How We Assess Applicants
We evaluate an applicant's candidacy in three areas:
1. Academic Ability
Applicants must be prepared for the rigor of Stanford OHS classes and have demonstrated a history of academic achievement and desire for challenge. As English is the language of instruction at Stanford OHS, applicants must be fully fluent in written and spoken English. We look for this dedication to academic pursuits and intellectual curiosity by assessing:
- Grades (over time)
- Rigor of current academic program
- School type and available curriculum/rigor
- Academic classes taken outside the student’s school
- Teacher recommendations
- Personal essays
2. Personal Qualities
We select students who will become contributing members of the Stanford OHS community and who will engage in the life of the school and its extracurricular pursuits. We look for this level of engagement by assessing:
- Personal essays
- Current extracurricular involvement
- Demonstrated engagement in student’s current school community
- Teacher recommendations
- Parent questionnaire
3. A Good Fit
The Admissions Committee seeks students who demonstrate a clear understanding of the school’s teaching model and show independence, self-advocacy, strong time-management skills, and appropriate maturity. We assess this in:
- Personal essays
- Teacher recommendations
- Parent questionnaire
Stanford Online High School welcomes applications from individuals with a broad range of life experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds who would contribute to our community of scholars. Review of applications is holistic and individualized, considering each applicant’s academic record and accomplishments, letters of recommendation, admissions essays, and other application materials in order to understand how an applicant’s life experiences have shaped their past and potential contributions.
Stanford Online High School recognizes that the Supreme Court issued a ruling in June 2023 about the consideration of certain types of demographic information as part of an admission review. All applications submitted during upcoming application cycles will be reviewed in conformance with that decision.
Eligibility
Younger Applicants
While Stanford OHS places students by age, grade level, and ability, we typically encourage students to apply for grade 7 when they are in grade 6 or ages 11–12.
Applicants for Senior Year
Very rarely does Stanford OHS accept students who apply to spend only their senior year at Stanford OHS and graduate with a Stanford OHS diploma. Rising seniors are subject to a different application process that may include interviews, placement assessments, and additional work samples. Most applicants will be asked to consider attending our school two years to satisfy Stanford OHS Graduation Requirements. For more information, please contact Admissions.
We do not accept applicants mid-year.
Standardized Testing
Optional Test Score
While standardized test scores have been required in previous years, it is optional for all applicants to provide a test score as of the 2023-2024 application cycle. Applicants may still submit test scores if they wish, but there will be no advantage to our evaluation in doing so. For those who wish to submit test scores, any of the tests mentioned on this page, and from within the appropriate time frame, will be considered. Applicants from any grade level may submit any of the tests mentioned on this page. Applicants who do not submit standardized test scores will not be at a disadvantage in our admission process.
Permitted Tests
If the applicant chooses to submit a standardized test score, it must be from one of the tests listed below. We will not review scores from other tests. The score report must reflect a testing date between September 2022 and mid-December 2023.
Any of the tests below can be submitted in the application for consideration, regardless of the applicant's grade level. Stanford OHS will norm your test score percentile for your age if the standardized test’s percentiles are normed for an older group (for example, if you took the SAT prior to 11th grade).
Please note that Stanford OHS will still consider test score reports from the ACT and SAT without the optional ACT writing section or the optional SAT essay section.
If you have already taken an approved standardized test from the list below in or after September 2022, you may submit your results for your application to Stanford OHS.
Registering for a Test
Please visit the individual website for each test service to register for a test. Be sure to schedule your test by mid-December 2023 to ensure delivery by our January 11, 2024 deadline.
- SSAT: Select Stanford University Online High School as a score recipient. Stanford OHS Member Code: 7454
- ISEE: Select Stanford Online High School as a score recipient. Stanford OHS Member Code: 570520
- PSAT and PreACT: These tests are administered by individual high schools once per year in October. Results are usually sent to the student's school in January.
- SAT: The College Board will send results to the student, not directly to Stanford OHS.
- ACT: The ACT will send results to the student, not directly to Stanford OHS.
Nondiscrimination Statement
Stanford University and Stanford Online High School Nondiscrimination Statement: Stanford University admits qualified students of any race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, or marital status to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the University. Consistent with its obligations under the law, Stanford prohibits unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, marital status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law in the administration of the University's programs and activities; Stanford also prohibits unlawful harassment including sexual harassment and sexual violence.
The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding this nondiscrimination policy: Stanford’s Director of the Diversity and Access Office, Krista Martinelli, Kingscote Gardens, 419 Lagunita Drive, Suite 130, Stanford, CA 94305-8550; (650) 723-0755 (voice), (650) 723-1791 (fax), equal.opportunity@stanford.edu(email). Stanford’s Title IX Coordinator, Stephen Chen, has been designated to handle inquiries regarding sexual harassment and sexual violence: Kingscote Gardens (2nd floor), 419 Lagunita Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, (650) 497-4955 (voice), (650) 497-9257 (fax), titleix@stanford.edu (email). Individuals may also file complaints directly with the Office for Civil Rights, within the United States Department of Education, by following the information on this website: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/complaintintro.html