Questions?

The program is open to students who are minors in grade 10 and 11 at the time of application submission. Participants who will be 18 years or older during the program will not be eligible.

There are several steps to completing an application: online application form, teacher recommendations, recent standardized academic test scores (optional), recent grade reports and transcripts, work samples, video essay (optional), and application fee. Students in the program attend only one course, and applications are reviewed for admission to the particular course(s) to which the student is applying. All application materials must be uploaded into your online application to be considered. No materials sent by email, mail, or fax can be accepted. Please see our Admissions page for more information on all of these required components.

Applicants should apply only for courses they are interested in attending. The number of courses listed on an application has no bearing on admission.

Grade level refers to the applicant's current grade at the time they submit their application. Reference for 2024 programs:

No. Applications must be received by the stated deadline in order to be considered. Please review the Admissions page to note the application deadline.

No. Due to the intensive, challenging nature of our courses, it is important that the application reflect the interests and abilities of the applicant only—not the parent—as accurately as possible. Therefore, applicants complete all responses in the application on their own and parents only sign after reviewing the completed application. Any misrepresentation in application materials is grounds to revoke an offer of admission to our programs.

Applicants should submit a work sample that fulfills the requirements described on the application for the specific courses to which they seek admission. When deciding between several work samples, the applicants should select the sample that they feel best reflects their abilities as a student.

Students must fully complete the applications before submitting. No changes can be made after submission. Please note that due to the high volume of applications, we cannot accept any materials sent to us through email, postal mail, or fax.

Yes. Applicants must submit a new and complete application, including updated supplemental documents, each year.

Students cannot delete a recommender once that recommender has been entered into the Online Application system. If the application has been submitted, applicants cannot edit recommender information. However, they can send a reminder email to their recommender. To do so, the applicant should sign in to the Online Application system and click the "recommendations page" button below the list of recommenders. Applicants then click "Edit" next to the recommender they would like to send a reminder email to the recommender. We suggest also sending a personal email to your recommender as well, in case our automated emails get filtered into a junk or spam folder. If there is an issue with the email address, please inform our offices at precollegiate@stanford.edu.

All recommendations and transcripts must be written in, or translated into, English before they are submitted with an application; the admissions committee cannot translate them for you and will not review materials that are not in English. Translations do not have to be official; we recommend applicants reach out to their English teacher for assistance or use online translators like Google Translate. Applicants must include both the original document and the translation in the file that is uploaded to their application.

Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies understands that many applicants have not been exposed to some of our course subject matter in high school. Therefore, it is the applicant's choice to determine who can best speak to their academic readiness for this intensive program. We recommend that applicants choose someone who knows them well and can speak to their current academic abilities. At least one recommender must be a current teacher.

Recommenders may submit a recommendation before or after the Online Application is submitted. Once an Online Application is submitted, applicants will be able to check the status of their recommendation requests by logging onto their Online Application account. Please note that applications will not be considered complete, and therefore will not be reviewed, until the recommendation has been submitted. It is the applicant's responsibility to communicate with their recommender and make sure the recommendation is submitted by the application deadline. It is the applicant’s responsibility to monitor the progress of their teacher recommendation. Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies staff will not monitor the status of teacher recommendation for any applicant.

On the “Recommender Info” page of the Online Application, applicants will enter the name and contact information for their recommender. When applicants click “Submit Recommendation Request,” the system will generate an email to the recommender with a web link to the online recommendation form. The email will have the applicant's name in the subject line. The recommender can then click the link provided and complete the online recommendation form on the applicant's behalf. If the recommender would like to submit a written letter of recommendation in addition to the online form, they will have the ability to upload a supplemental document on this page. Depending on the spam filters for your recommender’s email, the automated email could end up in their spam or junk folder.

We suggest that the applicant send a personal email or speak with their recommender prior to and after they have submitted the recommendation request to ensure that they receive the request in a timely manner. One teacher recommendation is required to complete an application. After applicants have submitted their application, they must log into their Online Application account to track their recommender's progress in submitting the recommendation.

Please note that an application will not be considered complete, and therefore will not be reviewed, until the recommendation has been submitted. It is the applicant’s responsibility to monitor the progress and receipt of their recommendation. Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies staff will not monitor the status of teacher recommendation for any applicant.

The primary teacher recommendation must come from an instructor who has observed the applicant in a classroom environment, preferably in the same subject as the courses applied to (i.e., math recommendations from math teachers, writing recommendations from English teachers, etc.). The teacher recommender does not need to be a current instructor, nor an instructor at the student's current school. Parents/legal guardians may not submit recommendation forms for their student, even if they are homeschooled.

Once you submit an application for admission, you may log into your Online Application account to check if at least one teacher has submitted a recommendation; then once submitted, the application is complete. It is the applicant's responsibility to communicate with the teacher to ensure that the recommendation has been submitted by the deadline.

There is no test score or grade point average "cut-off" or percentile requirement. Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies seeks students who demonstrate overall academic excellence. All application materials (such as work samples, written responses, test scores, teacher recommendations, etc.) are considered together.

Standardized test scores are optional for all applicants. 

Standardized test scores are optional. Applicants may choose to submit their most recent standardized exam score, but it will not be a deciding factor in the admissions evaluation process. Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies only accepts specific tests: Middle SSAT or ISEE, Upper SSAT or ISEE, PSAT 8/9, PreACT 8/9, PSAT, PreACt, SAT, ACT, and AP Exams. We do not accept any test score older than September 2022. We do not advise registering for a test simply to fulfill this requirement.

Yes, standardized test scores are optional for both international and domestic applicants.

No. As Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies applications are fully online, applicants can upload transcripts directly into their applications. Most applicants upload an unofficial transcript to fulfill this requirement.

Students must fully complete the applications before submitting. No changes can be made after submission. Please note that due to the high volume of applications, we cannot accept any materials sent to us through email, postal mail, or fax.

A complete application consists of three parts: a submitted Online Application, a teacher recommendation, and receipt of payment for the application fee, if any. If an application is incomplete, it is possible that the recommender has not yet submitted a recommendation. Applicants should contact their recommenders or check their Online Application account page to manage their recommendations.

Yes. Applicants may skip around in the application by clicking on any one of the pages listed on the left menu bar. Keep in mind that certain pages are not visible in that menu until the Courses page has been completed and course preferences have been indicated.

Once you submit an application for admission, you may log into your Online Application account to check if at least one teacher has submitted a recommendation; then once submitted, the application is complete. It is the applicant's responsibility to communicate with the teacher to ensure that the recommendation has been submitted by the deadline.

Applicants should check their spam or junk folder. Sometimes the instructions email will get filtered into spam or junk. Applicants can also go to the Online Application account login page and click "Forgot Password." This will prompt another email to be sent with temporary credentials so that you can create a new password and access your application. If you do not receive the Forgot Password email, please email our office at precollegiate@stanford.edu and we will check to see if there is an issue in our system. 

No. Students cannot modify applications once they have been submitted. Similar to placing a paper application in the mail, all applications are final once they have been received by the Admissions Committee.

All recommendations and transcripts must be written in, or translated into, English before they are submitted with an application; the admissions committee cannot translate them for you and will not review materials that are not in English. Translations do not have to be official; we recommend applicants reach out to their English teacher for assistance or use online translators like Google Translate. Applicants must include both the original document and the translation in the file that is uploaded to their application.

Yes, standardized test scores are optional for both international and domestic applicants.

Yes, aid can be awarded to both domestic and international participants.