collageStanford University is known for its highly competitive admissions process, with only a small percentage of applicants being accepted each year. One way that students can potentially increase their chances of admission is through the university’s Restrictive Early Action (REA) program. By applying early, students demonstrate their strong interest in Stanford and may have a better chance of securing a spot in the incoming freshman class.
In order to be considered for Stanford’s REA program, applicants must meet certain requirements. While there is no specific GPA or standardized test score cutoff, students are generally expected to have a high academic record and strong test scores. Additionally, applicants should have a well-rounded application that includes extracurricular activities, letters of recommendation, and a compelling personal statement.
The admission process at Stanford involves a holistic review of each applicant’s materials, taking into account not only academic achievements but also personal qualities and contributions to their community. For students applying through REA, demonstrating a genuine interest in Stanford and showcasing their strengths through their application can significantly increase their chances of being admitted to the university. It’s important for applicants to carefully follow all instructions and deadlines set by the university to ensure their application receives full consideration.
| Topic | Details |
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Stanford University Acceptance Rates |
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Quality of Education at Stanford |
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Data Table |
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Stanford Restrictive Early Action Overview
Congratulations on your Stanford admission! Now that you’re admitted, you can apply for financial aid. There’s a very good chance that you will receive several offers, so do your research and decide what you are going to accept.
Stanford University’s Restrictive Early Action program offers students the opportunity to receive a decision in December, and enroll early in January. In comparison, Regular Decision application submissions are usually made available beginning in January, with decisions being released in March or April.
In addition to receiving an early decision, Stanford students may also begin attending classes at Stanford earlier than need-based.
Do you want to know about Stanford’s Restrictive Early Action Acceptance Rate? Are you looking for information about Stanford early action decision date? Is it difficult getting details concerning the letters of recommendation deadline? If yes, then you have definitely come to the right place! Why worry yourself our site gives you access to all details concerning questions like Stanford admission guide. Collegelearners will help you get answers to your questions if that’s what you are searching for, this post brings to you Stanford financial aid. Why worry at all?
Stanford University is one of the most prestigious universities in America. It was established in 1891 and was founded by Leland and Jane Stanford. The university is located in Palo Alto, California. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 16,000-18,000 students each year. Its acceptance rate is 21%.
Stanford University has several academic programs such as engineering, medicine and business administration among others. The university offers undergraduate courses as well as graduate level courses in various fields of study. The university also offers online courses through its online learning platform called F2O (for free online).
Collegelearners is replete with up-to-date information on does stanford have early decision, stanford application deadline 2022, stanford acceptance rate, and so much more. Need more information? Kindly visit our catalog for more. What are you waiting for?
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Stanford Restrictive Early Action Acceptance Rate
What You Should Know About Stanford Restrictive Early Action Acceptance Rate
Stanford University is one of the top universities in the world, and it’s no secret that they have a very low acceptance rate. In fact, the acceptance rate was 5.19%!
Of course, you want to make sure your application stands out and shows how incredible you are. You shouldn’t just rely on luck – you need to show them what makes YOU special. This means demonstrating your depth of education and activities.
There are many ways to do this: through essays, letters of recommendation, extra-curriculars, and more. But these things aren’t enough on their own; they’re just pieces of a larger puzzle that needs to fit together perfectly in order for it all to work out in your favor.
When considering Stanford Restrictive Early Action Acceptance Rate, data gathered show that undergrad and graduate admission rate is around 9% to applicant that apply early enough for admission.
does stanford have early decision
Stanford Early Decision Acceptance Rate
Stanford declined to release early decision data for the Class of 2021. They accepted 9.52 percent of its SCEA pool by admitting 745 out of a record 7,822 applications to the Class of 2020. At less than 10 percent, the combined rate of admissions at both MIT and Stanford remains at more than one-half of the combined Ivy League.
| STANFORD EARLY ROUND ACCEPTANCE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early Applications Accepted | Total Early Applications Received | Early Acceptance Rate | Estimated Early Action Enrollment | % of Class Filled by Early Admissions | |
| 2023 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| 2022 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| 2021 | 721 | 7,800 | 9.24% | NA | NA |
Stanford University Acceptance Rate for Early & Regular Decision
Stanford University has extended its policy of non-disclosure of its complete admissions numbers to the regular decision. Last year, Stanford declined to release the number of candidates admitted in December through Stanford’s Restrictive Early Action program. This year, Stanford only disclosed the number of successful applicants, namely 2,057 students.
