Campus

Report

Stanford Marriage Pact · 2025 ·

Stanford. It’s nice to see you. We come bearing gifts.

We thought we’d share a bit about Stanford’s romantic playing field——just so you know what you’re up against.

And this time, we’re trying something new. See exactly how you and your friends compare to everyone at Stanford. Don’t let the power get to your head.

Our analysis is built upon anonymized and aggregated data from the Stanford Marriage Pact. It will never be sold or shared for commercial purposes. You can read more about our principles and practices here.

Maybe it is a

You Problem

For the first time in Stanford Marriage Pact history, see how you stack up against your ~~romantic prospects~~ fellow classmates. Maybe it really is you, after all. Much to think about.

Major

breakdown

Your major, your concentration, your greatest disappointment to your parents. Sit back and enjoy judging all the majors that aren’t your own.

Physics majors would rather fail a test than cheat

Gold star! Here’s how different majors answered the question: “I would rather fail an exam than cheat on it”

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Physics	0.03	0.08	0.18	0.05	0.13	0.31	0.23	x̄=4.98	n=62
Biomedical Computation	0.04	0.02	0.15	0.19	0.25	0.19	0.17	x̄=4.81	n=48
Electrical Engineering	0.05	0.05	0.17	0.13	0.25	0.19	0.17	x̄=4.74	n=174
Math	0.03	0.12	0.21	0.08	0.19	0.20	0.17	x̄=4.57	n=190
Human Biology	0.06	0.11	0.22	0.09	0.24	0.19	0.11	x̄=4.32	n=216
Computer Science	0.07	0.11	0.26	0.12	0.16	0.16	0.11	x̄=4.10	n=552
Economics	0.09	0.15	0.25	0.12	0.14	0.13	0.11	x̄=3.90	n=348
SymSys	0.04	0.21	0.28	0.09	0.16	0.14	0.08	x̄=3.87	n=163
MS&E	0.07	0.20	0.23	0.19	0.13	0.10	0.09	x̄=3.76	n=147
STS	0.25	0.25	0.08	0.14	0.08	0.14	0.06	x̄=3.18	n=51

Is AI a net good for society?

Only time will tell. Here’s how that question breaks down by field of study. English majors, hopefully our future overlords don’t hear about this.

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
English	2.70	n=43
Earth Systems	2.95	n=73
Psychology	3.32	n=120
Human Biology	3.78	n=216
Electrical Engineering	4.44	n=174
Economics	4.48	n=348
Math	4.51	n=190
Computer Science	4.67	n=552
Biomedical Computation	4.69	n=48

Smartest majors (self-reported)

These are the majors with the highest average response to the question “Are you smarter than most people at Stanford?”

Math
Physics
Computer Science
Electrical Engineering
Data Science
MS&E
Aero/Astro
History
Biomedical Computation
Economics

Machiavellian majors

Majors ranked by their Machiavellian tendencies (revenge, getting ahead, ruthless ambition, etc.) Maybe keep one eye open when you nap in lecture.

STS
MS&E
Economics
Computer Science
Data Science
Communication
SymSys

Chemical Engineering
Earth Systems

Note: majors with 30 or fewer respondents are omitted to protect their privacy in this analysis.

It’s your world

We’re all just living in it, no? Here’s how power-hungry we are at Stanford. Don’t forget about us when you reach the top.

Libertarians want to be part of the 1%, socialists don’t

Gold diggers, pay attention: Here’s how we answered “I want to be part of the 1%.”

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Libertarian	0.00	0.02	0.02	0.09	0.11	0.26	0.51	x̄=6.09	n=47
Conservative	0.01	0.03	0.03	0.05	0.14	0.22	0.51	x̄=5.98	n=204
Republican	0.01	0.03	0.05	0.09	0.12	0.21	0.49	x̄=5.86	n=188
Apolitical	0.01	0.06	0.08	0.09	0.20	0.24	0.32	x̄=5.43	n=162
Independent	0.03	0.06	0.06	0.09	0.18	0.24	0.35	x̄=5.41	n=501
Democrat	0.06	0.10	0.11	0.11	0.24	0.20	0.19	x̄=4.73	n=1685
Liberal	0.09	0.11	0.11	0.12	0.20	0.16	0.22	x̄=4.57	n=579
Socialist	0.25	0.21	0.22	0.11	0.11	0.03	0.07	x̄=2.99	n=151

Conservatives believe they can change the world

To everyone else——keep up. Here’s how we answered, “I believe I can truly change the world.”

