Transferring to Stanford: your chances, deadlines and credits

Stanford sets no minimum credits or years for admission and no required courses. Its most competitive applicants typically have the equivalent of two years of college-level coursework by enrollment, and are in their second year of full-time, in-person study when they apply.

Source: Stanford academic preparation and transfer credit, undated page; Stanford transfer eligibility, undated page

If you have attended college for more than one year, Stanford says you should have begun focusing on a potential major or area of study. You apply to the university, not to a school or major. You may list prospective majors and are not bound by them.

Source: Stanford academic preparation and transfer credit, undated page; Stanford transfer application and essays, undated page

You need two letters from academic instructors and ACT or SAT scores. Stanford has no preferred test and no minimum score.

Source: Stanford transfer requirements and deadlines, undated page; Stanford transfer standardized testing, undated page

Coursework from vocational, technical, performance or professional programs is not considered. Transfer coursework must come from an accredited, degree-granting school.

Source: Stanford transfer eligibility, undated page

A former Stanford undergraduate who left and wants to return must reapply like any other transfer applicant.

Source: Stanford transfer eligibility, undated page

The page also mentions several short questions of up to 50 words each in the Stanford section of the Transfer Common App. It does not list them, so check the application.

Source: Stanford transfer application and essays, undated page

Apply through the Common App. The fee is $100, nonrefundable, or a fee waiver request. Send your official high school transcript with your graduation date or a GED, official transcripts from every college, and a College Report.

Source: Stanford transfer requirements and deadlines, undated page

Self-report your highest ACT or SAT scores. Official scores are needed only if you are offered admission and enroll, and Stanford may revoke an offer if they do not match. If you took any AP exams, you must self-report all AP scores. An arts portfolio is optional.

Source: Stanford transfer standardized testing, undated page; Stanford transfer requirements and deadlines, undated page

Anyone who already holds a bachelor's degree is not eligible. Students dual-enrolled in high school and college apply as first-years.

Source: Stanford transfer eligibility, undated page

The deadline is March 15 at 11:59 p.m. in your time zone. Stanford may make a decision even if some pieces are missing, and it notifies you of missing documents in April. Applying early does not change your decision or when it is released.

Source: Stanford transfer requirements and deadlines, undated page

The testing deadline comes earlier than the application deadline. The latest SAT sitting is the end of December. The latest ACT sitting is the end of February.

Source: Stanford transfer standardized testing, undated page

The Registrar decides what transfers after you are admitted, not during the application. Stanford has no articulation agreements with any college and says it cannot promise that any specific course will transfer.

Source: Stanford academic preparation and transfer credit, undated page

A course generally needs an accredited school, to be substantially similar to a Stanford course, a C- or Pass, no overlap with earlier work, and not to have counted toward your high school diploma.

Source: Stanford academic preparation and transfer credit, undated page

You may bring in at most 90 quarter units, roughly two years of full-time study, no matter how many you earned. A Stanford bachelor's degree needs at least two years of full-time enrollment at Stanford. Online credit transfers only if the school that offered it allows it toward its own degree, and some departments and general education requirements accept no online courses.

Source: Stanford academic preparation and transfer credit, undated page; Stanford transfer eligibility, undated page

You may submit at most three undergraduate applications to Stanford in total, counting first-year and transfer applications together.

Source: Stanford transfer requirements and deadlines, undated page