<p>Hi! I'm a rising senior who's beginning the college search :-). Coming from a strong Norwegian and musical background, St. Olaf has always been a school I've been interested in. My mom and I are planning to visit in early October. However, as I've looked at the website and information the school has sent me, it seems like the financial aid is rather slim. I have no idea whether my family will be receiving government assistance or anything like that, but I was wondering if anyone has experience with the financial aid office at St. Olaf. Does the school offer a lot of financial aid, and is it hard to earn?</p>
<p>bump. Merit aid specifically, I'm hoping to apply for a music scholarship, but since the school has such an amazing music reputation I'm sure the competition will be strong.</p>
<p>My D received $7500 "Presidential Scholarship" and a $4000 music scholarship. That still left us with $27,000 annually. She got some better offers elsewhere, so she turned down St. Olaf, somewhat sadly, because it is a great school.</p>
<p>We were surprised that she got the music scholarship, though. She auditioned (on violin) as a non-major. The scholarship weekend was the same weekend as All State, so she auditioned via DVD (not allowed for majors.) That was two strikes against her - not auditioning in person, and not majoring. They must have really needed violins.</p>
<p>The merit scholarship seemed typical compared to what others were getting. She had a 1360 (or 2080 with writing) SAT. </p>
<p>Good luck. It's a great school, and I still feel a bit sad my D didn't end up there.</p>