Please note: This is NOT the most current catalog.

Financing Your Education

http://www.stolaf.edu/admissions/

St. Olaf College charges its students a comprehensive fee which is set annually. This fee includes tuition up to a maximum course load of 4.50 courses per semester, academic fees, full board and room for on-campus students (special arrangements are made for off-campus students), class dues, subscriptions to the college yearbook and newspaper and admission to athletic events, artist series and convocations.

Comprehensive Fee for 2005-2006

Full-time students who take more than 4.50 courses in any semester will be charged an additional tuition fee at the rate of $100 per quarter course in excess of 4.50 courses. Full-time students taking private music lessons will be charged the extra tuition fee only for that portion of their course load which is over 4.50 courses, exclusive of music lessons.

Additional costs should be anticipated for books, outpatient health service charges, private lessons in music and special courses, including study skills and off-campus programs. (See “Additional Costs and Fees” below for detailed information.)

St. Olaf aims to maintain all published charges throughout the school year, but reserves the right to make adjustments and change procedures should unforeseen conditions make it necessary.

Payment Options

Monthly Payment Plan*: Ten equal payments on the balance due (after financial aid and $600 prepayment) beginning June 15. Students enrolling in this plan after June 15 may double or triple the first payment to catch up on missed payments. Participation fee of $80 $75.

Quarterly Payment Plan: Four equal payments on the balance due (after financial aid and $600 $500 prepayment) beginning June 15 and continuing on September 15, December 15, and March 15. Participation fee of $80 $75.

The Semester Payment Plan: Students pay in two installments. The First Semester is due on August 19, 2005 August 20, 2004; the Second Semester payment is due on January 20, 2006 January 14, 2005. If payments are not made on time, a finance charge of 1% a month is assessed on the unpaid balance.

Single Payment Plan: After the prepayment of $600 is received, a single payment of $31,950 $30,100 by August 19, 2005 August 20, 2004, will yield a $250 discount on the $30,950 comprehensive fee. The discount is not available to students receiving need-based financial aid. The discount is pro-rated for merit scholarship recipients and for students who receive non-need-based loans.

* The monthly and quarterly payment plans are administered by Tuition Management Systems (TMS) and Academic Management Services (AMS). Both the monthly and quarterly payment plans permit families to finance an amount up to the comprehensive fee minus any financial aid awarded by the college. No finance charge will be assessed on monthly or quarterly plans as long as payments are current. TMS and AMS offer a life insurance feature for participants.

For more information contact: The Student Accounts Office, 1520 St. Olaf Avenue, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN 55057-1098, Tel: (507) 646-3296 or (507) 646-3766 or contact TMS directly at 800-722-4867 or AMS at 800-635-0210.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE FOR 2004-05

The comprehensive fee is regarded as an annual charge rather than the sum of charges for each term. Payments for the 2004-05 academic year are due as follows:

$600: Payment due on or before June 15, 2004 (see “Advanced Payment” section which follows).
$14,875: Due on or before August 20, 2004.
$15,475: Due on or before January 14, 2005.

For students enrolled for part of the year, the charge will be:

Fall Semester only: $15,185
Interim and Spring Semester only: $15,765
Spring Semester only: $15,185

ADVANCED PAYMENTS FOR 2004-05 2006-07

New Students, $600: Accepted applicants for admission to St. Olaf College will receive notice of an initial payment of $300 to be paid on or before May 1, 2006 2005. An additional payment of $300 will be due on or before June 15, 2006 2005. The total of $600 will be credited to the September 2006 2005 comprehensive fee and is not transferable or refundable.

Returning Students, $600: All returning students are required to make a reservation payment of $600 on or before March 17, 2006 March 18, 2005, to indicate their intention to re-enroll at St. Olaf in September 2006 2005. Only those who have made this payment by the March 17 18 deadline are eligible for room draw and registration appointments in May. This payment will be accepted by the Business Office only on settled accounts.

The $600 reservation payment will be credited to the September 2006 2005 comprehensive fee and is not transferable. It is subject to the following refund schedule, if intent to withdraw from St. Olaf is communicated to the Office of the Dean of Students:

On or before April 1, 2006 2005: $600
On or before May 1, 2006 2005: $450
On or before June 1, 2006 2005: $300
On or before July 1, 2006 2005: $150
After July 1, 2006 2005: $0

As an exception, the $600 reservation payment is fully refundable for those students who do all of
the following:

1. File a free application for federal student aid (FAFSA) prior to April 1, 2006 2005, and
2. Determine the financial aid award offered is not sufficient to permit re-enrollment at St. Olaf, and
3. Notify the Office of the Dean of Students prior to June 1, 2006 2005, or within two weeks of receiving their financial aid award, that they will not be re-enrolling at St. Olaf in September 2006 2005.

ADDITIONAL FEES AND COSTS

Application Fee (New Students) — $40 $35. Application for admission to St. Olaf College must be accompanied by a fee of $40 $35. This fee is intended to signify the good intention of the applicant and will be used to cover part of the cost of processing the application. It is not refundable and cannot be credited to the comprehensive fee.

Books and Supplies —$900 $850 average per year depending on course of study. Payable by cash, check or credit card (Discover, Visa, Master Card).

