Stanford University

Stanford's four-year full-time undergraduate program aims to provide a liberal education which broadens knowledge and awareness in each of the major areas of human knowledge, while significantly deepening understanding in one or a couple of these areas. 

You can plan an individual program of study that takes into account personal educational goals, with the only compulsory areas, apart from the requirements of a major, being a writing requirement, a language requirement and the completion of courses entitled Ways of Thinking and Ways of Doing. 

You decide upon your major towards the end of your freshman year and can choose from a wide range of academic disciplines, spanning sciences, arts and humanities, languages, and social sciences. 

Stanford has had active fraternities and sororities on campus since 1891, although you are unable to apply to join until Spring quarter of your freshman year.

The university’s proximity to Silicon Valley and first-class facilities make it an attractive proposition to many. As a result, Stanford is one of the top three most selective schools in the United States, with an acceptance rate of 4.7 percent in 2018. 

You apply by completing the Common or Coalition Application and submitting it along with letters of recommendation from teachers, official school transcripts, a mid-year transcript, a school report including a letter of recommendation from a school counselor, SAT with essay or ACT with writing test scores, and a non-refundable $US90 application fee. 

There are also Stanford essay questions you must answer, such as: “Tell us about something that is meaningful to you, and why.” Interviews are optional. If you’re an international student, you follow the same application procedure but must be able to demonstrate fluency in English.

The academic year at Stanford is divided into quarters, with undergraduate tuition costing US$16,901 per quarter, with housing and board an extra cost. Around 97 per cent of undergraduates live in university housing, with undergraduate residences including traditional halls of residence, language and culture themed houses, cross-cultural themed houses, student-managed and cooperative houses, apartments, suites, fraternities, and sororities. 

Like many of the Ivy League institutions, Stanford runs a comprehensive need-based financial aid program for its undergraduates. If you apply to Stanford, you’re expected to apply for funding from all the available sources, be they state, federal or private, as well as contribute your own earnings from summer or part-time jobs. It is only after these avenues are exhausted and you still can’t meet the costs that the school will offer scholarship funds.