Stanford Tuition & Cost · 2026–27
Tuition is what Stanford charges for instruction. Estimated first-year cost is Stanford's full student budget for a new undergraduate living on campus — tuition, housing and food, student fees, books, personal expenses, and required one-time new-student fees. These are Stanford's current published 2026–27 figures. Stanford is holding undergraduate tuition flat from the prior year.
But that's not necessarily what your family will pay.
Financial aid changes the price dramatically.
Almost half of Stanford undergraduates receive need-based financial aid — provided as scholarships, not loans. Two thresholds from Stanford's own current published aid policy:
Families earning less than this per year, with assets typical of that income level, pay no tuition.
Families earning less than this per year, with assets typical of that income level, pay no tuition, housing, or food.
Source: Stanford Undergraduate Admission — Afford. The average need-based scholarship in Stanford's current freshman class is more than $70,000.
But those policies still don't tell you what Stanford will cost your family.
So what will Stanford cost your family?
Published prices don't answer that. Your number depends on the aid you receive, what your family can contribute, and how much is left to cover.
And if you need to borrow some of it?
The real cost of college isn't just the four years. It's what that borrowing could mean every month for the next 20 years.
See My Stanford Estimate→Two minutes. Free. No account needed.
About these numbers
Published tuition and estimated first-year cost of attendance shown at the top of this page are Stanford's 2026–27 published figures, as posted on Stanford's Financial Aid Office Student Budget page. Tuition is Stanford's charge for instruction. The estimated first-year cost of $98,320 is Stanford's standard student budget of $97,545 — which includes tuition, housing and food, student fees, books and supplies, and personal expenses — plus $775 in required one-time fees for freshmen and transfers (a $525 New Student Orientation Fee and a $250 Document Fee). The standard returning-student budget for years two through four is $97,545. Travel is not included in either figure and varies by student. Stanford is holding undergraduate tuition flat from 2025–26 to 2026–27.
The financial aid policy statements shown in the section above are Stanford's own current published aid policy, as posted on Stanford's undergraduate admissions Afford page. "Assets typical of that income level" means Stanford's aid formulas assume the family's assets are within the range typical for that income; families with atypical assets — such as substantial investment holdings or business ownership — may receive different aid packages. Stanford is need-blind for domestic applicants, meets 100% of demonstrated financial need with grant and scholarship aid rather than loans, and does not award merit-based institutional aid. Almost half of Stanford undergraduates receive need-based financial aid, and the average need-based scholarship in the current freshman class is more than $70,000. This page cites Stanford's own current aid policy rather than federal average net-price data because federal IPEDS reporting lags the current academic year by roughly two years and, for Stanford specifically, source-to-source variation across published reporting snapshots has been material. Actual family costs vary based on the specific aid Stanford offers and each family's specific financial situation.
The CollegeClearly estimator translates your family's specific cost into a standardized 20-year monthly financial commitment using CollegeClearly's own repayment model, applied identically to every school we cover so families can compare on the same basis. It is a comparison framework, not a specific loan product.
Figures are for informational purposes only and are not financial advice. Verify final costs with Stanford's financial aid office and your family's specific aid letter.