About St. Olaf

Founded in 1874, St. Olaf is a national liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with world-class programs in music and mathematics. We're also recognized for our innovative approaches to undergraduate science education, our long-standing engagement in global education and our commitment to environmental sustainability.

CHARACTERISTICS

Majors
St. Olaf offers 45 graduation majors, including 15 teaching certifications, 19 concentrations and 17 pre-professional fields with the most popular majors (in order) being: English, Biology, Mathematics, Economics, and Psychology.

Faculty
The student-to-faculty ratio at St. Olaf is 12.5:1, and the average class size is 22. Ninety-one percent of full-time faculty members hold a doctorate degree or the highest degree in their field.

Enrollment in 2007-08
St. Olaf enrolls 3,040 students representing 43 states and 19 foreign countries. First-generation college students comprise 14 percent of this year's freshman class.

Academic Strength
For the Class of 2011, the median ACT Composite is 29 (middle 50%:  26-31) and the median combined SAT is 1320 (middle 50%: 1200-1410). Their average high school unweighted GPA was 3.65 (weighted: 3.82), and 54% of them graduated in the top 10% of their high school class.

Tuition & Financial Aid
The comprehensive fee for 2007-08 is $38,500, with 82 percent of students in the Class of 2001 receiving either merit or need-based financial aid. The average need-based financial aid package for first-year students was $23,700.

Location
St. Olaf is located in Northfield, Minn., a charming, two-college town of 18,256 people just 35 miles south of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Residence Life
Ninety-six percent of students live in one of the college’s 11 residence halls, 10 service and honor houses, 6 academic language houses and one diversity house.

Calendar
St. Olaf uses the 4-1-4 academic calendar, providing students with a January Interim during which many students take part in an off-campus study program, either domestically or abroad.

Extracurricular Activities
St. Olaf offers 27 intercollegiate athletic teams (NCAA Div. III, Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference), 39 club and intramural sports, 24 music ensembles and 120 student organizations.