On Tuesday morning, the University released its preliminary admissions data for the undergraduate class of 2029. With a total of 1,866 first-year and 90 transfer students enrolling, this class marks not just a larger size in recent years, but also the largest number of transfer students in recent memory. 

By self-reported “check all that apply” standard where students are asked to select all race categories they choose to describe their identity, the class of 2029 also reports the largest Asian and White percentage in three years. The initial data also saw a decline in Black, Hispanic and international student enrollment.

“In all, Stanford enrolled 196 more first-year and transfer students compared to last year, in an intentional effort to increase the class size to give a greater number of talented, exceptionally well-qualified students the opportunity to earn a Stanford degree,” the University wrote.

The class of 2029 is the second class enrolled at Stanford after the Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision to end affirmative action and prohibit race-conscious admissions.

In addition to the larger class size, this year’s data reveals new trends in the racial composition of the new incoming class. Between the class of 2028 and 2029, Asian and White enrollment saw the most significant increases, from 41.3% to 43.95% and 41.6% to 42.1%, respectively. 

While the preliminary data is calculated using the “check all that apply” methodology, the current data would mean that the Class of 2029 enrolled more White and Asian students in terms of percentage of an incoming undergraduate class in the last three years — if comparing it with the check-all-that-apply approach from the last two cycles. 

Furthermore, the percentage of students who identify as Hispanic was reported at 12.4%, showing a decrease from last year’s 15%. Self-identified African American students constitute 5.8% of the class of 2029 and transfers, whereas the class of 2028 and transfers recorded 7%. 

International students constituted 12.7% of the class of 2029, a drop from the class of 2028’s 14%. 

In the class of 2029, 3% of students identify as American Indian whereas 1.3% identify as Pacific Islanders, both recording numbers close to last year’s level. 

It should be noted that preliminary data may differ from the official data provided later in the Common Data Set due to differences in methodologies.

“Stanford is in full compliance with the law and is unwavering in its commitment to non-discrimination,” Dean of Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid Richard Shaw wrote to The Daily in response to an inquiry on whether factors other than race in the admissions process have been introduced to foster the diversity of the class of 2029.

The class of 2029 was also the first enrolled class after the University announced that it would not follow California’s regulation on legacy admission by opting out of the state grant. Shaw did not respond to The Daily’s question regarding the influence of legacy admissions on this cycle, writing that it, among other questions raised by The Daily, contains “new information or interpretations that we simply don’t have at this time.”

In comparison to last year’s release focusing on its commitment to a diverse community, the University stressed much on what University president Jonathan Levin ’94 described as “other aspects of diversity” this year, which is manifested in the historically larger class size and continuous commitment to financial aid. 

The report stated the average scholarship among those receiving aid is $69,415 for the incoming class in Fall 2025. It also mentions that families of undergraduates with annual incomes below $100,000 pay no tuition, room or board, and those with incomes below $150,000 pay no tuition.

“University leadership believes that we can and should give more students access to a Stanford education while preserving the excellence and character that define what it means to be a student here,” Shaw wrote in an email to The Daily. 

Shaw described the expanding class size as one part of an “ongoing, intentional effort to expand access” to a Stanford undergrad education.

“As President Levin discussed in April, Stanford has experienced tremendous growth over the years … the undergraduate class size, however, has remained virtually the same,” Shaw said. 

The official release also stressed how the University has been putting effort into improving national outreach. Last year’s preliminary release first revealed that the University would create a new team of six regionally based admission officers to build deeper connections with communities across the country. This year, the University released that staff have already put nearly 250 programs across the country attended by more than 7,000 students. With over 1,100 events at high schools and organizations across the country, the admissions team also reached more than 30,000 students.

Shaw specified that the teams are based in Dallas/Ft. Worth, Miami, Chicago, New York City, Denver and Los Angeles. 

Although not directly related to the class of 2029, the University also says in the release that outreach to students applying for admission in fall 2026 and beyond has ramped up significantly, doubling the outreach efforts targeting the class of 2029. 

“Our goal is to help make prospective students across the country — from rural and small towns to cities and suburbs from coast to coast — aware of the educational opportunities at Stanford,” Shaw said.