[CTcard]

Except when you look at the average GPA, SAT scores, and number of AP classes and find they have all gone up.  So it has gotten harder. 

Stanford is required to report some statistics about it's entering class through the common data set required by the Dept of Education. Otherwise they are quite mum on the matter.

GPA is a wholly unreliable measure of changes over time due to grade inflation.

SAT scores are somewhat more consistent but the test has gone through many changes over the years. How Stanford weighs this test is unclear, and probably changes over time. "Hard to get in" relates to minimum scores - the common data set requires 25th and 75th percentile scores with 25th presumably more relevant to this question.

The common data set starts from 1998, Stanford's numbers are below. They're fairly consistent with perhaps a slight uptick starting in 2012. I would expect Stanford to have gone up versus other elites given it's increasing status and prominence. I don't have the energy to do this for a broader range of elite schools, however.

The next level question would be whether resources to do well on the SAT have increased.

   

Year	25th Verbal	75th Verbal	25th Math	75th Math
1998	680	770	670	770
1999	670	770	690	780
2000	670	770	690	790
2001	670	770	690	780
2002	660	760	690	780
2003	660	770	680	790
2004	680	770	690	780
2005	670	770	690	780
2006	660	760	680	780
2007	660	760	680	790
2008	650	760	680	780
2009	660	760	680	780
2010	670	760	690	790
2011	670	770	690	780
2012	680	780	700	790
2013	680	780	700	790
2014	680	780	700	790

[CTcard]

Except when you look at the average GPA, SAT scores, and number of AP classes and find they have all gone up.  So it has gotten harder. 

Stanford is required to report some statistics about it's entering class through the common data set required by the Dept of Education. Otherwise they are quite mum on the matter.

GPA is a wholly unreliable measure of changes over time due to grade inflation.

SAT scores are somewhat more consistent but the test has gone through many changes over the years. How Stanford weighs this test is unclear, and probably changes over time. "Hard to get in" relates to minimum scores - the common data set requires 25th and 75th percentile scores with 25th presumably more relevant to this question.

The common data set starts from 1998, Stanford's numbers are below. They're fairly consistent with perhaps a slight uptick starting in 2012. I would expect Stanford to have gone up versus other elites given it's increasing status and prominence. I don't have the energy to do this for a broader range of elite schools, however.

The next level question would be whether resources to do well on the SAT have increased.

   

Year	25th Verbal	75th Verbal	25th Math	75th Math
1998	680	770	670	770
1999	670	770	690	780
2000	670	770	690	790
2001	670	770	690	780
2002	660	760	690	780
2003	660	770	680	790
2004	680	770	690	780
2005	670	770	690	780
2006	660	760	680	780
2007	660	760	680	790
2008	650	760	680	780
2009	660	760	680	780
2010	670	760	690	790
2011	670	770	690	780
2012	680	780	700	790
2013	680	780	700	790
2014	680	780	700	790