Stanford University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Stanford University

Stanford University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Stanford, California (suburb: large), with a total reported enrollment of 7,554 students of which 9,372 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. Stanford University is categorized as “15” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.

Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. The reported admission rate is 3.6%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,553 and an ACT midpoint of 35. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $13,807, with published in-state tuition of $65,910 and a Pell grant recipient share of 19.2%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $12,000, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 92.4%, and the first-year retention rate is 98.2%. Graduates earn a median of $124,080 ten years after enrolling, compared with $102,887 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 62500.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 87.1% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.