Fees for Private Music Lessons — $320 $300 (in addition to tuition charge). One 30-minute lesson per week, per semester, in voice, piano, organ, orchestral or band instruments. If a student drops a private music lesson after the beginning of classes for that term (first day of the semester), there is no refund of the lesson fee.

Other Tuition Charges — Students who are permitted to register for less than three courses are known as part-time students and will be charged at the following rates:

Per full course: $3,310 $3,140
Per half course:$1,655 $1,570
Per quarter course: $828 $785

Overload Charge — $100 per quarter credit for course loads in excess of 4.50.

Foreign Language Proficiency Test — $10

Handling Fee — $25. This fee assigned to cover expenses pertaining to late registrations, changes in registration and special petitions accepted by the registrar.

Transcript Fee — Official transcripts are $3 each, paid in advance.

Finance Charge — 1% of unpaid balance/accumulated monthly.

Off-campus Nursing Program Costs — Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts-Nursing program must pay costs of immunizations, CPR certification, transportation to clinical sites per college policy, parking, uniforms, laboratory supplies and the college nursing pin.

Other Off-campus Programs — Many programs off campus involve additional costs beyond the comprehensive fee. Consult the appropriate office or program adviser for details.

POST GRADUATE STUDIES TUITION REDUCTIONS

Graduates who wish to pursue nursing, student teaching, a second major or other additional coursework may qualify for a reduced tuition. Consult the Office of Lifelong Learning for more information.

SETTLEMENT OF ACCOUNT

All accounts are expected to be paid according to the schedule noted above. Any variation from this schedule shall be arranged with Student Accounts.

On accounts carried beyond September 30 for first semester amounts due, and beyond February 28 for second semester amounts due, a finance charge of one percent per month (equivalent to a 12 percent annual rate) will be added.

No student is permitted to register if the account for a preceding semester has not been paid in full.

Money due a student from loans or scholarships is applied on the student’s account and is not given in cash unless the account is paid in full. Work earnings are credited to the student’s comprehensive account or bank account upon designation on the basis of actual hours worked less taxes.

The college reserves the right to withhold statements of honorable dismissal, transcripts of courses and grades or diplomas until all college bills have been paid, or until satisfactory arrangements have been made with the Student Accounting Office treasurer.

REFUND POLICY

Tuition, room, board and fees refunds for anyone leaving within five weeks after the beginning date of any semester will be determined according to the following graduated scale:

One week or less — 90% refund
Two weeks or less — 80% refund
Three weeks or less — 60% refund
Four weeks or less — 40% refund
Five weeks or less — 20% refund
Over five weeks — No refund

After five weeks, no refunds will be made on tuition. Room and board refunds will be prorated based on the number of weeks of attendance. Students who withdraw for medical reasons may receive a pro-rated refund of tuition throughout the semester and may be asked to provide the Dean of Students Office with documentation from a health-care provider.

Refund of Interim charges in case of withdrawal will be calculated on a similar basis with two days of an Interim equivalent to one week of a semester. In those cases where a change is made in courses involving a charge, the above scale will also apply. No refunds in fees will be made for absences from private lessons, except on account of illness of more than two weeks’ duration.

Students dismissed because of unsatisfactory work or infringement of college rules will receive refunds as determined by the administration.

Students who enroll for the academic year but who elect to omit an Interim are not eligible for tuition or room credit/refund for the Interim. They may apply for an Interim board refund. Refunds will not be given for absences of less than seven consecutive days. The board refund request form (available in the Student Accounts Office) must be filed by the student before he or she leaves for Interim. If not filled out at that time, no refund will be given.

Students who attend St. Olaf for Fall Semester only, Fall Semester and Interim only, Interim and Spring Semester only, or Spring Semester only will be charged half of the annual tuition. Room and board will be prorated to reflect the partial-year enrollment.

The Withdrawal Process

In order to begin the withdrawal process, a student must contact the Dean of Students Office (verbally or in writing) to begin the paperwork necessary to withdraw or take a leave of absence from St. Olaf. For the purposes of comprehensive fee refunds and financial aid refunds, the date of withdrawal is established as the date the student notifies the Dean of Students Office of his/her plans to withdraw.

Federal Financial Aid Refunds

If the student withdraws before completing 60% of the semester, federal regulations require a return of Title IV financial aid if a student received financial assistance from the Federal Pell Grant, Federal SEOG, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Stafford Loan (subsidized or unsubsidized) and/or the Federal PLUS Loan program. The percentage of Title IV aid to be returned is equal to the number of calendar days remaining in the semester divided by the number of calendar days in the semester. Scheduled breaks of more than four consecutive days are excluded.

If any funds are to be returned after the return of Title IV aid, they will be used to repay St. Olaf funds, state funds, other private sources and the student in proportion to the amount received from each non-federal source, as long as there was no unpaid balance at the time of withdrawal. If there was an unpaid balance, then all aid sources will be repaid before any funds are returned to the student.

Institutional Financial Aid Refunds

If a student is receiving only St. Olaf gift funds, the amount of reduction of the scholarship and grant funds will be pro-rated, reflecting the percentage of the comprehensive fee refunded. For example, if 40% of the comprehensive fee is refunded, 40% of scholarships and grants will be refunded.