College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

St Olaf College

MNMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #978 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Overall standing: Azimuth places St Olaf College in the 33rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

St Olaf College is a private nonprofit university in Northfield, Minnesota, where the degree mix is led by Social Sciences, Biological Sciences, and Visual & Performing Arts. Mobility is the strongest , and it sits above average.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The model attributes the shortfall to a remainder it cannot explain, while the factors it measures—field of study, enrollment, and the local labor market—add to expected earnings.

Pell Grant recipients complete at a rate above the entering cohort as a whole, and mobility is above average. The admission rate is below the median for comparable institutions.

Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, which coincides with a four-year earnings picture drawn mainly from the workforce. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the highest-earning program is much smaller than the largest one.

St Olaf College at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
48.3%
Six-year completion[2]
84.0%
Four-year earnings[3]
$56,323

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$12,584
Median student debt[4]
$26,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$40,568

St Olaf College rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

St Olaf College is a private nonprofit university in Northfield, Minnesota, enrolling 3,093 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the lower third of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The four pillars that make up that standing are spread across the range: mobility is the strongest, and return is the weakest. The college admits 48.3% of applicants, a rate well below the 71.2% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Of students who start full time, 92.2% return for a second year, against a peer median of 83.4%. The six-year graduation rate is 84.0%, compared with a peer median of 68.8%.

An estimated 2.3% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes a cohort that started here. The four pillars sit far apart.

Mobility and access are the stronger half, while affordability and return are the weaker. The shape is a selective private college where the strongest and weakest pillars are far apart.

Mobility is the clearest part of St Olaf College’s Azimuth profile, though the four pillars do not point in the same direction. Azimuth places mobility in the 61st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, the school’s strongest pillar.

Access is in the 53rd percentile, while affordability is in the 25th percentile and return, the weakest pillar, is in the 23rd percentile. The stronger mobility and access readings sit beside weaker affordability and return readings.

21.2% of undergraduates at St Olaf College receive Pell Grants, the measure of financial access at this private nonprofit university in Northfield, Minnesota. Azimuth ranks the university #684 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at 88.3%, above the overall six-year graduation rate for the entering cohort (84.0%) by 4.3 percentage points. The access pillar rests on both that completion margin and the share of students receiving federal aid.

Azimuth ranks the university #574 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Mobility is the strongest of the four pillars here. Graduates earn about $18,457 less than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

St Olaf College rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#978

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 61
Access & reach
National percentile: 53
Affordability
National percentile: 25
Return on investment
National percentile: 23

01 / St Olaf College briefing

St Olaf College cost & financial aid[6][7]

At St Olaf College, the gap between sticker cost and what aid recipients pay on average is wide. The published cost of attendance is $71,843, an average across living arrangements.

On-campus costs include $59,760 in tuition and fees and $13,630 for room and board. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $23,874; average financial aid offsets $47,969 of the published cost.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $27,371, leaving the college $3,497 below that benchmark. Azimuth ranks St Olaf College #1,056 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The lower peer comparison and large average aid offset both distinguish recipient costs from the published charge.

The published cost of attendance at St Olaf College is $71,843 (an average across living arrangements), and the amount left after aid differs across family-income bands. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $10,404 for the lowest family-income band, $11,342 for the lower-middle band, $12,584 for the middle band, $20,367 for the upper-middle band, and $33,166 for the highest band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $22,762. Azimuth ranks the college #1,056 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 67% of the published cost. The across all aid recipients is $23,874, with $47,969 offset against the sticker price.

The peer median net price, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $27,371, placing the college $3,497 below that benchmark. Published tuition and fees are $59,760, and room and board are $13,630.

The aid offset and lower-than-peer average net price point in the same direction for aid recipients. Borrowing is common here: 95.4% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

Among federal-loan borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $26,000. At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median federal debt is $24,199, placing the college’s median $1,801 above that figure.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 a month if repaid over ten years. Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $40,568.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$12,584

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at St Olaf College

Federal loans are used by 95.4% of federal aid recipients. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $24,199; St Olaf College's median is $1,801 above it.

For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $40,568. In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported that 58% of graduates borrowed from any source, averaging $28,377 in cumulative borrowing per borrower.

