Stanford University supplemental essays
Stanford University asks for eight supplemental essays in 2026-27. Common App. Personal statement required (250-650 words).
That is eight supplements plus the Common App personal statement: 9 pieces of writing in all. Restrictive Early Action closes November 1, 2026 and Regular Decision closes January 5, 2027. The prompts carry these limits: 50 words, 100-250 words. Every Stanford University prompt is printed on this page in full, with its word limit and who has to answer it.
Deadlines
| Round | Date |
|---|---|
| Restrictive Early Action | November 1, 2026 |
| Regular Decision | January 5, 2027 |
Checked against admission.stanford.edu/apply/first-year/apply.html. Confirm on the college’s own page before you submit.
The essays, 2026-27
Required · 50 words
What is the most significant challenge that society faces today?
Short answer. Paste it on the homepage and we will read it.
Required · 50 words
How did you spend your last two summers?
Short answer. Paste it on the homepage and we will read it.
Required · 50 words
What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed?
Short answer. Paste it on the homepage and we will read it.
Required · 50 words
Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family.
Short answer. Paste it on the homepage and we will read it.
Required · 50 words
List five things that are important to you.
Short answer. Paste it on the homepage and we will read it.
Required · 100-250 words
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.
Get a free read on this essayPaste your draft, see the verdict before you pay.No draft yet? Pick a topic for this promptRequired · 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.
Get a free read on this essayPaste your draft, see the verdict before you pay.No draft yet? Pick a topic for this promptRequired · 100-250 words
Please describe what aspects of your life experiences, interests, and character would help you make a distinctive contribution as an undergraduate to Stanford University.
Get a free read on this essayPaste your draft, see the verdict before you pay.No draft yet? Pick a topic for this prompt
Your Stanford University checklist
Eight supplements, all required. The first deadline, Restrictive Early Action, is November 1, 2026.
- Common App personal statementRequired250-650 words
- Supplements 1 to 5Required50 words each
- Supplements 6 to 8Required100-250 words each
It saves these rows to your essay manager, where each one carries a status you set yourself and the prompt stays attached to it. Add your other schools and they land on the same page, in deadline order. Nothing written yet? The topic quiz is free as well.
Free: this page, the checklist, the essay manager and the topic quiz. Paid: a written review of a finished draft, $49 an essay.
Paste your essay for a free read
Have it in a document? or drop one here (Word, PDF, or Text).
Not sure what a review is? What an AI college essay review can and cannot do, and what a college essay grader leaves out. What the read checks against Stanford University’s own prompts is on the Stanford University essay review page.
Getting into Stanford University
Stanford University admits 3.6% of applicants. The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 1510-1580 on the SAT and 34-35 on the ACT.
About 1 in 28 applicants are admitted, at a college of 7,554 undergraduates.
| Enrolled students | 25th | Median | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAT total | 1510 | 1550 | 1580 |
| SAT reading and writing | 740 | 760 | 780 |
| SAT math | 770 | 790 | 800 |
| ACT composite | 34 | 35 | 35 |
What SAT score do you need for Stanford University?
A 1580 puts you in the top quarter of the students who enrolled, a 1550 at their midpoint, and a 1510 at the bottom quarter, meaning one in four enrolled students scored below it. The same three points on the ACT are 34, 35 and 35. A quarter of an enrolled class scoring under the 25th percentile is not a rounding error, so a score below the range is a reason to strengthen the rest of the application rather than a reason not to apply.
US Department of Education, College Scorecard (2026-09-17). Percentiles describe students who enrolled, not everyone admitted. SAT totals are the reading and math bands added together, which is how every source in this market reports them and is an approximation of about 10 to 20 points, because the two sections are correlated.
- What SAT score do you need for Stanford University?
- Stanford University sets no minimum. Among students who enrolled, the middle 50% scored 1510-1580 on the SAT: a 1510 sits at the 25th percentile, 1550 at the median and 1580 at the 75th. A score at or above 1580 is a clear strength in the application; below 1510 it is the part of the file the rest has to make up for. These are the figures Stanford University reports to the US Department of Education, released in the College Scorecard of 2026-09-17.
- What ACT score do you need for Stanford University?
- The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 34-35 on the ACT, with a composite of 35 at the median. There is no cutoff: a quarter of the enrolled class scored below 34. Reported by Stanford University to the US Department of Education, College Scorecard release of 2026-09-17.
- What GPA do you need for Stanford University?
- The honest answer is that the federal data behind this page does not contain one. Colleges report their admit rate and their enrolled students' test scores to the Department of Education; they do not report a GPA distribution, so any site quoting an exact average GPA for Stanford University is either reading that college's own Common Data Set or estimating. What the reported data does say is that Stanford University admits 3.6% of applicants, and the more selective a college is, the closer to the top of the class its admitted students sit and the more the strength of your course load counts alongside the number itself.
- How hard is it to get into Stanford University?
- Stanford University admits 3.6% of the people who apply, which is about 1 in 28 applicants. At that rate no set of numbers makes admission likely, a perfect one included, because the college turns away far more qualified applicants than it takes. Strong grades and scores get the application read; the essays, the recommendations and what you have actually done decide it from there.
What Stanford University costs after grant aid, by family income, from the same federal data.
Sort your whole college list into reaches, targets and likelies, or find colleges that fit your GPA and test scores. Both are free and neither needs an account.
Stanford University essay questions, answered
- Does Stanford University have supplemental essays?
- Yes. Stanford University asks for eight supplemental essays in 2026-27. Every prompt is printed in full on this page. Word limits: 50 words, 100-250 words.
- How many essays do you write for Stanford University in 2026-27?
- Eight supplements, plus the Common App personal statement.
Schools with similar admit rates
Stanford University admits 3.6% of applicants. The colleges either side of it in our set by admit rate, most selective first, each with its own prompts and deadlines: Georgia Institute of Technology, University of California System (All 9 Undergraduate Campuses), California Institute of Technology (2.6%), Harvard University (3.6%), Yale University (3.9%), Columbia University (4.0%).