skip to content

Bulletin Archive

This archived information is dated to the 2009-10 academic year only and may no longer be current.

For currently applicable policies and information, see the current Stanford Bulletin.

Undergraduate Admission

Up one level:

Admission and Financial Aid

Stanford's undergraduate community is drawn from throughout the United States and the world. It includes students whose abilities, intellectual interests, and personal qualities allow them to benefit from and contribute to the University's wide range of teaching and research programs in the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and engineering. The University admits students who derive pleasure from learning for its own sake; who exhibit energy, creativity, and curiosity; and who have distinguished themselves in and out of the classroom.

Stanford welcomes a diverse community that cuts across many dimensions. The University does not use quotas of any kind in its admission process: it does not favor particular schools or types of schools, nor any geographic region, nor does it have any racial, religious, ethnic, or gender-related quotas. The University believes that a student body that is both highly qualified and diverse in terms of culture, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, gender, work and life experiences, skills, and interests is essential to the educational process. Applications are encouraged from those who would take the initiative and responsibility for their own education and who would provide additional dimensions to the University and its programs.

In order to preserve the residential character of the University and to maintain a favorable student-faculty ratio, Stanford has a limited undergraduate enrollment. The anticipated size of the freshman class is approximately 1,600-1,700 students. Approximately 20-40 transfer students, entering either the sophomore or junior class, are also typically admitted for Autumn enrollment if space allows. Each year, the University receives many more applications from qualified students than there are places available.

Stanford is committed to meeting the University-computed financial need of each admitted student, and admission decisions are made without regard to the applicant's financial status, except in the case of international students who are neither U.S. citizens nor permanent residents.

Application procedures, requirements, and deadlines vary from year to year. See the Undergraduate Admission web site at http://admission.stanford.edu for the most recent information and to begin an application online; or call the Office of Undergraduate Admission at (650) 723-2091.

Nonmatriculated Study (Undergraduate)

Permission to enroll at Stanford as a nonmatriculated student during Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarters is not routinely approved except under extenuating circumstances. Nonmatriculated students authorized to enroll at Stanford University are not admitted to any Stanford degree program and are permitted to register for a specific period, usually one, two, or three quarters. Financial assistance from Stanford University is not available. Permission to enroll as a nonmatriculated student does not imply subsequent admission as a matriculated student. Students interested in nonmatriculated status during the Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarters should contact the Office of the University Registrar, not the Office of Undergraduate Admission.

High School Nonmatriculated Students—Local high school students are eligible to be considered to attend Stanford as nonmatriculated students on a limited basis when they have exhausted all of the courses in a given discipline offered by their high school. Nonmatriculated high school students are permitted to enroll in one course per quarter and are required to pay the applicable tuition. Permission from the academic department and the Registrar is required.

Summer Session—Students wishing to enroll as nonmatriculated students during Summer Quarter should contact the Summer Session Office for more information about the Summer Visitor Program. Admission to the Summer Visitor Program does not imply regular admission to Stanford for subsequent quarters or to one of Stanford's regular degree programs.

© Stanford University - Office of the Registrar. Archive of the Stanford Bulletin 2009-10. Terms of Use | Copyright Complaints