That reporting includes 53% of graduates with federal loans averaging $21,370. It also includes 11% of graduates with private loans averaging $41,981.

At St Olaf College, mobility is the strongest pillar, but earnings and borrowing figures make the investment picture less favorable. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn median earnings of $56,323 four years after completion.

Azimuth places those earnings in the 37th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, are also low.

Graduates earn about $18,457 less than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places this measure in the 5th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios range from $44,203 in the downside case to $87,316 in the upside case, with $56,323 in the typical scenario. Median federal debt is $26,000, which is $1,801 above the $24,199 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 a month if repaid over ten years. Debt above peers sits alongside earnings below both the model and comparable institutions.

Parent borrowers have median Parent PLUS borrowing of $40,568. For student borrowers, that median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$26,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$40,568

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$295/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$515/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / St Olaf College briefing

St Olaf College career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Mobility is St Olaf College's strongest Azimuth pillar, while return sits in the 23rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $18,457 less than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between graduate earnings and model expectations, falls in the 5th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $2,750.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $21,207. Median earnings four years after completion are $56,323, in the 37th percentile for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250; St Olaf College is $11,927 below it. Both comparisons point in the same direction.

For federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, St Olaf College has median earnings of $56,323 four years after completion, based on 562 completers. Azimuth places those earnings in the 37th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Program-mix earnings scenarios span $44,203 in the downside case, $56,323 in the typical case, and $87,316 in the upside case. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, provides another lens.

Graduates earn about $18,457 less than the model expects for similar students. An estimated 42.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The earnings percentile and the model comparison both indicate earnings below the broader benchmark.

St Olaf College graduates earn a median of $56,323 four years after completing a degree. That figure is $11,927 below the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #1,127 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $18,457 less than the model expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 5th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $2,750.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $21,207. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $3,275.

The fields that shape the earnings picture are concentrated in the sciences and quantitative social sciences. Estimated from the program mix, the downside earnings scenario is $44,203 and the upside is $87,316.

An estimated 42.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Program choice coincides with a wide modeled earnings range at St Olaf College. The downside scenario is $44,203 and the upside scenario is $87,316; these are earnings scenarios from the program mix, not observed groups.

Four years after completion, program medians are $122,912 in Computer Science, $87,691 in Mathematics, and $84,559 in Economics. Those program figures show where the upper end of the modeled range appears.

The average net price at St Olaf College is $23,874, which is $3,497 below the peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Aid covers about 67% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, though this is an average rather than a personal quote.

Borrowers who complete a degree carry a median of $26,000 in federal student loans. That figure is $1,801 above the peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, the debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 a month. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $40,568 in Parent PLUS loans. Graduates earn about $18,457 less than the model expects for similar students.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$2,750
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$21,207
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$18,457

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / St Olaf College briefing

St Olaf College acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

With an admission rate of 48.3%, St Olaf College admits a smaller share of applicants than comparable institutions. That rate is below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the college reported 6,622 first-year applicants and 3,199 admitted applicants.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
48.3%
25th percentile
1310
Median
1380
75th percentile
1460

CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / St Olaf College briefing

What are the largest majors at St Olaf College?[12]

At St Olaf College, published program medians show a sharp divide between the highest-earning fields and more moderate outcomes. Computer Science had median earnings of $122,912 four years after completion, with 24 degrees awarded.

Mathematics followed at $87,691 four years after completion and 75 degrees awarded. Economics recorded $84,559 four years after completion across 80 degrees awarded.

At a more moderate level, Research and Experimental Psychology posted median earnings of $56,282 with 75 degrees awarded. The contrast shows that the school-level earnings picture can look quite different depending on field.

Social Sciences accounts for 18.2% of bachelor’s degrees awarded at St Olaf College, and earnings vary across the college’s larger fields four years after completion. The larger programs report a wide range of median earnings.

The degree mix at St Olaf College is spread across the liberal arts, with no single family dominating. Social Sciences accounts for 18.2% of bachelor's degrees awarded, followed by Biological Sciences at 11.6% and Visual & Performing Arts at 10.4%.

The largest single program is Biology, at 111 degrees awarded, with Economics next at 80 degrees awarded and Mathematics at 75 degrees awarded. The college has 20 programs with published four-year earnings data.