We, however, believe Stanford’s numbers of applicants to be stable or increasing slightly, and have estimated the numbers for the Class of 2023. We estimate the early acceptance rate for the Class of 2023 to be just above 9 percent and its overall admission rate to be above 4 percent. Based on past years, we estimate the applicants’ pool to be around 49,000 students with 2,057 successful applicants. Last year Stanford University offered admission to the Class of 2022 to 2,071 students, or 4.36 percent of 47,450 candidates. Two years ago, Stanford admitted 2,085 students out of 44,073 applicants for admission to the Class of 2021 for an overall admission rate of 4.73 percent.
stanford application deadline 2022
Stanford University Application Overview
Stanford accepts both the Common and Coalition Application, and students can apply either Restrictive Early Action or Regular Decision. Stanford acceptance rate is an unusual policy adopted by some of the most selective schools in the country, under which you cannot apply to any other private college or university during the early cycle. You can apply to public universities, however, and unlike Early Decision, if you are accepted REA to Stanford you are not required to attend.
The REA and RD deadlines are as follows:
| REA | RD | |
| Application deadline | November 1 | January 2 |
| Decision by | December 15 | April 1 |
| Confirm attendance by | May 1 | May 1 |
The fee to submit your application, regardless of which cycle you apply in and which platform you use, is $90. If you are worried that this cost may prevent you from submitting your application, you can request a fee waiver in either the Common or Coalition Application.
Stanford Application Components
- The Common Application or Coalition Application
- $90 application fee, or approval of your fee waiver request
- School report and counselor recommendation
- Official transcript
- Two teacher letters of recommendation
- Midyear transcript
- Stanford supplemental essays
- Stanford supplemental essay prompts
- Optional alumni interview
School Report
Your school report, which will likely be submitted by your school counselor along with their recommendation, contains factual information about your high school such as the academic programs offered, average GPAs, and so on. This report gives Stanford context as they evaluate your academic performance in high school.
Midyear Transcript
Even if you are accepted REA to Stanford, you must still submit this to update Stanford on your senior year academic performance.
Stanford Supplemental Prompts
Short answer questions:
- What is the most significant challenge that society faces today? (3-50 words)
- How did you spend your last two summers? (3-50 words)
- What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed? (3-50 words)
- Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family. (3-50 words)
- Name one thing you are looking forward to experiencing at Stanford. (3-50 words)
Essays:
- The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning. (100-250 words)
- Virtually all of Stanford’s undergraduates live on campus. Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate – and us – get to know you better. (100-250 words)
- Tell us about something that is meaningful to you and why. (100-250 words)
If you are wondering how to approach these prompts, we encourage you to check out our Guide to the Stanford Supplemental Essays. Once you have written your essay, you can also receive free feedback from other students with our Peer Essay Review tool!
Interview
If you live in one of Stanford’s interview areas, you may be offered an interview. Even if you live in one of these areas, you may not receive an offer, however, as Stanford only has so many interviewers—if you are not contacted, do not interpret it as negative commentary on your application.
If you are offered an interview, however, we strongly recommend that you accept, as interviews are a valuable opportunity to elaborate on and add to the content of your application. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, all Stanford interviews will be conducted virtually during this applications cycle, over platforms such as Zoom, Skype, or FaceTime.
If you have further questions about Stanford interviews, an overview of the process can be found on the admissions website.
