Stanford has sent acceptance letters to 745 high school students who sought admission to the Class of 2020 under the university’s Restrictive Early Action admission program, the Office of Undergraduate Admission announced today.

The students were selected from 7,822 early admission candidates, the largest early application pool in Stanford’s history.

“One of the most significant pleasures experienced by our admission and financial aid officers is identifying the next generation of students,” said Richard H. Shaw, dean of admission and financial aid.

Shaw said the 745 students who received acceptance letters come from 48 states and 34 countries. More than 80 percent of them have a high school grade point average of 4.0 or above and have demonstrated excellence in fields ranging from the arts and humanities to Earth sciences, natural sciences, social sciences and engineering.

“These students represent the best and brightest young people from around the world, selected from an extraordinary array of candidates from every conceivable background,” Shaw said.

All early applicants were notified of their decisions – admitted, denied or deferred to the Regular Decision round – on Friday afternoon.

Under Stanford’s undergraduate financial aid program, the university guarantees to meet the full demonstrated financial need of all admitted students.

Stanford has reserved the majority of spaces in its freshman class for students who apply for admission under its Regular Decision program. More than 35,000 additional students are expected to apply for admission by Jan. 3.

Students admitted under both programs have until May 1 to accept Stanford’s offers.