St. Olaf College (SOC)

Founded in 1874, St. Olaf College is a liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that views the entire undergraduate experience as an education. The college establishes a set of goals (called "STOGoals") that all students must achieve regardless of major, including self-development, civic and global engagement, and critical thinking and inquiry, and students have numerous opportunities to fulfill these goals through coursework and co-curricular activities. The Piper Center for Vocation and Career "constantly has new opportunities available for students in any field of study," science classes offer students the chance "to dip their toes in research," and nearly two-thirds of students participate in the "second to none" study abroad programs. There are endless resources in support of students, and "if you need something, St. Olaf will do everything in their power to accommodate."

Professors at St. Olaf are universally beloved, helping with "everything from a mistake on a homework assignment, a course concept that is confusing, writing a thesis for a paper, planning course schedules, and advising students on how to reach their long-term goals." The best classes "tend to include a lot of discussion and focus on the process of learning rather than the graded outcome"; indeed, academic innovation thrives at St. Olaf, with courses featuring "conversation dinners for language classes, exploratory field trips, exhibition tours for art courses, guest speakers, and interactive seminars." Professors also organize "panels of people to share their expertise and perspectives (such as a panel of local farmers when studying environmental science)." Academics are "challenging with enough resources that they're manageable," and the school "gets students ready to apply to jobs, internships, and graduate school all over the course of four years."

St. Olaf College is entirely welcome to all students and faiths: "the chapel and college pastors, rabbi, [and] Muslim chaplain are very inclusive." Students feel that they are all united by "an interest and desire to learn" that often manifests itself "in deep discussions in and out of the classroom." Moreover, because the school is interdisciplinary, you're likely to get exposure to a wider variety of perspectives, as "it is not uncommon to be in a philosophy class full of biology and music majors." On the whole, Oles are "generally kind and cheerful, and with an unmatched respect for others and their property."

Though St. Olaf is only located 45 minutes from the bustling Twin Cities, 95 percent of students live on the beautiful, alcohol-free campus, a "marvel" that leads to "a lot of school programming with relatively high attendance." This is especially true of extracurriculars: students describe being "very involved at high levels" in things like music ensembles and sports. Academics are equally taken seriously, such that "studying is also a form of hanging out for many people." That said, students do find time for relaxing, especially on weekends, which are filled with seasonal activities like "going to the pumpkin patch or apple orchard ten minutes from campus," and a main student pastime is simply "going to dinner and seeing all of their friends and then going to each other's rooms afterwards." Oles are an outdoorsy bunch, and students "have access to hundreds of acres of forest and prairie on campus to run, bike, and cross-country ski," and "the natural lands and hiking trails are often used."

Students say that one of St. Olaf’s greatest strengths is its Piper Center for Vocation and Career. By maintaining “strategic relationships with employers, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and donors,” the center can “maximize opportunities for students and alumni.” These relationships yield hundreds of internships exclusively available to St. Olaf students, as well as a number of internship cohort programs that allow students to work with institutions such as the Mayo Clinic or a Norwegian biotech company during their breaks. Furthermore, students say that the “vocational retreats, alumni luncheons, [and] one-on-one coaching…makes sure that all the hard work put into classes pays off.” In recent years, the center has helped students by arranging thousands of appointments with coaches and peer advisors. According to PayScale.com, 53 percent of St. Olaf alums report that they derive a high level of meaning from their careers, and graduates earn a median starting salary of $64,200.