Freshman Application Requirements

In order to receive acceptance to Kansas State University, there are some very basic criteria that must be met. First of all, an out-of-state student, like myself, needs a GPA of a 2.5 or higher. The student must have an ACT score of 21 or higher or a SAT score of 980 or higher. The student could also rank in the top third of their class. For early acceptance, the student only needs to meet one of these requirements. For regular acceptance, the applying students must meet all of the above requirements as well as earning a 2.0 or higher on all attempted college courses (“Admissions Requirements Freshman”). When applying, there is a $30 application fee that cannot be refunded. The student must provide their high school transcript, SAT and/or

However, 97% of students have a GPA of 3.75 or higher. The application process, however, is much more strenuous and drawn out. Applicants must send in their official transcript, school report including counselor recommendation, mid-year report, two teacher evaluations, and essays (“Freshman Application Instructions”). The school report is meant to set student achievements in context, allowing Stanford to understand the difficulty of the classes that students completed. They ask for teacher evaluations to receive a view of the student that is unlike the counselor letter and the student essays. It allows the admissions staff to understand the applicant in new ways (“Teacher Evaluations”). There are four essays an applicant to Stanford must write; one common application essay that is between 250 and 650 words and the Stanford short essays. These essays have a 250 word limit and the applicant must write three, each to a different topic. All of the essays are meant to give an applicant a personality to the admissions staff (“Essays”). Along with all the above criteria, the applicant must also submit a $90 application fee that cannot be refunded. The admissions office at Stanford prefers that all application information be submitted online via The Common Application, but they will accept paper versions of the above if the applicant is unable to use that method (“Freshman Application