When Will You Hear Back?
As noted in the table above, the REA decision day is December 15th, and the RD decision day is April 1st—but don’t worry, if you get in, it’s not an April Fool’s joke.
Note that if you apply REA, three things can happen: you can be accepted or denied outright, or deferred, which means your application is still under consideration, and will be reevaluated during the RD cycle. While it is difficult to get in after being deferred, it does happen.
If you apply RD, there are also three possible outcomes: outright acceptance or denial, or being waitlisted. Stanford can accept you off the waitlist at any point up to the start of the fall term, but you should not count on this happening, as it is quite uncommon, so do make sure to put down a deposit at another college by May 1st.
stanford application deadline 2021
Freshman Applicants
Transfer Applicants
| Application with or without optional Arts Portfolio Deadline | March 15 |
| Materials for Arts Portfolio Deadline | March 20 |
| Last Acceptable SAT Test Date | December |
| Last Acceptable ACT Test Date | February |
| Notification of Missing Documents | April |
| Decision Released By | May 15 |
| Student Reply Date | June 1 |
Stanford University Financial Aid
Financial Aid Generosity
Stanford, a private research university located in Palo Alto, California, is one of the world’s most prestigious universities. Stanford has been ranked first among all national universities in the United States by U.S. News & World Report for 24 consecutive years and has repeatedly been recognized as one of the world’s best universities by publications such as Times Higher Education and QS World University Rankings.
For the 2020-2021 academic year, the annual cost of attending Stanford is $78,218. Almost half of all Stanford undergraduates receive financial aid, however, with an average package of $58,494. Stanford commits to meeting 100% of a family’s demonstrated need, as well as providing loan-free aid. For applicants who are US citizens or undocumented but residing in the US, Stanford has a need-blind admissions policy, but this policy does not apply to international students.
Below is a table which shows the average amount of financial aid received by families in certain income brackets, and the percent of applicants in those brackets who qualify for aid:
| Annual Family Income | Average Aid Package | Percentage of Applicants who Qualify for Aid |
| Under $65,000 | $78,309 | 99% |
| $65,000-$95,000 | $68,323 | 98% |
| $95,000-$125,000 | $58,998 | 97% |
| $125,000-$155,000 | $49,903 | 97% |
| $155,000-$185,000 | $43,382 | 95% |
| $185,000-$215,000 | $32,800 | 95% |
| $215,000-$245,000 | $30,201 | 89% |
| Over $245,000 | $23,036 | 48% |
Stanford does note that most families in the two highest income brackets who qualify for aid have two or more children in college.
If you would like to estimate the aid package you would receive from Stanford, you can use the Quick Cost Estimator or Net Price Calculator. If you would like to know more about the cost of Stanford, you can check out our post: What Does It Really Cost to Attend Stanford?
How to Apply for Financial Aid
The below table shows which documents must be submitted, and the important financial aid deadlines to be aware of, for different types of applicants.
| Type of Applicant | Necessary Documents | Deadline to Apply for Aid | Notification of Aid Package |
| REA US citizen or undocumented resident | CSS Profile, FAFSA, IDOC (Institutional Documentation Service) | November 15th | December 15th |
| REA international student | CSS Profile, International Student Supplement, IDOC (Canadian applicants only) | November 15th | December 15th |
| RD US citizen or undocumented resident | CSS Profile, FAFSA, IDOC (Institutional Documentation Service) | February 15th | April 1st |
| RD international student | CSS Profile, International Student Supplement, IDOC (Canadian applicants only) | February 15th | April 1st |
What you need to know about Stanford admissions
stanford regular decision acceptance rate
Stanford University has extended its policy of non-disclosure of its complete admissions numbers to the regular decision. Last year, Stanford declined to release the number of candidates admitted in December through Stanford’s Restrictive Early Action program. This year, Stanford only disclosed the number of successful applicants, namely 2,057 students.
