St Olaf College
Northfield, MN
St Olaf College is a private, Lutheran liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, a town 10 to 35 miles from a city, with 3,093 undergraduates. Social sciences and the arts are its signature fields: together they make up 28% of its bachelor's degrees, about twice their share across the colleges we cover. 84% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $65,543 ten years after starting.
St Olaf College admitted 3,171 of 7,310 applicants for the fall 2025 entering class (43.4%).
- Acceptance rate
- 43.4%
- Fall 2025 class
- Tuition and fees
- $59,760
- 2024–25 school year
- Paid after aid
- $23,874
- Average, students with aid
- SAT, middle 50%
- 1320–1440
Every figure on this page is published by the college or a federal survey, compiled by GoodGoblin, and carries the source it came from. They describe the fall 2025 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What St Olaf College is known for
Measured by the 926 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
Social sciences
16.3%
of its bachelor's degrees: about twice the 8.0% share across the colleges we cover.
The arts
11.6%
of its bachelor's degrees: two and a half times the 4.9% share across the colleges we cover.
- Biology919.8% of degrees$62,818+10% vs $57,214 nationally
- Mathematics758.1% of degrees$87,691+26% vs $69,562 nationally
- Economics758.1% of degrees$84,559About the $82,686 national median
- Research and Experimental Psychology697.5% of degrees$56,282About the $55,695 national median
- Political Science and Government525.6% of degrees$57,869−9% vs $63,293 nationally
- Chemistry465.0% of degreesToo few graduates to publish
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), field-of-study data. Degrees are bachelor's degrees awarded in 2022–23. Earnings are the median for 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, in 2024 dollars, working and not enrolled, four years after graduating. Shares across the colleges we cover count every bachelor's degree at the colleges with a page here.
The place
Where it is, how big it is, and how students live.
Setting
Town, 10–35 miles from a city
Northfield, MN
Undergraduates
3,093
Fall 2024
Type
Private, nonprofit
Baccalaureate college, arts and sciences focus
Living on campus
Half or more
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
11 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
11%
of undergraduates, fall 2024
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), including the Carnegie Classification and the federal locale code it publishes.
What stands out at St Olaf College
Three things St Olaf College published, ranked by how much each could change what you actually do, not by how impressive it looks. Every one describes a class that has already enrolled.
Early Decision admitted 55%. The regular round admitted 42.5%.
1.3×
the regular-round rate
A ratio between two rates the school published. Not a change in anyone’s odds.
277 of 504 early applicants were admitted, against 2,894 of 6,806 in the regular round. Early Decision is binding, and you can only use it at one school, which is exactly why the gap is worth knowing before you choose where to spend it.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
1.3×
the regular-round rate
A ratio between two rates the school published. Not a change in anyone’s odds.
St Olaf College files the essay under “very important”.
That is the top of the scale the form offers, and the only other factors this school puts there are Course rigor and GPA.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
23 admitted from a waitlist of 1,696.
472 students accepted a place on that list, and 23 were admitted from it, 4.9% of the students who waited. A waitlist offer here is not a near-miss anyone can plan around.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Every figure, in full
The same measured fields on every one of these pages. Nothing is filled in where the school published nothing.
Acceptance rate
43.4%
3,171 admitted of 7,310 applicants
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
SAT, middle 50%
1320–1440
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
ACT, middle 50%
28–32
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Average GPA of admitted students
3.75
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Enrolled students who sent an SAT
13%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Enrolled students who sent an ACT
30%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Where do you actually stand at St Olaf College?
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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What St Olaf College costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
Tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $59,760, and the full cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $71,843. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $23,874 a year on average.
Tuition and fees
$59,760
2024–25 school year
Full cost of attendance
$71,843
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$23,874
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $71,843 full cost.
- Under $30k$10,404Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$11,342Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$12,584Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$20,367Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$33,166Typical public university: $22,475
Source: the federal College Scorecard. Tuition and cost of attendance are for the 2024–25 school year; colleges usually raise them each year. What students paid is the average net price for first-year students who received federal financial aid. Typical public university: the median across the 338 public universities on GoodGoblin, for in-state students, compiled by GoodGoblin from the same federal data.
Where it leads
Who finishes, who stays, and what they earn and owe afterwards.
Finish within six years
84%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
92%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$65,543
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$26,000
Our colleges' median: $23,725
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Six-year completion describes students who started in fall 2018; second-year return describes students who started in fall 2023; earnings describe students who started in 2009–10 and 2010–11, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars; debt describes federal loans of students who graduated in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Medians are across the 1,034 colleges with a page here.
What St Olaf College says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- Essayvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Course rigorvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- GPAvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Recommendationsimportant
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Class rankimportant
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Test scoresconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Not considered
- Legacy
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
The early round, in counts
Two published rates side by side. Early applicants are a different group of students, so the gap is a fact about those pools, not a lever anyone can pull.
Early Decision
1.3× the rateEarly Decision admitted 55% (277 of 504), against 42.5% in the regular round.
2,894 of 6,806 in the comparison pool.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
The waitlist, as the school reported it
Published counts, including the ones schools rarely lead with.
- Offered a waitlist place
- 1,696
- Accepted the place
- 472
- Admitted from the waitlist
- 23
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Essays on this application
5 essay prompts on the application: you would write 4, and 1 is optional.
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in Minnesota
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- Bethany Lutheran College51%
- University of Minnesota-Crookston58.4%
- Macalester College28.2%
- Gustavus Adolphus College61.8%
Colleges with a similar acceptance rate
Closest acceptance rates anywhere in the country.
The GoodGoblin College Data Report: five findings counted across 1,034 colleges ›
Build the list this school belongs on.
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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