by our College Data Analytics TeamSt Olaf College is a private not-for-profit institution in Northfield, Minnesota enrolling 3,093 undergraduates. It accepts 48% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 84%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #221 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 4%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
St Olaf College ranks #221 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 4%.
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
St Olaf College was awarded 128 badges in the 2027 rankings.
College Factual ranked St. Olaf as #221 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 5% of all schools in the nation.
St. Olaf is also ranked #5 on the Best Colleges in Minnesota list.
See all of the rankings for St Olaf College.
St Olaf College has an acceptance rate of 48%, which means the school is serious about who it admits. Take your time in putting together a strong application that highlights why you are a good fit for St. Olaf.
About 11% of students accepted to St. Olaf submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 660 and 740. Math scores were between 640 and 730.
St. Olaf received ACT scores from 29% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 28 and 32.
Learn more about St Olaf College admissions.
At St. Olaf, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 11 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.
In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at St Olaf College is 76%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
St Olaf College has a freshmen retention rate of 92%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at St. Olaf for first-time, full-time students is 84%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at St Olaf College.
In the current academic year, there are 3,093 undergraduates at St. Olaf.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at St Olaf College.
The average net price of St. Olaf is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,404 | $11,342 | $12,584 | $20,367 | $33,166 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of St. Olaf, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At St. Olaf, approximately 42% of students took out student loans averaging $6,101 a year. That adds up to $24,404 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 0.7%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for St Olaf College.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from St Olaf College make about $65,543 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. That’s great news for St Olaf College students since it is 33% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at St Olaf College make the most money.
St Olaf College is a private not-for-profit institution situated in Northfield, Minnesota. Northfield is a good match for students who enjoy small-town life. Get more details about the location of St Olaf College.
Contact details for St Olaf College are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 1520 St Olaf Ave, Northfield, MN 55057-1098 |
| Phone: | 5077862222 |
| Website: | wp.stolaf.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Olaf_College |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/stolafcollege?sk=wall |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/StOlaf |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 21 majors graduated from St Olaf College. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 955 | NA |
| Economics | 88 | $56,177 |
| General Biology | 87 | $28,831 |
| Child Development & Psychology | 82 | NA |
| Mathematics | 79 | $47,797 |
| Chemistry | 50 | $36,149 |
| Political Science & Government | 41 | $38,398 |
| Natural Resources Conservation | 40 | $20,439 |
| Computer Science | 39 | $73,475 |
| Health & Physical Education | 35 | $30,564 |
23 students took at least one online class at St Olaf College.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at St Olaf College.
Want to see how other colleges compare to St. Olaf? Match them up using College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare colleges on the features that matter most to you.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
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