California Institute of Technology vs Stanford University: Acceptance Rate, SAT & Net Price

California Institute of Technology and Stanford University are about equally selective, admitting 3.8% and 3.6% of applicants respectively. For a family earning $48,001–$75,000, the average net price is about $10,241 per year at California Institute of Technology versus $5,290 at Stanford University. Admitted students post SAT middle-50% ranges of 1530–1570 at California Institute of Technology and 1510–1570 at Stanford University.

California Institute of Technology vs Stanford University: admissions and cost statistics from the most recent Common Data Set, IPEDS, and College Scorecard
MetricCalifornia Institute of TechnologyStanford University
Overall acceptance rate3.8%3.6%
Early acceptance rate6.0%7.2%
SAT middle 50%1530–15701510–1570
Avg unweighted GPA3.973.96
Yield rate59.0%82.0%
Class size2181,693
Net price, $48,001–$75,000 income$10,241$5,290
Net price, over $110,000 income$40,846$39,717

Admissions and cost data as of July 3, 2026 (CDS 2024–25 cycle), from the most recent Common Data Set, IPEDS, and College Scorecard. Rows appear only where both colleges report the statistic.

Frequently asked questions

Is California Institute of Technology harder to get into than Stanford University?

The two are about equally selective: California Institute of Technology admits 3.8% of applicants and Stanford University admits 3.6%, based on the most recent Common Data Set.

Which is cheaper for a middle-income family, California Institute of Technology or Stanford University?

For a family earning $48,001–$75,000, the average net price is about $10,241 per year at California Institute of Technology and $5,290 at Stanford University, so Stanford University is the lower-cost option at that income level (source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard/IPEDS data).

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