Stanford University offered admission to the Class of 2022 to 2,071 students, or 4.36 percent of 47,450 candidates. Two years ago, Stanford admitted 2,085 students out of 44,073 applicants for admission to the Class of 2021 for an overall admission rate of 4.73 percent.
However, we believe that Stanford’s numbers of applicants have been stable or increasing slightly and have estimated the numbers for the Class of 2023. We estimate the early acceptance rate for the Class of 2023 to be just above 9 percent and its overall admission rate to be above 4 percent. Based on past years, we estimate the applicants’ pool to be around 49,000 students with 2,057 successful applicants.
Last year Stanford University offered admission to the Class of 2022 to 2,071 students, or 4.36 percent of 47,450 candidates. Two years ago, Stanford admitted 2,085 students out of 44,073 applicants for admission to the Class of 2021 for an overall admission rate of 4.73 percent
| STANFORD UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS: REGULAR DECISION | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Decision Applications Accepted | Regular Decision Applications Received | Regular Decision Admissions Acceptance Rate | |
| 2023 | 1,357 | 40,500 | 3.35% |
| 2022 | 1,290 | 39,050 | 3.30% |
| 2021 | 1,329 | 36,251 | 3.67% |
| 2020 | 1,318 | 36,175 | 3.64% |
| 2019 | 1,396 | 35,539 | 3.93% |
| 2018 | 1,390 | 35,219 | 3.95% |
| 2017 | 1,485 | 32,726 | 4.54% |
| 2016 | 1,672 | 30,751 | 5.44% |
| STANFORD EARLY & REGULAR DECISION ADMISSIONS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Early & Regular Decision Applications Accepted | Early & Regular Decision Applications Received | Early & Regular Decision Admissions Acceptance Rate | |
| 2023 | 2,057 | 49,000 | 4.20% |
| 2022 | 2,040 | 47,450 | 4.30% |
| 2021 | 2,050 | 44,073 | 4.65% |
| 2020 | 2,063 | 43,997 | 4.69% |
| 2019 | 2,144 | 42,487 | 5.05% |
| 2018 | 2,138 | 42,167 | 5.07% |
| 2017 | 2,210 | 38,829 | 5.69% |
| 2016 | 2,427 | 36,631 | 6.63% |
| 2015 | 2,437 | 34,348 | 7.10% |
| 2014 | 2,340 | 32,022 | 7.31% |
| 2013 | 2,426 | 30,429 | 7.97% |
| 2012 | 2,400 | 25,298 | 9.49% |
Numbers in italics are estimated.
Stanford Undergraduate Early Regular Decision and Restrictive Early Action
I. Overview
Stanford offers two decision plans for first-year applicants:
- Regular Decision; and
- Restrictive Early Action
While we evaluate applications in the same way whether you apply early or regular, there are considerations that may make one option more applicable to you than the other.
II. Regular Decision
Regular Decision is Stanford’s traditional decision plan. Most students and a majority of admitted students apply during this round.
You may want to consider Regular Decision if any of the following applies:
- Your grades are on an upward trend;
- You are taking classes in your senior year that are significantly more rigorous than in grades 10 and 11;
- You are taking (or retaking) standardized exams;
- You are working on a significant project or activity in the fall of your final year in high school.
III. Restrictive Early Action
Restrictive Early Action is Stanford’s non-binding early application option.
Restrictive Early Action may be a good option for you if all of the following apply:
- You have identified Stanford as your first choice;
- You have taken a challenging academic schedule through grade 11 and have done well;
- You have enough time before the November 1 deadline to write a thoughtful application.
IV. Three Possible Restrictive Early Action Decisions
- You are offered admission, and you have until May 1 to respond to your offer. If you apply for financial aid by the November 15 priority deadline, Stanford will provide a financial aid award by December 15.
- You are not offered admission. This is a final decision, and you may not reapply in Regular Decision.
- Your application is deferred to Regular Decision and will receive a final decision by April 1.
