Stanford university is one of the most selective colleges in the U.S. Many students globally and in the U.S apply to Stanford every year hoping that they will get admission. Unluckily, only a few students get access.
However, getting a chance to study at Stanford is hard. This makes you to understand everything expected and the expectations needed to be the best among the list of applications.
But taking the following steps can boost your admission chances to Stanford University.
- You Need Strong Academics
First and foremost, Stanford is an academic institution and cares so much about good grades. Therefore, you must have excellent academics to be enrolled in college. About a quarter of the ACT/SAT score of all the students admitted is as high as 32 on the ACT or 1420 on the SAT. in other words, the majority of the students (around 75%) in Stanford attains above these scores, and other students who get lower scores than these make up for the scores in different impressive ways.
- Be Well Rounded
Stanford cares so much about well-rounded students as they show excellence in many areas. Stanford wants you to perform great in different areas apart from academics. For instance, you must aim for that high leadership position in your school orchestra. Get the leading role or be the second one in your school debate team.
Additionally, strive to get to the student council, then be the treasure or get to the 95th percentile in your SAT/ACT and get at least an A- in all your classes. “Stanford scorecard” grades are based on your weakest area. Therefore, you must work hard to eliminate all your weaknesses.
- Demonstrate Good Character
You must emphasize growth and humility in addition to other positive traits. Humility results in offering credit where credit is due both to yourself and to other people around you. Nevertheless, growth is key. The college is giving a chance not to who you are, but on the person, you will be in the future. Therefore, if you give Stanford a clear picture of how far you’ve changed, you will be given a quick admission to the college.
- Extras
Ensure you participate in extras and have an interest in language, a hobby, or sport rather than waiting for a better time to come. Doing this will help you develop some accomplishments to show.
Ensure you join quiz or debate clubs, then stick to your interests. An extended interest in a single activity is better than being interested in many things, and beware that quality is better than quantity.
Participate in more social services like volunteering for nature club, local hospital, and participation in the animal shelter. Just show some care to the community around you.
How to Get into Stanford Medical School
Stanford is not only a great medical school but one of the best research facilities globally. The school is best in Biochemistry, bioinformatics, genomics, genetics, biophysics, neuroscience, neurobiology, and other Biosciences Ph.D. programs.
Here’s how to get into Stanford medical school:
- Check on your Academic background
To get into Stanford College, you must pursue MCAT within four years of graduating and matriculation from an accredited course. If you are a foreign applicant, you must have spent at least one year in an accredited institution in the U.K, Canada, or the United States. The institution’s requirements based on the coursework are flexible compared to other programs.
That does not mean that Stanford is a less stringent institution, but rather offers the student a chance to explore their expertise in different research fields. You must have mastery of English, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology. Furthermore, you must have proper knowledge of cellular biology and evolution by natural selection and some basics on how living organisms undertake certain biological functions.
You must have basic concepts of physics and chemistry and their application to the living systems. Understanding the core principles of statistics is an added advantage, and you must be able to apply quantitative reasoning when evaluating published literature. Skills in exposure to social and behavioral sciences and laboratory experience is a must.
You must be able to communicate fluently and clearly.
- Undertake an Interview
If you want to join the college and qualify to get to the interview should show how much they can bring an impact on the medical field. They should demonstrate their reflective and eloquent behavior concerning the future of medicine.
Since the college uses a Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) format, there’s an emphasis on decision making and critical thinking processes. Sometimes it might be hard to memorize the scientific or medical data to pass these interviews. But the best way to prepare for the interviews is focusing not only to score excellently and get nice grades but also to focus on the research that will make you published as well as keeping your critical thinking skills great.
- Check on your essays and the Letters of Recommendation
The Stanford medical school requires a minimum of 3 letters of recommendation and sometimes ma allow up to 6. You must submit these letters through the AMCAS, and they should be on official letterhead.
You should not only get the professors to write the letters but also qualified supervisors in research fields that you’ve worked in.
The Required essays are one less and one longer than 2000 words and the other two shorter ones less than 1000 words. Your first essay allows you to share your unique experiences and it should include things related to socioeconomic status, race, and gender and how these can prepare you for a career in medicine.
The remaining two essays should relate to your future goals. The essays should emphasize on an optimistic, enthusiasm, and a broad outlook as they will help. Ensure that you write the essays nicely with no grammatical and typos errors.
- Other Areas for Evaluation
As the college will be evaluating you, there will be numerous non-academic areas that the college shall consider. They include:
- Ability to Observe and Evaluate: Due to lab work emphasis, the ability to follow the effects of drugs accurately on micro-organisms shall be considered. Also, it would be best if you considered the aspect of patient histories. You should reliably discern relevant data concerning your patient.
- Effectiveness of Communication: Due to a focus on patient interaction, you must develop a fluent command of the English language. You must publish all the stated articles properly and communicate properly with patients and peers.
- Logical Thinking Skills: You must analyze data and memorize it, then perform a statistical analysis of the said data effectively.
- Maturity and Social Skills: Stanford Medical students are not only blessed with a high I.Q but are also possessed of good E.Q. Evaluators examines you properly to make sure you are emotionally stable, mature, and work as part of the team.
Apart from these areas, manage a rigorous schedule that you will endure during your session at the school. Stressful situations, long working hours, and heavy workloads are part of the regimen.
You must meet the highest ethical standards and should be aware of the ramifications of both laboratory research and patient treatment. Finally, it would help if you had nothing to deal with medicine abuse.
Stanford College is among the most challenging and competitive schools to get admission into. The school has earned an excellent position in Medical ranking through being a premier research institution with high academic standards. Starting early in your academic career is the best way to prepare for Stanford.

David Nilsen is the former editor of Fourth & Sycamore. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. You can find more of his writing on his website at davidnilsenwriter.com and follow him on Twitter as @NilsenDavid.