Stanford Essay Guide

Stanford University’s sunny campus sits in its very own city, Stanford, CA, adjacent to Palo Alto, CA, and about an hour from San Francisco by train.

The campus is full of bicycles, beautiful Spanish architecture, and is home to one of the world’s best research universities. Leland and Jane Stanford founded the university in 1885 in memory of their son. Stanford’s full name is Leland Stanford Junior University, named in remembrance of Jane and Leland’s 15 year old son who passed away from typhoid fever. The university has always been co-ed and nonsectarian.

The admissions rate was 4.3% for the class of 2023, one of the lowest of U.S. universities, and Stanford has decided not to release admissions rate data going forward in order to refocus attention on other aspects of the school. The yield in 2023 was 82.5%. That means that 82.5% of students who were admitted chose to attend Stanford. (Note: that’s a very high yield. If students get in, they want to go!). The middle SAT range for the class of 2023 was 1420-1570 and the ACT the range was 32-35. 20.2% of the class of 2024 are first generation college students.

 Here is the geographic, racial/ethnic, and high school breakdown of Stanford’s student body:

Stanford takes a holistic approach to the admissions process. This means they will consider your application essay, recommendations, extracurricular activities, rigor of high school classes, GPA, test scores, personal qualities, and talents. Less important (but still considered!) are the interview, first-generation or legacy status, geographical residence, racial/ethnic status, volunteer work, and paid work experience. One important point is that Stanford does not look at demonstrated interest as a part of the application process. This means that admissions officers do not consider whether you have visited the campus or attended information sessions in the application process. These are still great things to do in order to learn about the school, but they will not have any influence on your application. 

 Stanford has tons of activities to do and places to go around campus. Highlights include the cactus garden, dish hiking trail, the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, and Hopkins marine station--where you can spend a whole quarter studying marine ecology! You can even spend a year on a boat with Stanford at Sea, or in numerous cities worldwide with Stanford’s vast study abroad programs. Traditions such as the freshman scavenger hunt, birthday showers, fountain hopping, and band run reflect the fun atmosphere of the university. Specifically for freshmen, Stanford has two living-learning communities, SLE, or Structured Liberal Education (SLE) and ITALIC, where your classmates and you all live in the same dorm. Both SLE and ITALIC are unique and exciting programs offered by Stanford, and could be great aspects to write about in your application if you are interested. These are only two examples of the many amazing programs offered by the university--make sure to explore the Stanford website and do your research before applying. 

 Stanford offers two options to apply for first-year applicants: restrictive early action and regular decision. Let’s break down each of these options so you can choose what’s best for you. 

Restrictive early action (REA) is a less common decision plan that could be right for you if Stanford is your first choice. REA has a November 1st deadline--quite a bit earlier than normal, so make sure you are prepared to apply then. You also need to have taken hard classes and done well in Junior year of high school. Stanford won’t see your Senior fall grades if you apply REA, so if you want them to, consider waiting for regular decision. Another factor in applying REA is that you cannot apply to another private college/university under their Early Action, Restrictive Early Action, Early Decision, or Early Notification plan. This does not stop you from applying early to schools that are not single-choice and/or public universities. 

Regular decision (RD) is the most common decision plan and is right for you if you are still taking standardized tests, want to show an increase in your grades or class rigor your senior fall, or have some other activity or award that would be great to show on your application and will not be ready until the January 2nd deadline. 

What happens after you apply?

Depending on whether you apply REA or RD, you can receive one of the following admissions decisions:

1) You are admitted! Usually you have until May 1st to accept or decline. 

2) (REA only) You are deferred, and your application will be reconsidered during regular decision. 

3) You are not offered admission.

4) You are waitlisted. 

Now that you know about your options to apply, let’s take a look at the essay prompts. 

Stanford’s supplemental essays are broken down into three longer, 100 to 250-word essays and a series of 50-word short takes. The key to crafting compelling application essays is creativity, memorability, and expressing parts of your unique self.