Stanford’s philosophy is to make final decisions whenever possible. As a result, Stanford defers only a small percentage of Restrictive Early Action applications to Regular Decision.
V. Restrictive Early Action Policy
- It is Stanford policy that, if you apply to Stanford with a decision plan of Restrictive Early Action, you may not apply to any other private college/university under their Early Action, Restrictive Early Action, Early Decision, or Early Notification plan.
- In addition, it is Stanford policy that you may not apply to any public university under an early binding plan, such as Early Decision.
- If you apply to Stanford under Restrictive Early Action, you may apply to other colleges and universities under their Regular Decision plan.
- If you apply to Stanford under Restrictive Early Action and your application is deferred, you may apply to another college’s Early Decision II plan.
VI. Exceptions
It is Stanford policy that you may simultaneously apply to Stanford with a decision plan of Restrictive Early Action and to the following:
- any public college/university with a non-binding early application plan or early application deadline.
- any college/university with a non-binding rolling admission process.
- any foreign college/university with a non-binding application plan on any schedule.
- any college/university with an early deadline for a scholarship or special academic program, as long as:
- the decision is non-binding; and
- in order to be considered for the scholarship or program, the student must apply in the early round or by an early deadline.
If you are considering applying early to another college/university whose early application plan does not appear to qualify as an exception, please email admission@stanford.edu for clarification. In your email, include the page link to the early application plan you are considering and copy and paste the website description of the program’s application deadlines and requirements.
VII. Withdrawal of Application
To withdraw your application to Stanford, please log in to your Application Status Portal and submit the Withdraw Application form.
is stanford early action restrictive Worth It
Stanford University is one of the best schools in the world. Located in central California between San Francisco and San Jose, the Stanford acceptance rate is so low that they stopped publishing it. With so low of an acceptance rate, how do you get in?
Typically, one of the best ways to raise your chances of getting into a top school — if you have the grades and scores — is to apply Early Decision (ED). Schools prioritize ED applicants, so ED acceptance rates are traditionally significantly higher than Regular Decision (RD), or even Early Action (EA), acceptance rates. But Stanford doesn’t have an ED admissions program, so that avenue isn’t an option.
What Stanford does have is a less-common admissions program: Restrictive Early Action.
Restrictive Early Action (REA) provides applicants with an opportunity to submit their application early without agreeing to attend if admitted. However, they do have to agree not to apply EA, REA, or ED to any other school. There are some exceptions, such as for schools that offer non-binding rolling admissions, but the general rule is: if you apply to Stanford REA, you are not applying early anywhere else.
If you gain acceptance REA, you are not bound to attend Stanford. Additionally, you do not have to decide whether to attend until May 1st. This means that you can apply RD to other schools and wait to make your final decision until you know your full slate of options.
Since applying early is typically seen to raise the chances of admission, using REA as a way to boost your likelihood of acceptance to Stanford may seem like a logical conclusion. But it may not be.
Stanford says that they do not give special preference to those who apply REA. They go so far as to say that most of the students that are admitted apply RD. Do we believe this? Yes and no.
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Yes, we believe their core numbers. Stanford does offer admission to more RD applicants than REA applicants, but that doesn’t mean that they are offering admission to a higher percentage of RD applicants. If far more people apply RD than REA, more acceptances RD doesn’t necessarily mean a higher acceptance rate RD.
We also believe them when they say that they do not purposefully give preferential treatment to REA applicants. However, there’s a psychology of scarcity at play as well. When there are more seats open, it is, in some ways, easier to say yes. As seats fill and the number of available ones dwindles, saying yes may well become more contentious — which is why it’s good to get applications in early. Even if sending an application in early doesn’t guarantee it will be at the top of the pile when they start reviewing, it may be worth a try. The number of applications submitted to Stanford has nearly doubled since 2008, while the number of seats available has stayed the same. Anything that you can do to be towards the top of the pile (within ethics and reason — so basically just submitting early) is a good thing to try.
