Stanford University: The Best of the Best.

Stanford University, often called Stanford, is located in Stanford, California. It was founded in 1885 by former California Governor and U.S. Senator Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane Lathrop Stanford as a memorial to their only child, Leland Stanford Jr., who had died of typhoid fever at age 15 the previous year. The university was opened on October 1, 1891 as a coeducational and non-denominational institution with money from the estate of Leland Stanford, who had made his fortune in railroads, shipping and mining.

A private research university in Palo Alto, California, Stanford has been considered the best university in the world since at least the late 1960s and consistently appears near the top of virtually every major university ranking ever since. It’s no wonder that thousands of high school students apply to Stanford each year despite its reputation as one of the most selective universities in the world—in 2017, it received more than 93,000 applications for fewer than 2,000 spots in its freshman class.

Leland and Jane Stanford aim to promote the public welfare by exercising an influence on behalf of humanity and civilization through teaching and research. With an endowment worth $19 billion, it’s safe to say the Stanfords succeeded in making an impact.

Here are few things you need to know about the prestigious Standford university:

★What Type Is Stanford University?

★Who Is Eligible To Apply?

★Common Application Essay Prompts

★What Is The Required SAT or ACT Score Range For Admission?

★Which Type Of Application Should I Choose?

★ When Do I Need To Decide Whether To Attend Or Waitlist?

★ Where Can I See Other Acceptance Rates By School And Grade Level?

★ How Important Are Extracurricular Activities To Admissions At Stanford?

What Type Is Stanford University?

Stanford is a private research university in Stanford, California. It has campuses in Palo Alto and Mountain View, California and plans to open another campus in Foothill Ranch, California. Stanford is known for its academic strength, wealth, proximity to Silicon Valley businesses and venture capital firms and having one of best engineering schools in country.

Students from diverse backgrounds around world come here to study humanities, sciences and more. Its alumni include founders of companies like Google, Yahoo!, Hewlett-Packard, Instagram and Snapchat.

Founded In 1885 By Leland And Jane Stanford: William (Leland) Sibley was an American businessman who had gone bankrupt several times before he married Jane Lathrop in 1850. They had four children together but only two survived infancy, Leland Jr., born on April 12, 1852 and Edward who was born on October 22, 1853. However tragedy struck again when both boys died less than a year later from diphtheria and typhoid fever respectively.

Who Is Eligible To Apply?

Both undergraduate and graduate students may apply. As a student in an undergrad program, you must have completed at least two years and be in good academic standing to be considered for admission.

Both domestic and international students are eligible to apply for graduate programs, as long as English is part of language you understand and you have not already enrolled for a degree in other accredited institution in North America or any other region.

At least a degree from a minimum of three years course are required for both master’s and doctoral degrees. A minimum GPA of 3.0 is also required for all applicants, regardless of level. You can find out more about admissions requirements on Stanford’s website.

Common Scholarship Application Essay Prompts

1. Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

2. Success can take many forms. What do you consider to be your greatest success?

3. Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?

4. Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma—anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.

5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to another essay in the pack, or one of your own design (we won’t tell).

8. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

9. Reflect on a moment in your life when you made a meaningful contribution to someone else’s wellbeing without receiving anything in return.

10. Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma—anything that is of personal importance, no matter how large or small.

What Is The Required SAT or ACT Score Range For Admission?

A student’s SAT score is calculated from their test results on Evidence-Based Reading and Writing, Math, and Essay sections. Overall, an SAT score of 1410 (out of 1600) is required for admission to Stanford. ACT scores are converted to equivalent SAT scores for admission purposes.

Although no official guidance exists regarding a minimum ACT score for admission to Stanford, it is recommended that students make sure they can achieve at least a 30 composite (1670 out of 3600) when preparing for either exam in advance. These benchmarks can help students aim high while managing expectations on both tests.

Note that SAT Subject Tests are not considered for admission; however, strong performances on subject exams may be used as supporting materials during application review.

Prospective applicants should also be aware that several academic departments require applicants to submit ACT or SAT Subject Test scores as part of their admissions process. For example, prospective computer science majors must submit one math and one science exam score; prospective human biology majors must submit three lab exams in biology or chemistry; prospective theater arts majors must submit two theater exams or one drama and one literature exam; prospective music majors must submit two music theory exams or two music history/appreciation exams; etc.

Which Type Of Application Should I Choose?

As you’re beginning to apply to colleges, you might be wondering what types of applications different schools use. And while there are all sorts of differences between schools (especially private schools, public schools, and international schools), many colleges have similar application processes. That means that many things—from essay prompts to school-specific supplements—are pretty much identical from school to school.

Here’s a breakdown of which type of application each type of college uses. Then, if you know that a certain kind works for you, stick with it! There’s no sense in wasting time on an application strategy that doesn’t help boost your odds. Also, keep in mind that not every college or university requires standardized testing. Many schools only require one or two SAT Subject Tests or ACT scores if you do decide to take them. In fact, some schools don’t even require standardized tests at all!

Finally, most U.S.-based universities do not accept international transcripts as official documents; however , if you want to get into a top American university without using TOEFL/IELTS/PTE scores , make sure to find out whether your home country has any agreements with US institutions first!

When Do I Need To Decide Whether To Attend Or Waitlist?

