Stanford University

 Stanford University

Stanford University is known as one of the world's most prestigious institutions of US. It is a private research university in Stanford, California. Stanford was founded in 1885 by Leland Stanford, former Governor of and U.S. Senator from California and leading railroad tycoon, and his wife, Jane Lathrop Stanford, in memory of their only child, Leland Stanford Jr., who had died of typhoid fever at age 15.

The University is currently organized into seven academic schools. The schools of Humanities and Sciences (27 departments), Engineering (9 departments), and Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences (4 departments) have both graduate and undergraduate programs while the Schools of Law, Medicine, Education and Business have graduate programs only. The powers and authority of the faculty are vested in the Academic Council.

Stanford University is a large, highly residential research university with a slight majority of enrollments coming from graduate and professional students. It follows a quarter system with Autumn quarter usually starting in late September and Spring Quarter ending in early June. The full-time, four-year undergraduate program has an arts and sciences focus with high graduate student coexistence. Stanford University is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Its most recent undergraduate admit rate (for the class of 2018) further dropped to 5.07%, the lowest in the University's history.

Full-time undergraduate tuition was $42,690 for 2013–2014. Stanford's admission process is need-blind for US citizens and permanent residents; while it is not need-blind for international students, 64% are on need-based aid, with an average aid package of $31,411. In 2012–13, the university awarded $126 million in need-based financial aid to 3,485 students, with an average aid package of $40,460. Eighty percent of students receive some form of financial aid. Stanford has a no-loan policy. For undergraduates admitted in 2015, Stanford waives tuition, room, and board for most families with incomes below $65,000, and most families with incomes below $125,000 are not required to pay tuition; those with incomes up to $150,000 may have tuition significantly reduced. 17% of students receive Pell Grants, a common measure of low-income students at a college.