Admissions

SMSSP student in front of computer

2024 Admissions

Stanford Middle School Scholars Program is open to low-income students currently in grades 6 or 7 who reside in and attend school in the United States. Scholars are required to attend both the summer and fall semester components of the program. Applicants should be interested in or planning to attend a college preparatory, academically rigorous high school.
Application Deadline
March 29, 2024
Admissions Notification
Mid-May 2024
When your admissions decision is ready, you will receive an email notification.

Application Process

1. Start an Application

Create a Stanford Middle School Scholars Program (SMSSP) application account. The application account should be made with the student applicant's legal name, but a parent/legal guardian email address may be used to receive application communications.

The application is currently closed.

2. Review Application Checklist

In addition to the online application form, a complete application includes:

Academic Records
We require unofficial transcripts for each school or academic program from which you earned grades (such as letter or numerical grades) from Fall 2021 through Fall 2023. If you have multiple grade reports from one school, rather than one transcript from that school, please combine that into a single file for upload. Homeschooled applicants should submit a document similar to a transcript with their coursework from the years listed above. Homeschooled students should also submit transcripts from any graded courses they took with a school or program during this period.

Teacher Recommendation
We require one (1) online recommendation form to be included with your application. This recommendation should come from a history, social science, English/language arts, science, math, engineering, or computer science teacher. You may submit a second, optional, recommendation form from a counselor, principal, or mentor (which can include another teacher). Be sure to ask your recommenders if they are willing to submit this form for you and then add the teacher(s) to your application early, as this step will email them the online form.   

No application fee is required.

3. Check Your Application Status

After completing your application, return to the Application Status and Materials Checklist page to make sure all of your application materials have been submitted. When your admissions decision is ready, you will receive an email notification that prompts you to log in to this page for the decision.

A Note About Email

Each applicant will receive a confirmation email from us after their application is received and processed. If SMSSP has any questions about your application, or if there is something missing, an email will be sent asking that the applicant contact us to resolve the situation. Please be sure to check your email regularly and respond to us when needed.

If you have any questions about the application or program, please reach out to us here.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

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Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies (SPCS) is committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive and accessible community. We honor students’ authentic identities, varied perspectives, thoughts and experiences in all of our programs.

I chose to enroll in the Stanford Middle School Scholars Program because I am constantly looking for ways to challenge myself, and I wanted to be a part of a program with high standards. SMSSP enables me to ask questions, receive answers, and develop my ideas.

Samantha

2022 Stanford Middle School Scholar

Stanford University and Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies Nondiscrimination Policy

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, in the administration of the University's programs and activities, 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; Stanford also prohibits unlawful harassment including sexual harassment and sexual violence. This policy applies to Stanford programs and activities both on and off-campus, including overseas programs.