Freshman Requirements & Process

Teacher Evaluations

Qualitative accounts of your academic abilities are important to us. We require two teacher evaluations, and we strongly request that these letters come from teachers who taught you in grades 11 or 12. You may submit an evaluation from a teacher who taught you in grade 10 if the coursework was advanced (e.g. Honors, AP, IB, etc.) in a particular subject. If your school does not offer such designations, use your discretion when asking a teacher from grade 10 to write you a letter. We will accept a maximum of two teacher evaluations.

Both evaluation letters must be from teachers in two different subject areas from the following:

• English
• Mathematics
• Science
• Foreign Language
• History/Social Sciences

The best advice we can give is to ask teachers who like you and who will share unique examples of your academic strengths and personal qualities.

Mailing Instructions

We strongly request that teachers submit their evaluations online through the Common Application website and include the Common Application Teacher/Instructor Evaluation form. If a teacher decides to mail the form and letter, please provide the appropriate Stanford mailing label.

• Application Mailing Labels (PDF)

Optional Letter

You may submit a maximum of one optional letter of recommendation if there is another person—NOT a teacher or counselor—who knows you well and will provide us with different information and new insights about you. We ask that you instruct your additional recommender to put your full name (as listed on your application), your birth date, your current school, and your Common Application ID number at the top of the letter. Submitting an extra letter is entirely optional and is not expected. No special form is required. The recommender should fax the letter to our credentials office at (650) 723-6050.

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