Stanford is one of America’s most selective colleges and it accepts less than a quarter of applicants each year. It’s not unusual for Stanford to have a higher acceptance rate than some Ivy League schools, so applying early is key. Even if you think your SAT scores aren’t good enough yet, take them anyway and submit your application. If your grades and test scores are competitive for Stanford, you can put yourself on their waitlist as an insurance policy in case spots open up closer to admissions deadlines.

However, applying early also means that you can choose between Stanford or other excellent schools; either way, don’t risk losing out on admission if your plan A falls through.

You should definitely apply early if you want to attend Stanford but there’s a chance you might be admitted off of their waitlist. This gives you time to make plans B, C, D…and E (or F!). You can also use being deferred as an opportunity to strengthen your application before finalizing any decisions about whether or not to accept.

Just remember that once your decision has been made, even for deferred admission, there is no going back!

Where Can I See Other Acceptance Rates By School And Grade Level?

For an excellent example, take a look at a summary by Stanford. They have accepted and admitted more than 5,000 students to their undergraduate class for 2018-2019. The admissions stats tell us that roughly 1 in 5 applicants was offered admission and that there was a 22% yield rate (the percentage of students who accepted their offer).

So while most applicants will get rejected, it’s clear you have some very good odds as long as you’re in line with Stanford’s academic profile. And if you really want to boost your chances even further -– imagine getting into Stanford with only an A- average and no AP or other test scores? No sweat. In 2018-2019 alone, 109 freshman were admitted from that pool!

One final thing worth noting is that Stanford accepts many early action candidates before November 1st but still has space available after January 1st. It’s not too late to apply, especially if you’re looking at top schools like these!

For those wondering about UC Berkeley, UC San Diego and UCLA , they all have similar acceptance rates around 20%. There are also public colleges such as UC Irvine with lower acceptance rates in low single digits like 6%, 7% and 8%. Lastly, keep in mind many state schools are considered public ivies because they have rigorous academics without tuition costs up front so they do not require loans or financial aid packages upon entry which makes them highly sought after schools by many families across America.

How Important Are Extracurricular Activities To Admissions At Stanford?

Extracurricular activities play a major role in gaining admission to one of Stanford’s world-class academic programs. One student has this to say about how extracurricular activities influence admission into Standford “When I was studying at Stanford, a common perception among applicants was that their extracurriculars wouldn’t be weighed as heavily by admissions officers as their test scores and grades. That simply isn’t true.” Straightforward!

Although SAT scores are certainly important (for example, Stanford doesn’t look at applications from students with less than an 1100 on both Critical Reading and Math), they aren’t considered make-or-break factors in terms of admission decisions. On average, our most competitive applicants have SAT score in excess of 1480 combined, but a number don’t get above 1400. Instead, what really matters is how you use your time outside of class to demonstrate your intellectual curiosity and passion for learning.

In other words, if you want to stand out in a sea of over 30,000 highly qualified applicants each year—and have any chance at getting into Stanford—you need to go beyond simply doing well in school. You need to distinguish yourself through your accomplishments outside of class. It’s also worth noting that there are many different ways for students to stand out during college application season; some do it through athletics or volunteering while others pursue music or art or other areas where there is more room for creativity and individuality.

Does My Career Field Matter For Admission To Stanford University?

Of course, admission to Stanford is very competitive no matter what your intended major. But if you’re interested in pre-med or STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math), there are a few important factors that might boost your application.

The Admissions Office pays particular attention to AP tests, community service and extracurricular activities—all of which are good ways to differentiate yourself from other candidates who have excellent grades and test scores.

The admissions website has more information about these factors. The key is consistency: Those standout grades won’t matter much if you only had time for one extracurricular activity in high school.

What is the Overall Acceptance Rate for Students Applying to Stanford ?

Stanford is one of those universities where getting admitted to any major or program is extremely hard. The overall acceptance rate for students applying to Stanford is estimated at 6%.

To be more specific, here’s what that number represents: In 2017, 44,466 people applied to Stanford and 2,990 were accepted which gives you an approximate 7% acceptance rate. More recently in 2018 it has dropped down a little bit further with a 6% acceptance rate (3,850 applicants accepted out of 43,543 total applicants).

For comparison purposes, Harvard had an overall acceptance rate of 5.2% in 2017, Yale was around 6%, Princeton was 8%, MIT was 10%, Caltech was 11%, and Columbia had a 9.9% acceptance rate for fall 2018 . As you can see from these numbers, Stanford is definitely not easy to get into – but it also offers very generous financial aid packages so many talented students are able to attend even if they are rejected during their initial application process!

Does Class Rank Matter When Applying to a Prestigious School Like Standford ?

Yes might be what you think, but that is not always true. Let’s take an example of a situation to better understand why. You have two students who are applying to Stanford, one has a 4.0 GPA and another has 2.5 GPA with nearly all A’s and B’s. It doesn’t look good for that student with a low GPA does it? Well, yes and no. This is where class rank comes into play. Class rank can make or break your chances at getting into a prestigious school like Standford.

Why? Because if your grades aren’t as high as other applicants from your school then you will need something else to help boost your application besides just grades. That something else can be class rank!

University of Limerick (UL): What You Should Know

When Can I Expect to Hear Back About My Application From Standford ?

The best time to start thinking about your admissions strategy is as soon as you begin applying to schools. The earlier you start, the more time you have to work on it! I suggest starting at least 6 months before deadlines are approaching.

While there is no definitive answer, students can typically expect to hear back from Stanford in 2-3 weeks. If you haven’t heard anything after that point, be sure to follow up with an email asking for an update on your application status. Good luck!

Please check out the official website for more information.