Undergraduate Financial Aid
Policy Statement
The University has a comprehensive need-based financial aid program for its undergraduates. Stanford is committed to meeting the University-computed financial need of each admitted student. Admission decisions are made without regard to the applicant's financial status for U.S. citizens, U.S. legal permanent residents, and U.S. residents who are undocumented but attended high school in the U.S.A request for financial support will be a factor in the admission decision for international students who are not U.S. citizens, U.S. legal permanent residents or undocumented U.S. residents.
Before awarding institutional funds, the University assumes that students and their parents accept the first and primary responsibility for meeting educational costs. Stanford's policy generally is to exclude undergraduates from being considered financially independent of their parents for University-administered scholarship aid unless a student is an orphan, a ward of the court, or at least 25 years of age. Spouses of married undergraduate students share in the responsibility to meet educational costs.
Stanford expects financial aid applicants to apply for and use resources from state, federal, and private funding sources, and use earnings from part-time employment to meet educational expenses. If Stanford determines that an applicant and his or her family cannot meet standard educational expenses remaining after these resources are applied, the University offers scholarship funds to help meet remaining costs.
The amount of scholarship or grant funds offered to students is determined by the difference between the comprehensive cost of attendance (including tuition, fees, housing, food, and allowances for books, supplies, personal expenses, and travel) and the amount the student and parents can reasonably be expected to contribute toward educational costs based on family financial circumstances.
Scholarships from outside sources may change the University's financial aid award. When a student receives outside scholarships, these funds reduce or eliminate the student's responsibility to contribute from job earnings. If the total in outside scholarships exceeds the student's responsibility, the University may reduce institutional need-based scholarship, dollar for dollar, by the amount of outside scholarships greater than the student responsibility. The student’s total aid may not exceed their cost of attendance, or when need-based scholarships are included, the amount of the student’s need.
Students are considered for University scholarship eligibility during their first four years of undergraduate enrollment. The Financial Aid Office (FAO) considers applicants for University scholarship eligibility beyond the twelfth quarter only if enrollment is essential in order to complete the minimum requirements for the first baccalaureate degree or major. Students who enroll for a fifth year in pursuit of a coterminal program, a minor, a second major, a second degree, or the B.A.S. degree are not eligible for University scholarship consideration but may apply for student loans and federal grants. Eligibility for federal student aid is limited to the equivalent of 18 quarters of undergraduate enrollment, including course work taken at other colleges and universities. Students must also maintain satisfactory academic progress to retain financial aid eligibility.