This doesn’t make a resoundingly solid case for students to apply REA, though, so why does Stanford offer it as an option. Well, they receive over 45,000 applications. If they do not accept a version of early admission, they would have to read and review all of them in a very short period of time. That is pretty absurd, so accepting applications early is a way of spreading out their load for applications.
The final verdict: if you are 100% set on Stanford, getting your application in early can help you psychologically and may help you statistically — but no promises. If you are not 100% set on Stanford, though, applying REA means giving up your opportunity to apply ED to a school that does give preference to early applicants. This includes many schools analogous to Stanford in selectivity and prestige.
Applying to Stanford REA may help you out, but you’re also giving up a significant playing card. It is only something you should do if you are an academically competitive applicant, and you are sure that Stanford is your absolute first choice.
Regular Decision and Restrictive Early Action
Overview
Stanford offers two decision plans for first-year applicants:
- Regular Decision; and
- Restrictive Early Action
While we evaluate applications in the same way whether you apply early or regular, there are considerations that may make one option more applicable to you than the other.
Regular Decision
Regular Decision is Stanford’s traditional decision plan. Most students and a majority of admitted students apply during this round.
You may want to consider Regular Decision if any of the following applies:
- Your grades are on an upward trend;
- You are taking classes in your senior year that are significantly more rigorous than in grades 10 and 11;
- You are taking (or retaking) standardized exams;
- You are working on a significant project or activity in the fall of your final year in high school.
Restrictive Early Action
Restrictive Early Action is Stanford’s non-binding early application option.
Restrictive Early Action may be a good option for you if all of the following apply:
- You have identified Stanford as your first choice;
- You have taken a challenging academic schedule through grade 11 and have done well. When we review your early application, it is important to have a strong transcript through grade 11 because we will not have your grades from the first semester of your senior year;
- You have enough time before the November 1 deadline to write a thoughtful application.
Three Possible Restrictive Early Action Decisions
- You are offered admission, and you have until May 1 to respond to your offer. If you apply for financial aid by the November 15 priority deadline, Stanford will provide a financial aid award by December 15.
- You are not offered admission. This is a final decision, and you may not reapply in Regular Decision.
- Your application is deferred to Regular Decision and will receive a final decision by April 1.
Stanford’s philosophy is to make final decisions whenever possible. As a result, Stanford defers only a small percentage of Restrictive Early Action applications to Regular Decision.
Restrictive Early Action Policy
- It is Stanford policy that, if you apply to Stanford with a decision plan of Restrictive Early Action, you may not apply to any other private college/university under their Early Action, Restrictive Early Action, Early Decision, or Early Notification plan.
- In addition, it is Stanford policy that you may not apply to any public university under an early binding plan, such as Early Decision.
- If you apply to Stanford under Restrictive Early Action, you may apply to other colleges and universities under their Regular Decision plan.
- If you apply to Stanford under Restrictive Early Action and your application is deferred, you may apply to another college’s Early Decision II plan.
Exceptions
It is Stanford policy that you may simultaneously apply to Stanford with a decision plan of Restrictive Early Action and to the following:
- any public college/university with a non-binding early application plan or early application deadline.
- any college/university with a non-binding rolling admission process.
- any foreign college/university with a non-binding application plan on any schedule.
- any military academy.
- any college/university with an early deadline for a scholarship or special academic program, as long as:
- the decision is non-binding; and
- in order to be considered for the scholarship or program, the student must apply in the early round or by an early deadline.
If after reviewing the exceptions above you are still uncertain about whether you can simultaneously apply to Stanford Restrictive Early Action and another college/university, please email admission@stanford.edu for clarification. In your email, include the page link to the early application plan you are considering and copy and paste the website description of the program’s application deadlines and requirements.
Withdrawal of Application
To withdraw your application to Stanford, please log in to your Stanford portal and submit the Withdraw Application form.
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