You may have heard about Stanford University most often. It is a highly prestigious university with really high competition in comparison with other universities. Stanford acceptance rate is too high that you have to get on heads over heels to get into it.
More than 47,500 applications were submitted to Stanford University in Fall 2020, with an overall acceptance rate of 4.3%. Both applicants from inside the state and applicants from outside the state are included in these statistics.
Stanford GPA Requirements
Here are a few of the things you need to know about your grade point average (GPA). In the application process, your high school transcript, submitted with the rest of your application, serves as the basis for calculating your GPA at Stanford.
During the past academic year, Stanford reported the reported average GPA of a high school student admitted to the university was 3.95 out of a possible 4.0. This means that prospective Stanford students have to have high grades in almost every course in high school.
SAT and ACT Requirements
Like its Ivy League brethren and most other colleges, Stanford requires either the SAT or ACT for admission. They have no preference between them, so choose the test that’s a better fit for you, thoroughly prepare for it, and plan to take it multiple times.
SAT and ACT composite scores, the total SAT and ACT scores for a group of students admitted to Stanford, vary greatly. In general, you should aim for an SAT/ACT score closer to the 75th percentile rather than the 25th to maximize your chances of admission.
Stanford Application Requirements
Recommendation letters
A Stanford admissions officer will ask two of your teachers and your school counselor to write letters of recommendation to help them understand who you are as a student beyond your transcript and test score. You should ask people who know you well and write great, personal letters, not just those who gave you the best grades.
The Common Essay
You will need to submit a Common Application (or Coalition Application) to be considered for admission. To apply for college, you will have to get to know well this online interface. It’s not just Stanford that you’ll be using to; Yale, Brown, and Harvard are next on the list! A majority of the Common Application covers the same items as the previous year’s application.
Besides that, all of your schools will receive one personal essay from the Common Application. In 650 words or less, you can share an important event in your life with Stanford and the rest of your school.
Additional Essays
Last but not least, Stanford, like many other schools, requires school-specific essays in addition to the main theme. These questions generally depend on whether you’re interested in the school and what you’ve already accomplished. A total of eleven short-answer essays were asked last year, ranging in length from a few sentences to several pages.
For admission to selective schools such as Stanford and similar Ivy League institutions, it is critical to have a strategy for drafting, revising, and writing these essays.
Application Fee
Lastly, you will need to pay an application fee of $90, collected from you when you submit your application through these online interfaces. If you can demonstrate financial hardship, you may be able to waive these fees.
STEM Academic Excellence is Key
Considering you’re a STEM candidate, you need to be exceptional throughout the field. With very few exceptions, you will earn an A or A+ in all of your STEM courses.
It would help if you also took your school’s hardest STEM classes. If possible, choose harder options when taking APs (Calculus BC instead of AB). In each field, aim for a five on the AP exam.
STEM majors taking the hardest courses have a high probability of getting good grades; however, you want to turn that high probability into a certainty.
It is the lack of diligence that makes naturally gifted STEM students struggle in STEM courses. STEM education benefits you can obtain if you get into Stanford and make sure it’s worth working hard to get good grades.
Build an academic base outside STEM
Next, ensure you have at least a certain level of quality in your academics outside of STEM. Humanities don’t have to be great, but you should keep bs to a minimum. In the societies, you do not need AP classes, but getting an A/A- on the AP tests and getting a 4 or 5 in the class will benefit you in the end.
It is a great way to show your well-rounded abilities by taking standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT. It was also quite difficult, at least difficult enough that getting a high enough score is a sign you are at a 95th percentile or higher in all the US–certainly enough to qualify you as well-rounded.
There is no doubt that you can achieve these grades if you put your mind to them. You will only have to be proficient in English to be considered for admission. If you’re not a native speaker and aren’t fluent, I suggest you make this a priority, probably through immersion in an English-speaking country.
Add a Few Extracurricular
You may want to take advantage of some lower-hanging fruit to round out your Stanford application. Consider joining a team that involves public speaking, such as debate or Model UN. Political and legal systems are surprisingly similar to STEM ones.
Boost Your Spike
Then, as you’ve achieved good SAT/ACT scores and have a wide range of activities, you’re ready to build your spike! It is at this point where your STEM skills are put to the test. To have spikes ranked highly in recognized fields is the name of the game when it comes to points.
Competitions are one of the most natural environments in which a person can rank themselves. Of course, the more outstanding the competition, the better the opportunity for ranking. There is no doubt that the most prestigious competitions have the highest-profile, difficulty, and number of participants.
A top 1,000 ranking in one of the most prestigious competitions will boost your Stanford application more than a top 100 ranking in a less prestigious contest. Try to pick the most prestigious competition you can compete in. Whenever possible, it is better to consider matches in that order, starting with the more prestigious ones first.