Blog · Who feeds which college · October 2, 2026
The high school that sends the most students to Stanford is Henry M. Gunn High School in Palo Alto
- Henry M. Gunn High School in Palo Alto lists 22 graduates per class year enrolling at Stanford University for 2025. That is first of 162 schools whose published lists name Stanford University.
- Nine of the top 10 schools whose published lists name Stanford University are in California. Palo Alto Senior High School is second, with 16 per class year.
- On the acceptances side, a separate list, Sage Hill School in Newport Coast is first with 5.3 admissions per class year.
Two terms, in plain words. A matriculation list is a list a high school publishes saying where its graduates enrolled. Per class year means the count the school printed, divided by the class years its list covers. A one-year list and a five-year list can then sit on the same page.
The school at the top
Henry M. Gunn High School is a public school in Palo Alto. Its own published list prints 22 students at Stanford University. The school labels those class years "2025". Because the list covers one class year, the printed total and the per-class-year number are the same. Gunn sits first of 162 schools whose published lists name Stanford University.
The top 10 high schools for students enrolling at Stanford University
| Rank | High school | City, State | Type | Students per class year | Count as printed | Class years (the school's words) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henry M. Gunn High School | Palo Alto, CA | public | 22.0 | 22 | 2025 |
| 2 | Palo Alto Senior High School | Palo Alto, CA | public | 16.0 | 16 | 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 (counts in the column named 2026) |
| 3 | The Harker School | San Jose, CA | private | 11.3 | 34 | Classes of 2023, 2024 & 2025 |
| 4 | Menlo School | Atherton, CA | private | 10.0 | 30 | Classes of 2023-2025 |
| 5 | Harvard-Westlake School | Studio City, CA | private | 9.0 | 9 | BY THE CLASSES OF 2021-2025 (counts in the column named CLASS OF '25) |
| 6 | Lakeside School | Seattle, WA | private | 7.0 | 35 | 2021-2025 |
| 7 | San Francisco University High School | San Francisco, CA | private | 6.2 | 31 | 2021-2025 |
| 8 | Sage Hill School | Newport Coast, CA | private | 5.3 | 16 | 2023-2025 |
| 9 | Lick Wilmerding High School | San Francisco, CA | private | 5.2 | 21 | past four years |
| 10 | Mira Costa High School | Manhattan Beach, CA | public | 5.0 | 5 | Class of 2026 |
What the table shows
The top 10 is close to home. Nine of the 10 schools are in California, the state where Stanford sits. The tenth is Lakeside School in Seattle, Washington. The two schools at the top, Gunn and Palo Alto Senior High School, are both in Palo Alto. Palo Alto Senior High School is second, at 16 per class year. Third is The Harker School in San Jose, at 11.3 per class year from a printed total of 34 across its "Classes of 2023, 2024 & 2025".
The acceptances lists
Acceptances are a different published list, and the two are never mixed. An enrollment list counts the graduates who went to a college. An acceptances list counts every college that admitted them. So one student admitted to three colleges appears three times. Seventeen schools publish a ranked acceptances count naming Stanford University. Sage Hill School is first there, with 5.3 admissions per class year across "2023-2025".
About schools you do not see here
A school that is not on this list did not publish a numbered matriculation list we could read. That is all absence means. It is never a statement about that school's graduates.
See the whole board
The full board shows the top 25 enrolled schools plus the acceptances section: Stanford University feeder schools. The college page is here: Stanford University.
Boards as of October 2, 2026. Schools publish new lists every fall, so the live board is the current ranking.