You reached this page through the archive. Click here to return to the archive.

Note: This article is over a year old and information contained in it may no longer be accurate. Please use the contact information in the lower-left corner to verify any information in this article.

St. Olaf named to U.S. News 'Top 50'

By Steve Blodgett
August 20, 2009

For the second consecutive year, St. Olaf College has been named among the Top 50 Best Liberal Arts Colleges by U.S. News. The 2010 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s "America's Best Colleges" ranks St. Olaf at 49 in their rating of the nation’s 266 liberal arts colleges. St. Olaf shares that ranking with Gettysburg, Reed and Pitzer colleges. Last year, St. Olaf placed No. 47 in the U.S. News rankings.

In addition to placing in the Top 50, St. Olaf was cited as one of 34 colleges and universities whose heavy involvement in study abroad serves as an “outstanding example” of an academic program that is “commonly linked to student success,” joining such schools as Columbia University, University of Michigan, Georgetown University, and Middlebury College. 

St. Olaf also was recognized as one of 80 colleges and universities across the nation where the faculty has an “unusually strong commitment to undergraduate teaching,” placing 14th within the Liberal Arts Colleges category. 

U.S. News evaluates more than 1,400 of the nation's public and private four-year schools according to 15 different criteria organized according to peer assessment, student selectivity, graduation and retention rate, financial resources, alumni giving and graduation rate performance.  

Institutions are divided into several distinct categories: national universities, national liberal arts colleges, regional universities that offer master's degrees, and regional universities and colleges that offer predominantly baccalaureate degrees. The 266 institutions in the national liberal arts college category emphasize undergraduate education and award at least 50 percent of their degrees in the liberal arts.

For an alternative view as to what is important in evaluating a college, visit "Rankings and Recognitions that Really Matter."

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.