Freshman Requirements & Process

School Reports & Transcripts

We prefer that schools send reports and transcripts electronically via the Common Application Web site; however, schools may submit them for paper delivery.  You can only download the Secondary School Report (required) from the Common Application Web site.  There, you can also download the Mid-Year School Report (required), the Final Report (required) and the International Supplement to the Secondary School Report (only required for international students). Usually your transcript will be submitted with the Secondary School Report, the Mid-Year School Report, and the Final Report, but remember it is your responsibility to ensure we receive your transcript.

School personnel have many forms and supporting documents to complete and will appreciate receiving these forms from you as soon as possible. If they are not equipped to do so electronically, your counselor will need to mail these forms directly to our office; please download the forms from the Common Application Web site and provide your counselor with the appropriate Stanford mailing label.

Secondary School Report Form

The Secondary School Report allows your college counselor or other school administrator who knows you well to tell us about you: your energy and enthusiasm for the life of the mind, your impact on your school community, and your academic strength in relation to that of your classmates. The information gleaned from this form also sets your academic experience in context for us: how many of your classmates go on to attend a four-college, what kinds of advanced or accelerated courses (if any) are offered at your school, the size of your class and so on. This information is important to us as we assess your achievements within your school environment first, and then later within our overall applicant pool.

If you will graduate from a school other than the one you attended last year—grade 11 in most case—follow these steps:

1. Submit the Secondary School Report from to your college counselor.
2. Make a copy of the Secondary School Report and ask your former college counselor or principal to complete the form (if you feel that he or she can offer additional information on your behalf.)
3. You should also request an official transcript be sent from each school you have attended during high school if all of your previous year grades and coursework (from grades 9-12) do not appear on your current transcript.

If you attended a different school from your current school in 9th or 10th you do not need to submit an additional Secondary School Report from the earlier school(s). You must, however, submit official transcript(s) from the other school(s) unless all of your coursework and grades received appears on your current school transcript.

Transcripts

You must submit an official high school transcript. Usually your transcript will be submitted with the Secondary School Report, but remember it is your responsibility to ensure we receive your transcript. If you have attended more than one high school, you must submit an official transcript from each school if the grades from the earlier school(s) do not appear on your current school transcript. You should also submit official transcripts for any coursework taken at a college or university.

We will focus our evaluation on your choice of coursework and your performance in 10th, 11th and 12th grades, mainly in the core academic subjects of Math, English, Social Studies, Science, and Foreign Language. We want to see that you have challenged yourself by taking some of the accelerated, honors, Advanced Placement, or International Baccalaureate courses, if they are offered at your school.

Mid-Year and Final School Report Forms

Once your first semester or trimester of grade 12 is completed and your grades have been posted, please give the Mid-Year School Report form to your college counselor to complete. This form allows your counselor to update us on your senior year academic performance as well as any significant additions to or changes in your extracurricular or character record since the submission of the Secondary School Report. If your school has year-long courses, with no grades until the end of the year, we require some form of mid-year evaluation of your academic progress. The Mid-Year School Report must be submitted no later than March 1.

If you are admitted to Stanford and decide to enroll, please give the Final Report form to your college counselor to complete. Your Final Report will serve as a reference to your academic standing after the completion of your last year in high school. You will not be able to begin classes at Stanford until your final high school transcript has been received.