by our College Data Analytics TeamStanford University is a private not-for-profit institution in Stanford, California enrolling 7,554 undergraduates. It accepts 4% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 92%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #3 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 1%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Stanford University ranks #3 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 1%.
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
Stanford University was awarded 1725 badges in the 2027 rankings.
College Factual ranked Stanford as #3 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 1% of all schools in the nation!
Within the state, Stanford holds the #1 spot on the Best Colleges in California ranking.
See all of the rankings for Stanford University.
With an acceptance rate of 4%, Stanford is one of the most selective schools in the country. Good grades and high test scores alone may not be enough to get you into the school, so do your best to submit a stellar application.
About 51% of students accepted to Stanford submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 740 and 780. Math scores were between 770 and 800.
Stanford received ACT scores from 19% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 34 and 35.
Learn more about Stanford University admissions.
The student to faculty ratio at Stanford is an impressive 6 to 1. That’s quite good when you compare it to the national average of 15 to 1. This is a good sign that students at the school will have more opportunities for one-on-one interactions with their professors.
In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Stanford University is 99%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate of 98% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Stanford University enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at Stanford for first-time, full-time students is 92%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Stanford University.
In the current academic year, there are 7,554 undergraduates at Stanford.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Stanford University.
The overall average net price of Stanford is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $-2,536 | $-193 | $3,212 | $11,092 | $53,882 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Stanford, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At Stanford, approximately 6% of students took out student loans averaging $5,873 a year. That adds up to $23,492 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 1.0%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Stanford University.
Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $124,080 in their early years. That’s great news for Stanford University students since it is 152% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Stanford University make the most money.
Stanford University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Stanford, California. Stanford is considered a suburb and offers tranquility and safety near the excitement of a city center. Get more details about the location of Stanford University.
Contact details for Stanford University can be found below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Phone: | 6507232300 |
| Website: | www.stanford.edu/ |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/stanford |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/stanford |
In the latest year of available data, students from 24 majors graduated from Stanford University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 5,891 | NA |
| Computer Science | 1,018 | $148,671 |
| Management Sciences & Methods | 534 | NA |
| Electrical Engineering | 278 | $131,298 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 236 | $94,182 |
| Civil Engineering | 206 | $78,911 |
| Law | 188 | $151,574 |
| Engineering-Related Fields | 186 | $104,884 |
| Economics | 155 | $60,475 |
| Human Biology | 144 | $40,010 |
350 students took at least one online class at Stanford University.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at Stanford University.
Curious how schools stack up against Stanford? Compare them side by side using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
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