Let’s start with the shorter essays. Stanford requires a series of five 50-word essays. With such a short word count, you need to choose what to say, and perhaps more importantly, how you say it, very carefully. Don’t ignore these short essays and save them to the last minute. They can mean a lot, and if you make them memorable and exciting, they can make a big difference in your application. 

This may seem like an extremely difficult question, but don’t fret. Stanford doesn’t care about a “right” answer. They want to know what you think. They want to know what global issue you care about most. What do you want to change about the world? No matter how big, from climate change to greed to access to healthcare, connect the topic back to you personally--your community, your history, your career path. Show your passion for the issue. Show that you care about making the world a better place.

Essay Example: 

Health inequality. Living in Zimbabwe and through my parents’ deployment to Liberia during the Ebola epidemic, I saw global effects of disparities in media attention and access to care. Achieving health equality is complex, rooted in social and economic factors, but I believe it is possible through collaboration and innovation.

Stanford wants to know how you use your time over the summer! You can answer this question with a mixture of activities. Write about any job, internship, research, classes or programs that you did. but also include family reunions, adventures with friends, hobbies, etc. The tough part of the shorter essays is squeezing everything into 50 words. Feel free to write in a list format to save space (i.e., “Interned at my local law firm, taught my dog to shake hands, volunteered at a community garden, and backpacked with friends and learned that I’m a terrible camping cook but amazing fire starter”). No need to repeat the question and say “I spent my last two summers doing…” just jump right in. Feel free to make it a bit funny if you’d like, and show off your personality! 

Essay Example: 

Dancing in a student created musical, interning with a heart transplant research lab at UCSD and at JAX laboratories on a gastric cancer therapeutic, making goofy faces at my 3-year old sister, and reading my first Toni Morrison novel. 

Whatever event you choose, connect it back to something about your personality or background. You can talk about wanting to see the first rocket launch because you hope to major in aerospace engineering, or the moment your great grandparents met because you are fascinated by your interracial family history. Try to tell a story through your answer. Be creative; you have all of history to work with! 

Essay Example:

I wish I could watch the world’s first heart transplant. 50 years later, the procedure saved my sister’s life. As an aspiring physician, witnessing a moment that would drastically change medicine and my life would be an incredible reminder of the path medicine has come and will continue to take. 

This is a perfect opportunity to talk about something not already present in your application or expand on an aspect of one that is important to you. Try to write something meaningful about the activity, job, or responsibility from which the admissions office can learn about you. If you spent a lot of time after school helping out at home, this is a good place to share that. If you held an awesome part-time job, share why you loved it. Remember, an extracurricular activity can include hobbies! This is another opportunity to give the admissions office a more complete picture of who you are and what your life is like. 

Essay Example: 

Working at my local pizza place afterschool, I formed close friendships with coworkers. They taught me about their different lives and shared human connection. Laughing over broccoli and mozzarella showed me how important it is to be surrounded by humble, caring, inspiring people who don’t take themselves too seriously.

Do some research! What traditions are you excited about? Classes you want to take? Check out https://explorecourses.stanford.edu/. You can write about anything you are looking forward to in college--from making friends from all around the world to conducting research in a cutting edge lab to having dinner with a professor. Write about a Stanford-specific topic, if you can. Make your answer memorable, appropriate, and make sure to include why you are looking forward to that thing. 

Essay Example:

I want to immerse myself within the social entrepreneurship ecosystem that thrives at Stanford. As a part of SENSA and other organizations, I hope to apply my interest in start-ups and educational equity to make lasting change in my home community. 

Longer Essays

Stanford’s three longer supplemental essays are a more traditional length for college supplements--100 to 250 words each. Let’s look at each prompt in depth.

