by the numbers

St. Olaf College is a nationally ranked residential liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

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Location

St. Olaf is in Northfield, Minnesota, a historic river town of 18,256 people and two national liberal arts colleges. We’re 35 miles from the Twin Cities and the Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) international airport.

Student Body

  • 19 countries and 43 states are represented
  • 3,040 total undergraduate enrollment
  • 96% live on campus
  • 55% women, 45% men
  • 8% racial/ethnic minorities
  • 41% Lutheran, 19% other protestant, 14% Catholic, 18% no response or no affiliation, 1% world religions

Faculty

  • 91% are full-time with doctorate or highest degree in field
  • Average class size is 22
  • Student-to-faculty ratio is 12.5:1

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Class of 2012

  • 817 first-year students
  • 55% Female/ 45% Male
  • 3,956 applied, 2,326 accepted, 817 enrolled
  • 3.65 average academic GPA (unweighted); 3.81 weighted academic GPA
  • 15% are first-generation college students
  • 58% graduated in the top 10% of their class, and 84% were in the top 25%
  • 29 median ACT (middle 50%: 27–31)
  • 1310 median SAT (middle 50%: 1210–1390)
  • 650 median SAT verbal (middle 50%: 600–710)
  • 650 median SAT math (middle 50%: 600–700)

Academics

Five Faculty Areas

  • Natural Sciences and Mathematics
  • Interdisciplinary and General Studies
  • Social Sciences
  • Humanities
  • Fine Arts

Degrees

  • 44 majors (or design your own)
  • 19 concentrations

Accreditation

St. Olaf College is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

Financial Picture

Tuition, Financial Aid, and Scholarships, 2007–08

  • $38,500 comprehensive fee: tuition, room and board. (Click here for 2008-09 tuition details.)
  • 82% of students in the Class of 2011 are receiving need-based aid or merit scholarships from the college.
  • $23,700 is the class’s average need-based financial aid package.
  • 296 incoming students received academic scholarships.
  • 38 incoming students received scholarships for service and leadership in their communities and houses of worship.
  • 47 incoming students received music scholarships.

College Endowment

  • $300 million, as of Spring 2007.

Rankings

Among liberal arts colleges, St. Olaf is:

  • 1st in graduates who go on to earn Ph.D.s in mathematics and statistics.
  • 2nd in religion and theological studies.
  • 4th in graduates who go on to earn Ph.D.s in physical sciences, medical science and foreign languages.
  • 4th in graduates who go on to earn Ph.D.s in arts and music.
  • One of 40 colleges cited in Colleges That Change Lives (Penguin, 2006), by former New York Times education editor Loren Pope. St. Olaf is the only Minnesota college and the only Lutheran-affiliated college featured in the book.

Study Abroad

  • 1st among liberal arts colleges in the number of students who study abroad.
  • 78% of each graduating class studies off-campus.

Music

  • 1/3 of students are involved in music.
  • 8 vocal ensembles, including the world-renowned St. Olaf Choir.
  • 16 instrumental ensembles.

The St. Olaf Choir, St. Olaf Band and St. Olaf Orchestra tour internationally.

The St. Olaf Christmas Festival is broadcast nationally each year on PBS and public radio. In 2005, St. Olaf ensembles performed in Norway as part of the country's Centennial celebration. A St. Olaf Christmas in Norway was also filmed and broadcast by PBS.

College to Career

  • 155 students received credit for internships last year.
  • 100 alumni help students investigate careers and vocations each year.
  • $40,000 was awarded to students last year to start businesses through the Finstad Center for Entrepreneurial Studies.
  • 56% of last year's graduates took jobs, 34% enrolled in graduate school or other advanced study, and 9% engaged in full-time volunteer service.

Awards and Honors Since 1995

  • 5 Rhodes Scholars, including two recipients in 2007
  • 25 Goldwater Scholars
  • 49 Fulbright Scholars

Campus Life

Sports and Recreation

  • 27 varsity sports (more than any other college in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference).
  • 39 club and intramural sports.

Student Activities

  • 120 student organizations including academic, athletic, awareness, political, multicultural, religious, service and special-interest clubs.

Facilities

  • 300-acre campus, plus woodlands and 10 miles of groomed nature trails.
  • 57 campus buildings including 18 academic buildings, 11 residence halls, 10 service houses, 6 academic language houses and 1 diversity house, plus Rolvaag Memorial Library, Glasoe Science Library, Halvorson Music Library and the Tostrud Athletic Center.

New Buildings and Additions Since 2002

  • Tostrud Center, a 40,000-square-foot athletics and recreational facility that includes 2 indoor tracks and a 48-foot climbing wall.
  • Dittmann Center, with 9 art studios, 1 foundry, 2 exhibition halls and 3 dance studios.
  • Boe Memorial Chapel underwent acoustic and aesthetic renewal in 2006, with new interior architecture, vibrant colors to match its stained-glass windows, and a brand new 3-manual Holtkamp organ.
  • The blades of the St. Olaf Wind Turbine first turned in summer 2006. The tower stands 350 feet tall and supplies about 1/3 of the campus's daily electricity needs.
  • Regents Hall, the new science complex opened in September 2008. It is a 180,000-square-foot “green” building that includes 26 teaching labs, 17,000 square feet of student/faculty research space, an 8,000-square-foot science library and numerous classrooms and common spaces.
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