<p>I'm starting this discussion for anyone interested in St. Olaf, whether you're a HS student, Transfer, Parent, or other. I can talk about how admissions goes, campus life, academic programs, the college search process in general, or just about anything else... Just ask a question below and I'll do my best to answer it!</p>
<p>Can you speak to any issues with financial aid? I ran the net price calculator and it said $5500 in federal loans. Has that number stayed the same for you (or if you aren’t on aid, has it affected your friends)? I’m just concerned this could add up to too much debt if it goes up to the max stafford loan each year. Otherwise, this is a very appealing school. </p>
<p>(1) What are the strongest departments/programs at St. Olaf?</p>
<p>(2) What are the strengths/weaknesses of the History/Political Science departments? </p>
<p>(3) How would you describe the “personality” of St.Olaf (in whatever way you wish)? How would you compare it to those at Carleton and Macalester? Or perhaps to put it another way, what kind of student is likely to be attracted to, and then choose, St. Olaf – in contrast with Carleton and Macalester?</p>
<p>(4) What would be the typical demographic of St. Olaf students (to the extent that you can answer), and how does that compare to Carleton and Macalester?</p>
<p>(5) Why would a student pick St. Olaf over Carleton and Macalester? Why would a student pick Carleton or Macalester over St. Olaf?</p>
<p>(6) Finally, why did you choose St. Olaf over other colleges/universities that you considered?</p>
<p>Thank you in advance for your responses.</p>
<p>Regarding financial aid:
I don’t receive much in terms of need-based, but I’m not upset with that. Both of my parents have stable jobs in fields they’ve been in for 25+ years, so I’m not really in as much “need.” I am receiving a service leadership scholarship (I believe it’s for 7 or 8k a year, I can’t remember off the top of my head.) That helps a lot. Student work is really easy to come by as well, especially if you have a work award. There are plenty of jobs that are basically paid study hall (dorm receptionist, admissions office phones at odd times, gym check-in, etc.) </p>
<p>I think the loans are stable as far as not going out of control. St. Olaf has had a goal the last couple of years of dramatically reducing their price increase, so they never raise it more than the CPI(consumer price index) + 1%. Obviously we all still dread the day of the “here’s what you’ll be paying next year” email, but the price increase is something to keep in mind as Olaf has become cheaper than some comperable liberal arts schools, and that trend should continue. I think the last thing that was reassuring for me was that Olaf recalculates the need every year, so next year when my brother and I are both in college, I’m a lot more likely to see a discount.</p>
<p>Gandalf78:
- The departments that are most well-known outside of St. Olaf are definitely music and the sciences. Regents (our science building) is truely incredible, both in terms of aesthetics and the equipment it contains. Even though I’m a double major in History and Spanish, Regents is one of my favorite spots on campus. Music is great for even the non-majors. A third of people participate, even though only about 10% of Oles are music majors. However there are a lot of other departments that aren’t as famous but are full of high-quality profs. I hear wonderful things about the Nursing and Classics departments, and while I may be biased I think the History, Spanish and Education deparments are all fantastic. It’s really easy to double major here (about a third of people do so) so if you choose to pursue a couple of fields, that can be easily done within your 4 years.</p>
<p>2) I’ll start with the Political Science department: I have a couple of friends who are Poli Sci majors, and they seem to really enjoy it. There’s a good variety of courses offered, and it’s pretty easy to find a niche within the department, should you choose to do so.</p>
<p>Now for History, which I know a whole lot more about. It’s a 9 course major. While you can bring in several AP history credits to St. Olaf for your graduation credits, you can only count one of those toward the History major. The major requires 3 of the 9 courses to be the 300 level “major seminars”-- you’ll likely do these your Junior or Senior years, and they are in depth. I’m doing one over interim/J term that involves researching the Portrayal of the Civil Rights Movement or Civil War in Alabama by various groups and museums. In the spring I’m taking another major seminar on the Civil Rights Movement, and I’m also getting the 200-level seminar out of the way with a class on the Cold War. The 300 level classes are where you really get to focus on your area of interest (for me that would be US history in the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as African-American history and Southern History.) The 200-level seminar is where you really get to learn what being a history major is about, kind of as a warm-up for the 300 level classes. </p>