Stanford emphasizes intellectual vitality among students. They want students who care about learning and truly enjoy it. This is a great place to talk about an interest not present in your activities list or go into depth on one of them. Notice that the prompt states “in and out of the classroom.” This means that you can write about anything from art history class to volunteering teaching baseball to researching 3D printed medical devices on the weekend to perfecting how to bake a souffle. Think about the last day you lost track of time and didn’t realize until hours later. What were you doing? When was the last time you went on a deep dive into Google? How about when you stayed after class to ask your teacher questions about the lesson? What could you give a Ted Talk about? Any of these could make great topics. Don’t feel pressure to make your topic academic (although it certainly can be!). It’s more important to discuss what you are enthusiastic about learning. That will make your true voice and self shine for the admissions counselors. Stanford wants students who contribute to class discussions and are engaged and enthusiastic learners. 

Essay Example: 

The most exciting 3 hours of my life was during an Alvin Ailey performance my sophomore year of high school. As a passionate junior ballet dancer, I had never seen such grace, delicacy, and capacity to captivate an audience. I spent days afterwards researching each piece: who had composed and choreographed it, who designed the costume, the stage, and the lights. I have always been thrilled to discuss anything dancing-related, but the Alvin Ailey performance was the first time I had seen such a seamless, engrossing show. Dancing has taught me how many parts and people and time goes into one minute of a performance. As a student, I want to know about each of those components, not just in dancing, but in any subject--from the human body to economics to politics. I dive deep into understanding what goes on behind the scenes, because in order to appreciate the Alvin Ailey show in its fullest, I need to comprehend everything from the hours of practice to the time spent cleaning the stage. I get excited about learning how a finished performance or product came to be, and to me, that means learning about every arabesque and bliss along the way. 

This is a very broad question, and that’s great news! Stanford is giving you the opportunity to tell them about something they don’t already know. Think through your application. What have you not written about yet? What aspect of your personality or life do you still need to share? Write about it here. Don’t write about something already present in another essay. Don’t write about something you think “the admissions office wants to hear.” Do talk about something that you care about. It can be a person, place, idea, memory, etc. Note the last word in the prompt: “why.” This is an important part. You can write a beautiful essay about how you and your grandma went on a road trip together, and you loved it, but it will make a much bigger impact if you include why it mattered to you. Did you learn something on the trip that changed how you think about the world? Why is the memory important to you? 

Be creative! This is another opportunity to talk about something missing from your application. This essay is also addressed to your future roommate, so you can feel free to write in a more casual tone as you would to a peer, but of course make sure you still use proper grammar and style. Share something quirky about yourself. Write about what you hope to do with your roommate on campus or the people you’d like to meet. Tell the admissions office what you’ll bring to make your room feel like home. It’s an open question for you to share something exciting, sweet, or funny! Make it memorable, appropriate, clever, and share something about who you are. 

Essay Example: 

Do I smell like horse poop? 

I apologize for coming back sweaty from equestrian practice. I am thrilled to be a part of Stanford’s riding team, and promise to clean my muddy boots and gear (or at least keep them to my size of the room!) 

I will probably show you way too many pictures of my dog, Freddy, who I taught to shake hands last summer. We’re working on a high five next. 

I also love Harry Potter and would love to do some epic weekend movie marathons. I pride myself in my microwave popcorn cooking skills. I know, I know. MasterChef worthy talent right here. 

I believe in being there for people unconditionally, and whenever you need to rant about U.S. immigration policies or the cute person in your econ class, or need a shoulder to cry on, I’m here. 

I'm excited for college. For incredible classes with peers that care and inspire me. For conversations that push and enlighten me. For friends that change my life. 

I can't wait to meet you. 

Again, make sure to be creative, memorable, and express who you really are. Feel free to have a parent, teacher, or friend read over your essays when you finish. Extra eyes can catch typos and offer great advice. Most of all, stay true to yourself and what you will add to the Stanford community. You’ve got this, and PathIvy is always here to help. 

Good luck!

Written by PathIvy Content Team