Stanford University
Stanford, California
4.34%
Admission Rate
Most Selective
6,994 Undergraduates Enrolled
- Private nonprofit
- Doctoral Universities: Very High Research Activity
- Four-year, full-time, more selective, lower transfer-in
- Four-year, large, highly residential
Photo by daybreakwithray on Unsplash
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies 8,180 acres (3,310 hectares), among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is ranked among the best universities in the world.
Stanford was founded in 1885 by Leland and Jane Stanford in memory of their only child, Leland Stanford Jr., who had died of typhoid fever at age 15 the previous year. Leland Stanford was a U.S. senator and former governor of California who made his fortune as a railroad tycoon. The school admitted its first students on October 1, 1891, as a coeducational and non-denominational institution. Stanford University struggled financially after the death of Leland Stanford in 1893 and again after much of the campus was damaged by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Following World War II, provost Frederick Terman supported faculty and graduates' entrepreneurialism to build self-sufficient local industry in what would later be known as Silicon Valley.
The university is organized around seven schools: three schools consisting of 40 academic departments at the undergraduate level as well as four professional schools that focus on graduate programs in law, medicine, education, and business. All schools are on the same campus. Students compete in 36 varsity sports, and the university is one of two private institutions in the Division I FBS Pac-12 Conference. Stanford has won 128 NCAA team championships, more than any other university, and was awarded the NACDA Directors' Cup for 25 consecutive years, beginning in 1994–1995. In addition, by 2021, Stanford students and alumni had won at least 296 Olympic medals including 150 gold medals.
As of April 2021, 85 Nobel laureates, 29 Turing Award laureates, and eight Fields Medalists have been affiliated with Stanford as students, alumni, faculty, or staff. In addition, Stanford is particularly noted for its entrepreneurship and is one of the most successful universities in attracting funding for start-ups. Stanford alumni have founded numerous companies, which combined produce more than $2.7 trillion in annual revenue and have created 5.4 million jobs as of 2011, roughly equivalent to the 7th largest economy in the world (as of 2020). Stanford is the alma mater of one president of the United States (Herbert Hoover), 74 living billionaires, and 17 astronauts. It is also one of the leading producers of Fulbright Scholars, Marshall Scholars, Rhodes Scholars, and members of the United States Congress.
"Stanford University." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 February 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University.
Stanford was founded in 1885 by Leland and Jane Stanford in memory of their only child, Leland Stanford Jr., who had died of typhoid fever at age 15 the previous year. Leland Stanford was a U.S. senator and former governor of California who made his fortune as a railroad tycoon. The school admitted its first students on October 1, 1891, as a coeducational and non-denominational institution. Stanford University struggled financially after the death of Leland Stanford in 1893 and again after much of the campus was damaged by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Following World War II, provost Frederick Terman supported faculty and graduates' entrepreneurialism to build self-sufficient local industry in what would later be known as Silicon Valley.
The university is organized around seven schools: three schools consisting of 40 academic departments at the undergraduate level as well as four professional schools that focus on graduate programs in law, medicine, education, and business. All schools are on the same campus. Students compete in 36 varsity sports, and the university is one of two private institutions in the Division I FBS Pac-12 Conference. Stanford has won 128 NCAA team championships, more than any other university, and was awarded the NACDA Directors' Cup for 25 consecutive years, beginning in 1994–1995. In addition, by 2021, Stanford students and alumni had won at least 296 Olympic medals including 150 gold medals.
As of April 2021, 85 Nobel laureates, 29 Turing Award laureates, and eight Fields Medalists have been affiliated with Stanford as students, alumni, faculty, or staff. In addition, Stanford is particularly noted for its entrepreneurship and is one of the most successful universities in attracting funding for start-ups. Stanford alumni have founded numerous companies, which combined produce more than $2.7 trillion in annual revenue and have created 5.4 million jobs as of 2011, roughly equivalent to the 7th largest economy in the world (as of 2020). Stanford is the alma mater of one president of the United States (Herbert Hoover), 74 living billionaires, and 17 astronauts. It is also one of the leading producers of Fulbright Scholars, Marshall Scholars, Rhodes Scholars, and members of the United States Congress.
"Stanford University." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 February 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University.
Location
City
Stanford, California
Locale
Suburb: Large (outside principal city, in urbanized area with population of 250,000 or more)
Region
Far West (AK, CA, HI, NV, OR, WA)
Academics
Predominant Degree Awarded
Predominantly bachelor's-degree granting
Highest Degree Awarded
Graduate degree
Most Popular Fields
| Field | % Students |
|---|---|
| Engineering | 19.6% |
| Computer And Information Sciences And Support Services | 18.0% |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies | 14.9% |
| Social Sciences | 12.3% |
| Engineering Technologies And Engineering-Related Fields | 5.1% |
| Mathematics And Statistics | 4.8% |
| Physical Sciences | 4.0% |
| Biological And Biomedical Sciences | 4.0% |
| English Language And Literature/Letters | 2.7% |
| Foreign Languages, Literatures, And Linguistics | 2.5% |
| Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender, And Group Studies | 2.5% |
| Visual And Performing Arts | 2.4% |
| Psychology | 2.1% |
| History | 1.8% |
| Philosophy And Religious Studies | 1.4% |
| Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs | 1.3% |
| Public Administration And Social Service Professions | 0.7% |
Cost
Tuition
$53,529.00
Percentage Students Receiving Aid
7.66%
Average Net Cost After Aid
$11,496.00
Admissions
SAT Scores
1503
Composite Average
| Percentile | 75% | 50% | 25% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math | 800 | 770 | 740 |
| Verbal | 770 | 735 | 700 |
ACT Scores
34
Cumulative Average
| Percentile | 75% | 50% | 25% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math | 35 | 33 | 30 |
| English | 36 | 35 | 34 |
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