6%

Stanford University's acceptance rate for the Class of 2029 (admissions year 2024) stands at 3.6%, making it one of the most selective institutions in the world. Out of approximately 57,326 applications, only 2,067 students received admission offers. Getting into Stanford is extraordinarily competitive. With fewer than 4 out of every 100 applicants gaining admission, you are competing against thousands of exceptional applicants who already have nearly perfect grades and outstanding test scores. This level of selectivity means that Stanford's admissions process goes far beyond looking at your GPA and test scores to determine who gets in. A strong academic foundation is essential, but it is only the beginning.

Average SAT: 1540

Average ACT: 35

The standardized test scores of Stanford's admitted students place them in the 99th percentile of all test-takers nationally. The middle 50% of admitted students achieved SAT scores between 1510 and 1570, with Math scores concentrated between 770-800 and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing between 740-780. For the ACT, admitted students scored between 34-35. It is important to note that Stanford was test-optional through the 2024-2025 admissions cycle, but beginning with applicants applying in Fall 2025 for the Class of 2030, the university will require either the SAT or ACT. If you decide to submit scores, aim for the highest end of the middle 50% range to be truly competitive. Roughly 50% of enrolled students submitted SAT scores and 19% submitted ACT scores during the most recent test-optional cycle.

Average Unweighted GPA: 3.94

The average GPA of Stanford admitted students is extraordinarily high at 3.94 out of 4.0, with approximately 73% of admitted students having earned a perfect 4.0 GPA. An impressive 97.8% of admitted students ranked in the top 10% of their high school class, and 100% placed in the top quarter. This means you need to maintain near-perfect grades throughout all four years of high school, with particular emphasis on excelling in the most rigorous courses your school offers. Stanford evaluates your academic record within your own school context, understanding that some schools offer more AP and IB courses than others. What matters is that you took full advantage of the most challenging courses available to you and performed at the highest level in those courses.

What actually separates Stanford admits from the vast majority of highly qualified applicants who are rejected has much less to do with your GPA and test scores than you might think. Nearly every Stanford applicant has exceptional academics, so those numbers alone will never be enough to get you admitted. Stanford specifically looks for what they call "intellectual vitality," which means demonstrating a genuine love of learning for its own sake, not just for grades or college admissions. This is where many perfect-GPA students fall short. The university wants to see evidence that you pursue knowledge independently, ask meaningful questions, and think deeply about ideas that fascinate you. Show in your essays and activities that you read widely, explore concepts outside the classroom, make connections across different disciplines, and genuinely care about understanding the world around you. If you can only talk about learning in the context of how it helped you earn an A in your class, Stanford will notice that your intellectual vitality is weak.

Stanford values students who demonstrate exceptional depth and impact in their extracurricular activities rather than those who dabble in many clubs. The university explicitly states that "an exceptional depth of experience in one or two activities may demonstrate your passion more than minimal participation in five or six clubs." Look for opportunities to take on leadership roles, launch new initiatives, or create measurable impact in the activities you care about. This might mean founding a club, organizing a successful fundraising campaign, conducting independent research, building a business, implementing a community service project, or becoming deeply skilled in a particular pursuit. Stanford admissions officers are trained to recognize students who don't just participate passively but who actively contribute to their communities and make things happen. The specific activity matters less than your demonstrated commitment, creativity, and ability to effect change.

Beyond academics and extracurriculars, Stanford wants to understand who you are as a person and what drives you. The university seeks students who embody qualities like resilience, empathy, integrity, creativity, and a commitment to contributing positively to their community. Your application should reveal your character through specific examples and stories, not through generic statements about wanting to help others. Stanford values authentic self-presentation and looks for students who have taken risks, learned from setbacks, and grown through their experiences. Your teacher recommendations and essays are critical places to demonstrate these personal qualities. Make sure your recommenders can speak specifically to moments when you showed curiosity, perseverance, kindness, or leadership, rather than simply noting that you are a good student.

Stanford rates essays as a "very important" factor in the admissions process, placing them on equal footing with GPA, rigor of coursework, test scores, extracurriculars, and recommendations. Essays are your opportunity to show admissions officers how you think and who you really are as a person. Many perfect-GPA applicants are rejected while slightly less academically accomplished students gain admission, largely because of what they reveal about themselves through their writing. Your essays are often what separates an ordinary application from a truly exceptional one that gets noticed and remembered by the committee.

You should check out the how to write the Stanford supplemental essays article to see details on how to write the Stanford essays.

To strengthen your Stanford essays, focus on authenticity and intellectual depth rather than trying to impress with impressive-sounding achievements. When responding to prompts about what excites you about learning, pick one idea or experience that genuinely fascinates you and explore it thoughtfully. Show that you can discuss this topic with real enthusiasm and nuance; ideally, it should be something you could talk about endlessly at a dinner conversation. Avoid choosing topics simply because they sound prestigious or because you think they will help you get into college. Stanford can detect when you are being inauthentic, and admissions officers specifically look for students who love learning for its own sake, not as a means to an end. Take time to reflect on your genuine passions, then craft essays that reveal your authentic intellectual personality and show how you approach problems and ideas in distinctive ways.

Focus your extracurricular involvement on activities you truly care about, then pursue them with genuine commitment over multiple years. Rather than spreading yourself thin across ten clubs where you attend occasionally, choose two or three pursuits that align with your real interests and values, then dedicate yourself to them. Within these activities, seek leadership opportunities and look for ways to create meaningful change or impact. When describing your extracurriculars on your application, emphasize what you accomplished and how you contributed, not the number of hours you logged or awards you received. Admissions officers want to understand the specific challenges you faced, the initiatives you took to address them, and the concrete outcomes of your efforts. If you started a club, how many members does it have now? If you were on a team, what role did you play in team success? If you worked a job, how did you grow professionally and what responsibility were you given? Show them you are the kind of person who makes things happen.

Make sure your entire application tells a coherent story about who you are and what you will contribute to Stanford. This means your courses, activities, essays, and recommendations should all work together to paint a consistent picture. If you are passionate about environmental science, you should be taking rigorous science and math courses, pursuing environmental-related activities, and demonstrating intellectual curiosity about sustainability issues in your essays. Each element should reinforce the others. Additionally, demonstrate through your essays and activities that you have genuinely researched Stanford and understand what makes it unique. Show specific alignment between your interests and Stanford's opportunities, whether that is particular research centers, academic programs, residential colleges, or ways of thinking that resonate with you. Stanford wants students who have chosen the university thoughtfully, not just applied because of its prestige. Finally, as you prepare your application, secure strong letters of recommendation from teachers who know you well and can speak to specific examples of your intellectual curiosity, work ethic, and character. Choose teachers from your most rigorous courses and give them ample time to write thoughtful, detailed letters that go beyond generic praise.