Stanford University: Cost, Admission Odds And Payoff
- Stanford admitted 2,302 of 60,646 first-year applicants for fall 2025, and 80% of the students it admitted enrolled.
- Families earning under $100,000 pay no tuition, housing or food, and families earning under $150,000 pay no tuition.
- 14% of the class of 2025 took out student loans. Those who borrowed left with an average of $28,507.
Is Stanford Worth It? The College Investor Rating
| Family | What They Pay | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | A | |
| Low-Income Families | Average $1,067 a year | A |
| Middle-Income Families | Average $6,603 a year | A |
| High-Income Families | $92,892 a year | B |
How Hard Is It To Get Into Stanford?
Stanford accepted 3.8% of first-year applicants for fall 2025: 2,302 admits from 60,646 applications. 1,839 of those students enrolled, a yield of 80%.
- Median SAT Reading: 760
- Median SAT Math: 790
- Median ACT Composite: 35
What Stanford Weighs In Admissions
Stanford rates course rigor, class rank, academic GPA, test scores, essay, recommendations, extracurriculars, talent and ability and character as very important. Demonstrated interest counts for nothing: campus visits won't change your odds. Alumni relationships are considered.
Very Important
Considered
Not Considered
What Will Stanford Actually Cost Your Family?
The average Stanford student receiving financial aid paid $12,307 a year after grants.
That's against a sticker price of $92,892 a year. Families earning under $100,000 pay no tuition, housing or food, and families earning under $150,000 pay no tuition. Stanford is one of a growing number of colleges offering free tuition by family income.
| Total Borrowed Over Four Years | $0 |
| Within Federal Student Loan Limits | $0 |
| Beyond Federal Student Loan Limits | $0 |
| Monthly Student Loan Payment, 10-Year Plan | $0 |
| Expected Pay In Your Major | $0 |
How Stanford Meets Financial Need
Stanford reports meeting 100% of demonstrated financial need on average. In 2024-2025, 3,693 of Stanford's 7,554 full-time undergraduates had financial need, and their average need-based grant was $71,440. Stanford determines financial need with both the FAFSA and the CSS Profile, so how your assets are counted affects what you pay. Stanford awards essentially no merit scholarships.
Grants made up 97% of Stanford's need-based financial aid in 2024-2025. The rest came from student jobs, including Federal Work-Study, and $1,871,265 in student loans.
| Source | Need-Based | Not Need-Based |
|---|---|---|
| Stanford Grants | $237,302,436 | $1,214,000 |
| Federal Grants | $12,313,853 | $8,378 |
| State Grants | $3,799,829 | |
| Outside Scholarships | $8,642,784 | $9,107,034 |
| Student Jobs And Work-Study | $7,135,317 | $446,501 |
| Student Loans | $1,871,265 | $5,781,167 |
| Parent Loans, Including Parent PLUS | $6,528,235 | |
| Athletic Scholarships | $32,327,310 |
Families Still Borrow At A School That Meets Full Financial Need
Stanford reports meeting 100% of financial need. Families borrowed anyway: in 2024-2025, parents took out $6,528,235 in parent loans, including Parent PLUS loans, and students borrowed $7,652,432 in student loans. In the class of 2025, 81 graduates left with private student loans averaging $56,032.
The "100% of financial need met" figure leaves out Parent PLUS loans, unsubsidized federal student loans and private student loans, because those loans replace what the school expects the family to pay. Before you commit, read your financial aid award letter line by line and appeal the financial aid award if the number doesn't fit your budget.
| Measure | All Undergrads | First Year |
|---|---|---|
| Students With Financial Need | 3,693 | 761 |
| Share Of Financial Need Met | 100% | 100% |
| Average Need-Based Grant | $71,440 | $72,166 |
| Average Financial Aid Package | $75,816 | $77,279 |
| Average Student Loan | $4,620 | $4,236 |
| Students Without Financial Need Receiving Merit Scholarships | 14 | 3 |
Does A Stanford Degree Pay Off?
Generally, yes. That's why Stanford earns .
Stanford students earn a median of $125,340 ten years after starting college, and 92% out-earn a typical high school graduate. 7% take out federal student loans, and the typical borrower leaves owing $10,750, about 9% of one year's pay. Earnings still depend heavily on major: Computer Science graduates earned a median of $214,907 four years after graduating, compared with $45,519 for Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, And Group Studies graduates.
Who Borrowed In The Class Of 2025
282 of Stanford's 2,022 bachelor's graduates in 2025 left with student loan debt, averaging $28,507. The 81 graduates who used private student loans averaged $56,032.
| Student Loan Type | Borrowers | Share Of Class | Average Debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any Student Loan | 282 | 14% | $28,507 |
| Federal Student Loans | 252 | 12% | $12,785 |
| Private Student Loans | 81 | 4% | $56,032 |
How We Graded Stanford
The overall grade weighs payoff, price, graduation and student debt. Price counts what low-income families pay (5 points), what middle-income families pay (10 points) and the sticker price high-income families pay (10 points). Each income grade swaps in that family's price alone.
Grade Checks
Financial Aid Check
Stanford meets 100% of financial need on average. 4% of 2025 graduates used private student loans.
Financial Health Check
No federal heightened cash monitoring and no closure, merger or financial exigency announcements.
Earnings Floor
92% of students out-earn a typical high school graduate. Schools where most don't are capped at a D.
Stanford In The News
More For Stanford Applicants
Compare Stanford With Similar Schools
Sources And Methodology
The College Investor Rating scores every four-year college from 0 to 100 on payoff (30%), price (25%), graduation (20%) and student debt (25%) using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data. An earnings floor and a financial health check can cap the grade at D, and a financial aid check flags concerns without changing it. Price is judged on its own, without earnings. The grade measures financial return for families, not teaching quality, campus life or a school's mission.
Notes On The Data
- Low-income families earn under $48,000. Middle-income families earn $48,000 to $110,000. Their prices are federal averages for first-time, full-time students who received financial aid.
- High-income families are those who get no grant aid, so they pay the sticker price (cost of attendance).
- Paying full price is the share of undergraduates who received no grant aid from any source in 2022-23, from the Education Department's IPEDS survey. The chance of merit aid divides merit scholarship recipients by full-time undergraduates without financial need, from the Common Data Set.
- Earnings by major are medians four years after graduation. Majors with too few graduates for the government to report earnings are left out. Debt by major is median federal student loan debt among borrowers.
- Admissions, financial aid and class of 2025 student loan figures come from the Stanford Common Data Set 2025-2026. Student loan debt at graduation excludes Parent PLUS and other parent loans, and students who transferred in.
- The calculator uses federal net price averages. Borrowing up to the $27,000 federal limit for dependent undergraduates uses the 2026-27 undergraduate rate of 6.52%, and anything above it uses the 9.07% Parent PLUS rate. Parent PLUS loans are capped at $20,000 a year and $65,000 per student. See all federal student loan interest rates. Stanford's own net price calculator gives a personal figure, and College Aid Pro can compare costs across schools.
Data years: Earnings follow students who started college in 2011-12 and 2012-13, measured 10 years later. Net price and borrowing rates are for 2024-25. Graduation rates follow students who started in fall 2019. Median debt covers borrowers who left school in fiscal 2024 and 2025. Full-price shares are for 2022-23.
Work at Stanford? If a figure looks wrong, send us the source and our editors will review it.
Sources: Stanford Common Data Set 2025-2026. U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, data updated November 2, 2026. News from The College Investor.