<p>Outside of those, the major is pretty wide-open. You complete one course related to US history, one related to Europe, and one related to the non-western world (Such as a course on Latin America, Asia, Middle East, or Africa.) You can count some of your first year classes toward the major, which is nice because there are some really cool classes for just first years. I took one on the history of Slavery in the Americas, and there’s another on Pirates that is really popular. A lot of the first year only classes are seminars as well, so you really get to to interact with history early on. You will use a lot of primary documents, and will definitely hone your writing skills. If you have a specific area of history in mind that you would like to learn about, I can tell you more about the profs/courses in that area 
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<p>3) While I’m biased in favor of St. Olaf, Carlteon and Macalester are both great colleges as well. I only applied to St. Olaf, as I’m not a Minnesotan, but I’ve gotten to know Carleton pretty well since we are in the same town, and know a bit about Macalester. The thing my friends and I frequently notice is that St. Olaf has an incredible sense of community. A professor who was very well-known on campus died unexpectedly in the fall of 2014. Within hours, students had covered her office door in post-it note tributes. For days afterwards we could all feel the uneasiness and sorrow that was around campus. The same can be said for very happy days as well. Olaf feels unlike any other campus I’ve been on, and even though we are 3000 students vs 2000 at Carleton, I feel like Olaf is more tightly-knit across the board. That’s not meant to be a criticism of Carleton at all-- they are wonderful. We sent flowers to all of Carleton when several students were killed in a car accident last spring. When one of our students died this fall, they did the same. While we may be rivals, we really do care about each other, and have a lot of respect for one another.</p>
<p>The stereotypes are that Oles are more religious, and are the more attractive ones, and that Carls study harder but also party harder. I people from both schools that fit and break the stereotypes, so if I were you I’d be sure to talk to as many students as you can at every college you visit. That’ll be the best indicator of if you’ll be happy socially.</p>
<p>4) Here’s the basic St. Olaf demographics:
About 55% women 45% men. 50/50 split of in-state/ out of state. In the last 3 years 15% of new students have been domestic students of color. We have students from all 50 staets and over 70 countries. If I had to guess, I would bet Carleton and Macalester are probably similar in terms of their statistics. One thing I really enjoy about Olaf is that there are ample opportunities to study abroad. About 70% of students do so–either for J-term, a semester, a year, a summer, or even just a vacation. Politically, students are pretty liberal at all 3, although Olaf did have Newt Gingrich as the spring Political Awareness Committee speaker last spring. </p>
<p>5) There’s not really a clear-cut answer here. All three have different programs that are strengths, so that could be a factor that influences you. Maybe the financial packages vary from one to the other (I haven’t heard of one being consistently better about aid, but I’m no expert on that.) The campuses are going to feel different, and one may be more appealing to you-- this is why I really encourage you to visit all 3 if they are interesting to you. Maybe you connect really well with the students at one college compared to the other two-- that will have an influence. I wish I could give you a clearer answer here, but this part is kind of like trying to figure out why you may be attracted to a loved one… easier said than done.</p>
<p>6) I applied to 9 colleges, which I regret. I spent way too much time on apps for colleges my parents were interested in, colleges that I had no real interest in going to. Ultimately, it came down to St. Olaf, Penn State University Park, or Ohio Wesleyan. Each college had its own appeal… St. Olaf, even though it was the farthest away from my home, had the best location in my book. PSU was the big name, and is basically a city on its own… that really drew my attention, and its reputation was enticing. OWU was in the mix because they were really throwing the kitchen sink at me, offering me a lot of merit aid and a space in the honors program. Ultimately, what made Olaf the most appealing was the sense of community that I referenced earlier. Even just talking on the phone with a current student, I could hear their passion for Olaf and their studies. At OWU, I didn’t hear that same happiness, and PSU a lot of students were into the football team more than the community as a whole. St. Olaf offered a ton of opportunities in terms of different classes and programs, many more than a typical liberal arts college, yet offered the true relationships with Proessors that large universities can’t provide. The profs at Olaf know their students. I’ve been a part of several activities outside of class (ie Pizza and a movie at the prof’s house for history, or a sweet project where we got to spraypaint my advisors car.) To me, St. Olaf offered the best of both the small school personal experience and the “big school” opportunities.</p>
<p>^ Thank you for your splendid answer, and for taking the time and effort. It is very helpful!</p>
<p>Are there a decent number of kids who don’t drink, and like more “nerdy” activities like watch movies and play video games? Can you give us a sense of that? Much obliged.</p>
<p>Hi ColdinMinny,
