Stanford, CA · Private · Every figure is for a student starting in fall 2027. We work each one out again whenever we update the site.
How to pay for Stanford University
What a year costs here, what brings it down, and what a SmartTuition plan could save a family like yours.
Paying for four years here
Four years here, after grants
$16,756
For a family like this, a SmartTuition plan saves less than $100 here.
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester, using your own numbers.
Build your SmartTuition plan for Stanford University, $99 →Best once your award letter arrives. No letter yet? Get the monthly email.
A family of four with good credit and $500 a month for college. How we worked these out ↓
A year at Stanford University
| Full price | $97,906 |
| After grants, at your income | $4,576 |
61% of first-year students here got a grant or scholarship from the college in 2023-24, $59,885 on average.
At this income, 0 of California's other 64 colleges cost less after grants, and 64 cost more. See them all →
What can bring it down
Merit scholarships. No scholarships for grades. All university scholarship funds are awarded on the basis of financial need, and no separate application is required for any of them.
Stanford University's promise. Stanford University says it covers all of what a family cannot pay. The conditions ↓
Pay less for college
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester.
At Stanford University, our scenarios for California households with good parent credit show a SmartTuition plan saving a median of about $600 over four years. How we worked this out ↓
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What Stanford University says it awards for grades and test scores.
No scholarships for grades. All university scholarship funds are awarded on the basis of financial need, and no separate application is required for any of them.
What Stanford University commits to
Stanford University says it covers all of what a family cannot pay.
“We meet the full demonstrated need, without loans, for every admitted undergrad who qualifies for financial assistance.”
Stanford University Financial Aid Office — verified 2026-09.
Conditions the school attaches to that commitment
- Stanford's own Common Data Set for 2025-26 reports that it met 100% of need, on average.
These are the school’s own qualifiers. A commitment quoted without them is not the commitment they made.
Published guarantees you may qualify for
We do not assume you qualify for any of these, and our plans never bank on them. Check each against your own situation with the aid office.
No expected parent contribution for families with income below $100,000 and typical assets
Household income up to $100,000. Also requires “typical assets” — a test we cannot evaluate for you.
- The student is still expected to contribute from summer income, part-time work during the school year and their own savings. The levels are set on the typical cost of living in the United States, and may not apply to families living outside it.
“For parents with total annual income below $100,000 and typical assets for this income range, Stanford will not expect a parent contribution toward educational costs. Students will still be expected to contribute toward their own expenses from their summer income, part-time work during the school year, and their own savings. These levels have been set based on typical cost of living in the United States. These same levels may not apply to families living outside of the United States; aid eligibility will be determined based on individual family financial circumstances.”
All tuition charges covered for families with income below $150,000 and typical assets, for a student living on campus
Household income up to $150,000. Covers tuition. Also requires “typical assets” — a test we cannot evaluate for you.
- Need-based scholarship, federal and state grants, and outside scholarships cover the tuition charges. The levels are set on the typical cost of living in the United States, and may not apply to families living outside it.
“For parents with total annual income below $150,000 and typical assets for this income range, the expected parent contribution will be low enough to ensure that all tuition charges are covered with need-based scholarship, federal and state grants, and/or outside scholarship funds, when students are living on campus. These levels have been set based on typical cost of living in the United States. These same levels may not apply to families living outside of the United States; aid eligibility will be determined based on individual family financial circumstances.”
How we worked these out
The family
A family of four with good parent credit and $500 a month to put toward college, and the savings you pick. In state, the grants are what Stanford University reports families at that income got, on average. Your own will differ, and a family with no aid pays close to the full price.
What a SmartTuition plan saves
The difference, over four years, between a SmartTuition plan and the standard approach: savings first, then loans for the rest. It counts loan interest and the federal tax credit.
The $600 in the “Pay less for college” box near the top of this page is the median saving in Stanford University's own scenarios. Each scenario is a household that lives in California, with an income from $45,000 to $200,000 and savings of none, $40,000 or $100,000 in a 529. We price Stanford University at the aid it reports for that income.
Every scenario has parents with good credit and $500 a month toward college. The card above uses the same two. A scenario where the parents would borrow more than $65,000 is left out.
The prices by income
- They describe students who got aid.
- “Over $110,000” has no upper limit, so it averages families just over $110,000 with far wealthier ones. A family at $115,000 should expect to pay less than it shows.
- Each range is reported on its own, so the prices do not always rise with income.
Grants from the college
How many first-year students got a grant from Stanford University, and the average, are the Department of Education's figures for full-time students who started in 2023-24. They cover every income. The prices after grants already count these grants, so don't take them off again. The Department of Education's page for Stanford University →
Where the prices come from
Where the prices come from: Stanford University's own 2026-27 tuition, fees, housing, food and books, from its website, carried forward to 2027 at 4.0% a year. The grants are the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard (2025-26 figures), carried forward the same way. Each price after grants is the cost less those grants. The average price after grants counts the students who get federal aid. Your own figure will be different.
Stanford University's own budget for 2026-27 is $97,545. It also counts costs the university doesn't bill for, such as travel and personal spending. We leave those out.
SmartTuition.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Stanford University. Aid policies change; check current terms with the college's aid office.
Nearby at your income
- Stanford University$4,576 a year
- University of California, Berkeley$10,777 a year
- University of California, Los Angeles$11,314 a year
What each college charges, less the average grant for your income. Every California college →