ACT Range (Admitted Students) Section 25th Percentile 75th Percentile English 34 36 Math 30 35 Composite 32 35

This admissions data tells us that most of Stanford's admitted students fall within the top 3% nationally on the ACT. The middle 50% of students admitted to Stanford received a composite ACT score of between 32 and 35, while 25% scored above 35 and 25% scored below 32.

Requirements

Stanford does not require the ACT writing section. Unlike many universities, Stanford superscores ACT results; your highest subscores from multiple ACT sittings will be considered.

GPA

In 2019, Stanford University's incoming freshman class had an average high school GPA of 3.96, and over 95% of incoming students had average GPAs of 4.0 and above. These results suggest that most successful applicants to Stanford have primarily A grades.

Self-Reported GPA/SAT/ACT Graph

Stanford University Applicants' Self-Reported GPA/SAT/ACT Graph. Data courtesy of Cappex.

The admissions data in the graph is self-reported by applicants to Stanford University. GPAs are unweighted. Find out how you compare to accepted students, see the real-time graph, and calculate your chances of getting in with a free Cappex account.

Admissions Chances

Stanford University has a highly competitive admissions pool with a low acceptance rate and high average SAT/ACT scores. However, Stanford has a holistic admissions process involving other factors beyond your grades and test scores. A strong application essay and glowing letters of recommendation can strengthen your application, as can participation in meaningful extracurricular activities and a rigorous course schedule. Students with particularly compelling stories or achievements can still receive serious consideration even if their test scores are outside Stanford's average range.

In the graph above, you can see that the blue and green dots representing accepted students are concentrated in the upper right corner. Most students who get accepted to Stanford have "A" averages, SAT scores (ERW+M) above 1200, and ACT composite scores above 25 (more common are SAT scores over 1400 and ACT scores over 30). It is important to note many students with 4.0 GPAs and extremely high standardized test scores are rejected by Stanford. For this reason, a highly selective school like Stanford should be considered a reach school even if your grades and test scores are on target for admission.