I’ll address the whole alcohol policy in general as well as your specific question, as I feel this is one of the most pressing issues related to St. Olaf for a fair number of potential students, or at least an area that prompts a lot of questions.</p>
<p>Regarding the policy, it’s really not as controlling as some might think. Yes, you’ll get in trouble if you go on a drunken rampage and destroy a dorm bathroom. Same goes for running around campus waving around your choice of alcohol. However if you’re sitting in a dorm room and not being obnoxious, odds are nobody is really interested in busting you. The conspiracy theory my friends and I have is that the policy is in place to keep getting money from the cute old alumni in their Norwegian sweaters, which is fine by me as it helps keep overall costs down a bit. As we all know, and my admissions officer openly acknowledged that St. Olaf is a college-- drinking happens here and alcohol is present. The only thing the policy really does is give you more internal consequences should you be caught drinking/possessing alcohol (not really common for people to get busted… usually you have to be obnoxious, oftentimes to a member of the Reslife Staff or Public Safety, and if you get yourself into trouble for being mouthy, you really sunk your own ship 
</p>
<p>There’s a HUGE range of interests at St. Olaf, and this extends to what people do in their free time. While some people will party a lot, and some do so occasionally, there are also plenty of people that aren’t really into that scene. There’s a lot of us that game, especially League of Legends (this includes some of the “party” crew as well, interestingly enough.) Watching movies/netflix is also a really common way of passing time. It’s true that students here don’t feel pressured in regards to the decisions they make regarding drinking/alcohol, so if that’s not your thing, there will still be plenty of activities for you.</p>
<p>What kinds of things do students do outside of class? Is it difficult to get involved in music if you are a non-major? Does St Olaf offer a variety of intramurals? What kind of presence does religion have/ could a non-religious person be happy at St Olaf? Also, do you have any experience with the mathematics department? Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Hey Jinx,
First regarding activities outside of class, there are a ton of different options for students. The club/organization options are seemingly limitless, from the more typical such as volunteer groups or club sports, to those less typical (ie the “David Anderson” club, which includes the college President.) It’s also really easy to start an organization/club, it just takes a couple student signatures and a faculty member that is willing to be your adviser. </p>
<p>As far as intramurals, again there are a ton of options. The classics like flag football or basketball are there, but also a few fun ones (inner-tube water polo, Broomball, etc.) A lot of the intramurals also have non-competitive or co-ed leagues, so it’s easy to have fun even if you aren’t much of an athlete. About 2/3s of students will participate in an intramural sport at some point in their 4 years here.</p>
<p>A lot of students are concerned with the religious aspect of the school, but for me it has been a non-issue. There are two required religion courses, the first being the First year Bible course, and the second being a Christian theology course. The goal isn’t to indoctrinate anyone, but rather to analyze the texts and messages they send, and have open dialogues… the Profs often don’t hesitate to critique the messages or actions of any group, and they come from a variety of religious perspectives themselves. Outside of the classes, there is a daily chapel, but it, like the Sunday service, is always completely optional. Students can attend daily, occasionally or never. Personally I never went to church as a kid and I have no issues with the religious aspect of the school. Another thing I’ll mention is that if someone wants to go to other places of worship, there is a free shuttle that takes students to different locations throughout the area.</p>
<p>And as far as the Math/Stats/Computer Science department, I have taken one statistics class as a part of my general education requirements and I really enjoyed it… we were able to do a final project involving personal areas of interest (mine explored some of the relationships between different linguistic backgrounds/abilities and income.) I know a few math majors, and they all are very positive about it, especially with the support provided by the Professors. I can’t stress enough how much the Profs can really help you with the difficult work-- I’m always thankful that we don’t have to deal with TAs that are awful at teaching or Professors that only care about research… the St. Olaf professors have been top-notch in my experience (and I’ve only confirmed this by experiencing Professors abroad this semester-- the teachers in my program are good, but I’ve been spoiled the last couple of years at Olaf.) </p>
<p>Side note: I know the statistics that I’ve listed because I’ve worked for the Admissions Office in the past, but my presence on CC isn’t related to my work there-- this is an account/thread I’ve made on my own to help out other potential Oles see if St. Olaf is the right fit for them, so continue to feel free to ask anything, and I’ll answer as best I can.</p>
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