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Conservative	0.01	0.02	0.08	0.16	0.24	0.27	0.22	x̄=5.25	n=204
Independent	0.00	0.02	0.08	0.16	0.27	0.27	0.19	x̄=5.24	n=501
Libertarian	0.00	0.04	0.13	0.06	0.32	0.21	0.23	x̄=5.23	n=47
Liberal	0.01	0.04	0.08	0.14	0.33	0.22	0.17	x̄=5.09	n=579
Democrat	0.01	0.04	0.10	0.15	0.33	0.22	0.16	x̄=5.06	n=1685
Apolitical	0.02	0.06	0.13	0.15	0.21	0.25	0.19	x̄=4.95	n=162
Socialist	0.01	0.07	0.09	0.13	0.38	0.20	0.13	x̄=4.92	n=151
Republican	0.02	0.05	0.16	0.16	0.28	0.18	0.15	x̄=4.77	n=188

Spiritual students are the most important people in their own lives

Don’t tell the big man upstairs. Here’s how we answered “I’m the most important person in my life.”

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
Protestant	3.40	n=192
Muslim	3.84	n=81
Christian	3.88	n=417
Catholic	4.09	n=410
Atheist	4.33	n=569
Agnostic	4.36	n=988
Spiritual	4.36	n=329

Only children have only-child syndrome

Same question as above——this time by birth order.

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
Middle	3.99	n=536
Oldest	4.08	n=1339
Youngest	4.26	n=1292
Only	4.52	n=467

Topics to avoid

at the dinner table

Time to get political. Dare you to keep these in your back pocket for your next first date.

65% of socialists wouldn’t date a Republican

Each box indicates the percentage of the political identity listed to the left who reported they don’t want their partner to have the political identity listed above.

	Socialist	Liberal	Democrat	Apolitical	Independent	Libertarian	Conservative	Republican
Socialist	0.04	0.06	0.05	0.38	0.15	0.37	0.62	0.65
Liberal	0.04	0.02	0.01	0.15	0.04	0.13	0.30	0.38
Democrat	0.07	0.03	0.04	0.14	0.05	0.12	0.31	0.42
Apolitical	0.04	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.04	0.04	0.04
Independent	0.07	0.02	0.02	0.04	0.01	0.04	0.06	0.09
Libertarian	0.17	0.06	0.04	0.04	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.11
Conservative	0.16	0.09	0.08	0.03	0.02	0.04	0.02	0.01
Republican	0.35	0.27	0.30	0.10	0.07	0.11	0.01	0.04

You’ve changed, Stanford

At least a little. We’ve run the Stanford Marriage Pact six times since fall 2020——here’s how our political beliefs have evolved over the years.

Note: in fall 2023, we added several new political identities to the options.

Let’s Talk

About Sex

Going out with a bang. Here’s a look at what Stanford students are getting up to in the bedroom.

Bringing politics into the bedroom

...is always a good idea! Here’s how students with different political identities answered the question “I generally like to take control during sex.”

	I’d rather not 🥺 Give me the reins 😈
Democrat	3.49	n=1685
Liberal	3.57	n=579
Apolitical	3.86	n=162
Republican	3.88	n=188
Independent	3.89	n=501
Libertarian	4.09	n=47
Conservative	4.25	n=204

What’s the easiest major?

No, not that kind of easy. Here’s how the different majors at Stanford answered the question “How long do you think it’s appropriate to wait before sex?”

	Zero wait Until marriage
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Earth Systems	0.04	0.16	0.38	0.26	0.12	0.01	0.01	x̄=3.36	n=73
Communication	0.14	0.14	0.23	0.26	0.11	0.06	0.06	x̄=3.46	n=35
STS	0.08	0.14	0.33	0.24	0.14	0.04	0.04	x̄=3.49	n=51
Economics	0.03	0.16	0.30	0.26	0.16	0.05	0.06	x̄=3.73	n=348
Computer Science	0.05	0.14	0.27	0.24	0.19	0.07	0.06	x̄=3.80	n=552
Math	0.04	0.15	0.24	0.23	0.19	0.07	0.07	x̄=3.86	n=190
Human Biology	0.02	0.12	0.25	0.28	0.17	0.10	0.07	x̄=4.03	n=216
Civil Engineering	0.03	0.13	0.16	0.29	0.16	0.13	0.10	x̄=4.19	n=31
Bioengineering	0.01	0.07	0.24	0.26	0.19	0.13	0.10	x̄=4.32	n=111
Biomedical Computation	0.02	0.06	0.15	0.35	0.19	0.17	0.06	x̄=4.38	n=48

Atheist students would bring a hookup home to an unmade bed

Chaotic AND sexy. Here’s how each religion answered, “I would never bring a hookup home to an unmade bed.”

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
Atheist	4.35	n=569
Buddhist	4.37	n=87
Agnostic	4.53	n=988
Spiritual	4.54	n=329
Christian	4.77	n=417
Catholic	4.82	n=410
Protestant	4.87	n=192

Join our team ·

Had fun this year? Help us spread the good word.

Help launch next year’s Stanford Marriage Pact, or help launch Marriage Pacts across the country.

apply.marriagepact.com

Applications close Wed 5/06 at 11:59pm