Stanford University
What Stanford says
Exact quotes from Stanford’s official pages, checked word for word on Oct 22, 2026.
To request a leave of absence, you must submit a leave of absence eForm in the Student eForms portal, available via Axess (My Academics > Petitions & Forms).
— studentservices.stanford.edu ↗January 4 (Mon, 5 p.m.) Deadline to submit Leave of Absence
— studentservices.stanford.edu ↗A leave of absence from the university may not exceed a cumulative total of two years (eight quarters, including summer quarters).
— studentservices.stanford.edu ↗Based on your choice of return quarter when you request your Leave of Absence, your student status will be reactivated on the following date
— studentservices.stanford.edu ↗There are many reasons you may want to take a leave of absence. Whatever your reason, Stanford has a simple process for taking leave
— studentservices.stanford.edu ↗Written by AI from the quotes and pages we read. It may be incomplete or wrong; the school’s own pages win.
- Stanford appears to use a Leave of Absence eForm in Axess.
- For Winter Quarter 2027, the deadline looks like January 4 at 5 p.m.
- Quarter system: spring off may mean winter too; return seems automatic on a set date.
- Reasons accepted: any personal reason (Registrar gives final approval via eForm).
- Time away allowed: 1 yr at a time; 2 yrs total.
- Classes start Jan 4.
Before you decide
Check on the following…
- Will my spot be held?Check how long your school keeps your place and whether you have to apply to come back.Ask: Registrar
- Will I graduate later?A term off can push back your graduation. Ask which required classes only run in the spring.Ask: Academic advisor
- Is there a deadline to ask?Some schools want your leave request before January. Find out the exact date and the form.Ask: Dean’s office or registrar
- What happens to my scholarships and aid?Ask whether your scholarships and grants pause while you’re away or end, and what you need to do to get them back.Ask: Financial aid office
- When would I have to start repaying loans?Student loans usually stop being deferred when you’re not enrolled. After a short grace period, often six months, payments can start.Ask: Financial aid office
- Will I still have health insurance?A student health plan usually needs you to be enrolled. Make sure you’re covered from January to April.Ask: Student health office
- What about my housing?Ask whether you can leave your housing contract without a penalty and whether you’ll get housing when you come back.Ask: Housing office
- I’m on a student visa. Does this affect it?For F-1 students, not enrolling usually ends your visa status. Talk to this office before anything else.Ask: International student office
Hackathon
Student founder community
Entrepreneurship center
Hard-tech team
- Stanford Solar Car Project ↗Student team designing and racing solar cars (American Solar Challenge).
- Stanford Student Robotics ↗Student robotics club listed by making@Stanford; its own site (stanfordstudentrobotics.org) returned an SSL error when checked.
- Stanford Student Space Initiative (SSI) ↗Stanford's largest project-based student group: rockets, satellites, balloons and more.
Why 74
Spend the winter building. Southbound runs Jan 11 to Apr 11, 2027 in Miami. Acceptance is rolling.
What we could find (checked Oct 22, 2026). Not final: confirm dates and aid with your school before you act. Some source pages show no date or blocked our automated check. Confirm the details with your school. We date pages from server timestamps, page metadata, “last updated” text, PDF dates and the Wayback Machine.