The highest-earning program is a smaller one: Computer Science graduates earn $122,912 four years after completion, from 24 degrees awarded a year. Mathematics, the third-largest program, earns $87,691, which is 1.26x the national median for its field.

Economics follows at $84,559. The largest program, Biology, earns $62,818, which is 1.10x the national median for its field.

The pattern is one of breadth rather than concentration, with the largest programs spanning the sciences and social sciences. The best-paid outcomes sit in quantitative fields, while the largest programs by degrees awarded show earnings closer to the national median for their fields.

29.8% of degrees awarded are in STEM, and an estimated share of graduates continue to graduate study, which means four-year earnings for some fields understate later trajectories.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Biology, General 111 degrees awarded
$62,818
Economics 80 degrees awarded
$84,559
Mathematics 75 degrees awarded
$87,691
Research and Experimental Psychology 75 degrees awarded
$56,282
Political Science and Government 67 degrees awarded
$57,869
English Language and Literature, General 50 degrees awarded
$49,382

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / St Olaf College briefing

How does St Olaf College serve students from different backgrounds?

At St Olaf College, the first-time full-time cohort has a six-year graduation rate of 84.0%; Pell recipients complete within six years at 88.3%, above the overall rate by 4.3 percentage points. Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 61st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between graduate earnings and the model's expectation for similar students, are low: Graduates earn about $18,457 less than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places this measure in the 5th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Completion and mobility standing contrast with the low model-based earnings measure.

At St Olaf College, access begins with an admission rate of 48.3% among applicants and undergraduate enrollment of 3,093 undergraduates. That entry point sits alongside a 21.2% share of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants and an estimated 2.3% share of entrants outside the first-time, full-time group.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 53rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The admission, grant, and transfer figures give a compact view of who reaches the college.

06 / St Olaf College briefing

What colleges are similar to St Olaf College?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with St Olaf College.

Admissions peerGettysburg College38.9% admitted
Comparison with St Olaf College
MeasureSt Olaf CollegeGettysburg College
Peer earnings · 4 years$56,323$72,658+$16,335 vs St Olaf College
Average annual net price$23,874$31,490+$7,616 vs St Olaf College · higher cost
Admission rate48.3%38.9%
Higher-admission alternativeGustavus Adolphus College61.0% admitted
Comparison with St Olaf College
MeasureSt Olaf CollegeGustavus Adolphus College
Peer earnings · 4 years$56,323$61,015+$4,692 vs St Olaf College
Average annual net price$23,874$22,900-$974 vs St Olaf College · lower cost
Admission rate48.3%61.0%
Explore Gustavus Adolphus College →
Nearby alternativeMacalester CollegeNearby option · MN
Comparison with St Olaf College
MeasureSt Olaf CollegeMacalester College
Peer earnings · 4 years$56,323$58,560+$2,237 vs St Olaf College
Average annual net price$23,874$32,149+$8,275 vs St Olaf College · higher cost
Admission rate48.3%28.5%
Higher-earnings alternativeMaine Maritime Academy$113,298 earnings
Comparison with St Olaf College
MeasureSt Olaf CollegeMaine Maritime Academy
Peer earnings · 4 years$56,323$113,298+$56,975 vs St Olaf College
Average annual net price$23,874$23,414-$460 vs St Olaf College · lower cost
Admission rate48.3%54.1%
Explore Maine Maritime Academy →
Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of Wisconsin-River Falls$14,054 average net price
Comparison with St Olaf College
MeasureSt Olaf CollegeUniversity of Wisconsin-River Falls
Peer earnings · 4 years$56,323$54,923-$1,400 vs St Olaf College
Average annual net price$23,874$14,054-$9,820 vs St Olaf College · lower cost
Admission rate48.3%81.7%
Explore University of Wisconsin-River Falls →
Similar profileBaker CollegeMatched across several measures
Comparison with St Olaf College
MeasureSt Olaf CollegeBaker College
Peer earnings · 4 years$56,323$53,754-$2,569 vs St Olaf College
Average annual net price$23,874$13,157-$10,717 vs St Olaf College · lower cost
Admission rate48.3%81.9%
Explore Baker College →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings