St Olaf College: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
Saint Paul, Minnesota · Private nonprofit · Open access
St Olaf College is a private nonprofit university in Saint Paul, Minnesota that admits about 94% of applicants, making it a open access school. The average family pays about $21,563 a year after financial aid, which matters more than the published sticker price. It is best known for Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing, Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions and Public Health, its largest undergraduate programs by number of graduates. Its most recent Clery Act report shows roughly 1.2 criminal offenses per 1,000 students.
St Olaf College is a private institution located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. For the most recent reporting cycle, St Olaf College admits the majority of qualified applicants, with an overall admission rate of 94%. Admitted students typically post an average SAT of 1190 and an ACT composite around 23. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $21,563 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether St Olaf College is realistic for their teenager, the most useful planning step is comparing your child's current GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against these admitted-student ranges — not the headline acceptance rate alone.
What GPA does my child need for St Olaf College?
St Olaf College has a broadly accessible admissions profile, and most students who complete a standard college-prep curriculum with a 3.0 GPA or higher are competitive for admission. Parents tracking their child's GPA toward this tier of school can use Solyo's free calculator to see weighted, unweighted, and college-recalculated numbers side by side.
SAT and ACT scores St Olaf College typically admits
The middle-50 ACT composite range is 20–26. Many applicants here submit scores; even slightly below the average can be competitive when combined with a strong GPA and curriculum.
How much does St Olaf College actually cost?
Published tuition is $49,758 for in-state students and $49,758 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $11,636 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $21,563 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 36% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
Most popular majors at St Olaf College
The most popular undergraduate programs at St Olaf College, measured by the number of students who actually graduate each year, are Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing, Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions and Public Health. Across all programs, St Olaf College confers roughly 425 bachelor's degrees a year. Graduates of its Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing program report a median income of about $90,472 five years after entering college. Major popularity is a practical signal of where a school concentrates its teaching strength and where your child will find the deepest course offerings and peer community.
| Major | Graduates / year | Median earnings (5 yrs out) |
|---|---|---|
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 167 | $90,472 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | 59 | $83,784 |
| Public Health | 48 | $59,427 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | 42 | $44,865 |
| Social Work | 32 | $62,568 |
| Psychology, General | 31 | $50,986 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | 23 | $65,125 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 23 | $59,516 |
Is St Olaf College safe? Campus crime & safety
In its most recent Clery Act report (2024), St Olaf College disclosed 3 total criminal offenses across its campus and surrounding public property, about 1.2 per 1,000 students. That figure includes 0 violent offenses and 0 reported sexual assaults or VAWA offenses. Per-1,000-student rates matter more than raw counts when comparing schools, because larger universities mechanically report more incidents. Under the federal Clery Act, every college that receives federal aid must publish these numbers annually.
Other colleges in Minnesota parents ask about
- University of Minnesota-Twin Cities77% acceptance
- University of St Thomas85% acceptance
- Carleton College22% acceptance
- Macalester College28% acceptance
- University of Minnesota Duluth52% acceptance
- University of Minnesota-Morris77% acceptance
- Minneapolis Community and Technical College90% acceptance
- Gustavus Adolphus College70% acceptance
How parents track GPA toward selective schools like St Olaf College
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like St Olaf College recalculate it, and ask an AI college counselor specific questions about their teen's odds. The platform is built for parents — not students — and turns what's usually a fragmented planning process into a single dashboard.
Common questions parents ask about St Olaf College
What GPA do I need for St Olaf College?
St Olaf College has a broadly accessible admissions profile, and most students who complete a standard college-prep curriculum with a 3.0 GPA or higher are competitive for admission.
What SAT or ACT score does St Olaf College typically admit?
The middle-50 ACT composite range is 20–26.
How much does St Olaf College actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at St Olaf College after grants and scholarships is $21,563 per year. That figure is more useful for budgeting than the published sticker price, because it reflects what families actually pay after aid is applied.
Is St Olaf College realistic for my child?
Compare your teen's current unweighted GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against the ranges above. If both numbers fall inside the school's middle-50, St Olaf College is a target school. If both fall below the 25th-percentile mark, treat it as a reach and balance the application list accordingly.
What is the acceptance rate at St Olaf College?
St Olaf College accepts about 94% of applicants. It admits the majority of qualified applicants.
Is St Olaf College a public or private school, and where is it located?
St Olaf College is a private nonprofit institution located in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
What are the most popular majors at St Olaf College?
The largest undergraduate majors at St Olaf College by annual graduates are Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing, Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions and Public Health. The school awards about 425 bachelor's degrees a year in total. These figures come from federal IPEDS completion data.
Is St Olaf College safe? What is its campus crime rate?
St Olaf College reported 3 total criminal offenses in its most recent Clery Act disclosure (2024), roughly 1.2 per 1,000 students. Compare the per-1,000 rate rather than the raw total, since larger schools report more incidents.
Data sourced from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS, and Clery Act campus safety disclosures. Solyo extracts admissions data from official Common Data Set publications and refreshes it annually.