St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College at a Glance
Reviewed by James A. Barham, PhD, Vice President and Academic Editor. Influence ranks come from our InfluenceRanking™ methodology; other figures come from federal data, with the year shown under each section. Report an error
St. Olaf College Featured Rankings
About St. Olaf College
According to Wikipedia, St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and the Patron Saint Olaf II of Norway and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was visited by King Olav in 1987 and King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway in 2011. Queen Sonja of Norway visited the college's campus a second time in 2022 as part of a tour to celebrate the connections between Norway and Minnesota's Norwegian-American community. She participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Special Collections vault at Rølvaag Memorial Library.
St. Olaf College Admissions, Retention, and Graduation Information
| Annual Applications | Acceptance | Retention Rate | Graduation Rate | Median SAT Score | Median ACT Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,956 | 48% | 92% | 83% | 1385 | 30 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); acceptance rate for fall 2024; test scores for fall 2024; applications and enrollment for fall 2023; retention for students who started in fall 2023; graduation rate within six years for students who started in 2019.
How Much Does St. Olaf College Cost To Attend?
| Tuition and fees (in-state) |
|---|
| $62,700 |
| Income | Average Net Cost |
|---|---|
| 0 - 30K | $10,797 |
| 30K - 48K | $8,349 |
| 48K - 75K | $10,968 |
| 75K - 110K | $16,495 |
| 110K+ | $32,244 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); tuition and fees for 2025–26; net price for 2024–25, for first-time, full-time students receiving financial aid.
How Much Do St. Olaf College Graduates Make?
Ten years after starting college, former St. Olaf College students who received federal financial aid earn a median of $68,656 a year, and 95% of those not still in school are working.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard; students who started college in 2011–12 or 2012–13, measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars.
St. Olaf College's Demographics
Students enrolled at any time during the 2023–24 school year, including part-time and online students.
| Student Body | Under-Grads |
|---|---|
| 3,138 | 3,138 |
Source: National Center for Education Statistics; 12-month enrollment for 2023–24.
Where is St. Olaf College?
St. Olaf College is located at 1520 St Olaf Ave, Northfield, MN 55057-1098.
How Safe is St. Olaf College?
Relative to its enrollment, St. Olaf College has a violent crime rate of 0.16% and a property crime rate of less than 0.01%. Northfield has a violent crime rate of 0.16% and a property crime rate of 1.36%. Sources: campus: U.S. Department of Education Campus Safety and Security data, on-campus offenses in 2024 (violent: murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; property: burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson, which excludes ordinary theft); city: FBI Crime Data Explorer, offenses reported to the city police in 2024.
What Is St. Olaf College Known For?
St. Olaf College is known for its academic work in the following disciplines:
- Literature
- Biology
- Religious Studies
- Philosophy
- Economics
- Mathematics
- Physics
- History
- Psychology
- Chemistry
- Computer Science
- Political Science
- Anthropology
- Sociology
- Education
- Medical
- Social Work
- Nursing
St. Olaf College's Top Areas of Influence With Degrees Offered
Each rank compares how much St. Olaf College's faculty and alumni have shaped a field with other schools, using Wikipedia, Wikidata and scholarly citation databases such as Crossref and Semantic Scholar. World and U.S. ranks reflect modern influence; the historical rank counts influence across all time. How we rank influence
St. Olaf College ranks #168 in the U.S. and #477 worldwide for influence in Literature.
literature DegreesSt. Olaf College ranks #239 in the U.S. and #903 worldwide for influence in Biology.
biology DegreesSt. Olaf College ranks #258 in the U.S. and #1112 worldwide for influence in Religious Studies.
religious-studies-hub DegreesSt. Olaf College ranks #288 in the U.S. and #937 worldwide for influence in Philosophy.
philosophy DegreesSt. Olaf College ranks #328 in the U.S. and #1881 worldwide for influence in Economics.
economics DegreesSt. Olaf College ranks #336 in the U.S. and #1359 worldwide for influence in Mathematics.
math DegreesSt. Olaf College ranks #338 in the U.S. and #1514 worldwide for influence in Physics.
physics DegreesSt. Olaf College ranks #373 in the U.S. and #1041 worldwide for influence in History.
history DegreesSt. Olaf College ranks #406 in the U.S. and #1016 worldwide for influence in Psychology.
psychology DegreesSt. Olaf College ranks #437 in the U.S. and #2162 worldwide for influence in Chemistry.
chemistry DegreesSt. Olaf College ranks #438 in the U.S. and #2057 worldwide for influence in Computer Science.
computer-science DegreesSt. Olaf College ranks #506 in the U.S. and #2079 worldwide for influence in Political Science.
political-science DegreesSt. Olaf College ranks #592 in the U.S. and #1836 worldwide for influence in Anthropology.
anthropology DegreesSt. Olaf College ranks #626 in the U.S. and #2132 worldwide for influence in Sociology.
sociology DegreesSt. Olaf College ranks #654 in the U.S. and #2829 worldwide for influence in Education.
education DegreesSt. Olaf College ranks #837 in the U.S. and #2941 worldwide for influence in Medical.
medicine DegreesSt. Olaf College ranks #1058 in the U.S. and #2547 worldwide for influence in Social Work.
social-work DegreesSt. Olaf College ranks #1138 in the U.S. and #2892 worldwide for influence in Nursing.
nursing DegreesWho Are St. Olaf College's Most Influential Alumni?
St. Olaf College's most influential alumni include professors and professionals in the fields of Criminal Justice, Literature, and Physics. Here are some of St. Olaf College's most famous alumni:
- Ernest Lawrence
- An American nuclear physicist .
- Robert Bly
- An American poet, author and activist .
- Paul D. Boyer
- An American biochemist.
- George L. Kelling
- An American criminologist .
- Elaine Ingham
- An American microbiologist and soil researcher.
- Einar Haugen
- An American linguist .
- John L. Helgerson
- A CIA official.
- Eugene England
- A 20th century Mormon writer, teacher, and scholar.
- Jeffrey J. Kripal
- An American religious studies scholar.
- Brett Hull
- A Canadian-American ice hockey player.
- G. N. Glasoe
- An American physicist.
- Frank Pooler
- An American conductor.
