Stanford University: Early Acceptance Rate

Next up in our series highlighting early round acceptance rates at top colleges is Stanford University — which consistently ranks as one of the most selective schools in the country. Stanford has a total undergraduate enrollment of around 8,000 students who study on a beautiful 8,000-acre campus in Palo Alto, California.

Since 2018, the university has ceased disclosing acceptance rates in real time, instead waiting months after admissions decisions have been made to report publicly available data. While we don’t have access to the early admissions numbers for the Class of 2028, we can interpret newly released data for the Class of 2027 and anticipate continuing trends this year.

SEE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE STANFORD DAILY ARTICLE BELOW:

Although incoming Class of 2028 students who applied in the early round heard back from Stanford University in December 2023, Stanford has abstained from reporting admissions data, other than what is federally required, since 2018.

However, with the release of new data for the Class of 2027 confirming a 3.91% acceptance rate coupled with similar acceptance rates since the Class of 2025, we can assume the Class of 2028 acceptance rate will be similar.

Stanford University’s acceptance rate rose for the Class of 2027 to 3.91%, an increase from last year’s historic low of 3.68%, according to the university’s Common Data Set. Out of a pool of 53,733 applicants, down from last year’s pool of 56,378, 2,099 received offers of admission and 1,699 matriculated for an impressive yield rate of 80.9%.

In the last few years, Stanford has seen widespread debate over the future of legacy admissions, test-optional policies, and race-based affirmative action.

With its current supplemental essay prompts, Stanford offers students an opportunity to voluntarily share their background and circumstances.

Stanford typically admits around 25% of its incoming freshman class through early action, which is significantly less than some of its peer institutions. However, applicants can expect the REA acceptance rate to be around twice that of its RD rate, which has hovered around 3 to 4 percent in recent years.

STANFORD’S DEMOGRAPHIC DATA

We’ve noted a few notable shifts in Stanford’s demographics for the Class of 2023 based on data found in Stanford’s 2023-2024 Common Data set:

Slight increase in score submissions

47% of enrolled students in Stanford’s Class of 2023 submitted SAT scores and 22% submitted ACT scores. Both decreased from the year prior when 49% of enrolled students submitted SAT scores and 23% submitted ACT scores.

Standardized testing categorization update

For years, Stanford has indicated that standardized tests scores were “Very Important” on the CDS but for the Class of 2023, this shifted to “Considered.” Stanford’s test-optional policy extends to applicants applying for the Fall 2025 entry term.

Continued high yield and high application volume

Stanford boasts an 80.94% yield rate for the Class of 2023. Meaning, of the 2,099 students (out of 53,733 applicants!) admitted, 1,699 matriculated.

Keeping students close to home

With the exception of international students, over the last four years, the percentage of non-California residents has remained relatively stable, (’20-’21: 63.6%, ‘21-‘22: 59.7%, ’22-’23: 60%, ’23-’24: 57.1’) meaning that almost 40% of admitted students are California residents year-over-year.

TTA Takeaway: Under Stanford’s Restrictive Early Action (REA) program, applicants are unable to apply early (including EA) to any other private colleges or to any binding early plan to any public university. If deferred in REA, you are able to apply to other colleges under their Early Decision II plan. You’ll only want to utilize this highly restrictive round if you are in Stanford’s academic range. Remember, most recruited athletes and/or development cases apply in the early round. However, acceptance rates are almost always higher in early rounds, not only because fewer students apply then, but also because colleges interpret early applications as a strong indication of students’ interest.

At Top Tier Admissions, we are committed to making the college admissions process more transparent. Easy access to clear data helps families understand trends in college admissions to make more informed decisions. We’re collecting early acceptance rate data at selective schools and providing insight and analysis of our own. For historical data, see our collection of Ivy League and Top College Acceptance Rates and Admissions Statistics, including the Class of 2027 Ivy League admissions data and admissions stats for a range of additional selective schools.

P.S. Keep an eye on Stanford’s official communication on legacy preferences in light of renewed efforts in California to ban state financial aid to private campuses that give legacy preference.

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Siena Swift

Communications Intern at Top Tier Admissions

Siena is a recent graduate of Pomona College and an award-winning student journalist. At Pomona, Siena served as a tour guide, was an advocate for sustainability at the Claremont Colleges and interned in the admissions office, where she specialized in marketing research, writing, and social media content management.