Parents

Information for Parents of Undergraduate Students

The Parent Contribution

The parent contribution is a central component to helping your child meet their educational expenses. While undergraduate costs can be significant, Stanford’s financial aid program can assist your family with these expenses. To better understand financial aid at Stanford, our section on How Aid Works can provide you with information about how we calculate your parent contribution and how aid eligibility is determined.

Financing the Expected Parent Contribution

You have many options when it comes to financing educational costs. The best option varies with individual family situations. Some families choose to use their student’s federal student loan eligibility to help finance the expected parent contribution. See our information about Federal Direct Loans for the student loan program most commonly used. Some families prefer to do any borrowing in the parents' names. The Federal Direct PLUS Loan is one available option. Private (non-federal) parent loans are another option to consider. We provide a chart comparing private parent loans and federal PLUS loans on our Private/Alternative Parent Loans page.

Parent Access to Student Records

Stanford's Office of the University Registrar posts Stanford's policies regarding privacy of student information under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Under FERPA, our office will not disclose any student’s financial aid information to parents unless the student provides written consent. Likewise, we will not share detailed parent information with the student (or others) without parent consent.

Updated on September 9, 2021 3:38 PM