<p>St. Olaf is a school I'm really interested in. I am most likely going to attend the Fly-In Program to visit the school for myself, but for the time being, can any current student talk about the student/social life?
And for prospective students who have already visited, what was your take on the atmosphere of St. Olaf? Thanks!</p>
<p>I visited for the music auditions. It seems like a wonderful place with a bunch of really cool people. It is also very interesting to see the faith diversity, from very puritan to very liberal, and with both Christians and non-Christians alike. The arts people are amazing, and incredibly friendly and artistic, and there are a bunch of people you can have great conversations with.
Anything in particular you wonder about?</p>
<p>i visited during the fall. let’s just say… it was cold, but the people were warm and welcoming. like what sunn321 said, is there any specific thing you want to know about?</p>
<p>We just went to Northfield for a drive today, as we live very close to the school. Our daughter could definitely communite to the school from our house. Anyway, the city of Northfiled, as small as the city is, has a lot of neat coffee shops, restaurants, and so on. It is a very cute place. In terms of big-city entertainments, St. Paul/Minneapolis is not so far, less than one hour and it is an easy drive. Major shopping can be done easily at the Mall of America - the biggest indoor shopping mall in the U.S. which is again less than 45 minutes a way, or another shopping and eating area is Burnsville, which is less than 30 minutes away. While Northfield provides you with a sense of strong community and safety, students will never run out of things to do within one hour of drive. Minnesota is truly a great place to be, super-friendly and hard-working people. You will enjoy living in Northfileld and Minnesota. One of the biggest airports in the U.S. MSP, is again 40 minutes away, a Delta’s hub. Not many great colleges are located around a major airport. That gives you another convenience people do not think about. Major companies have HQs in this state, including 3M, Medtronic, St. Jude, and so on. The industry base is extremely strong, and you will find internship opportunities and probably permanent empolyment as well. Great museums, theatres, and so on. The unemployment rate in Minnesota has been always lower than compared to other states for good reasons; the industry base is very much high-tech oriented, and this diverse community attracts highly trained and educated people around the nation. We have several family members and friends who attended St. Olaf, and in general, their comments were extremely positive - strong sense of community and academic achievements. My daughter wants to spend at least one year overseas as part of her study. I believe that St. Olaf supports that. Anyway, locally, it is well known as a great school; nationally, it is also ranked as a fine instituion. Northfield is a really great, safe city, and within one hour or drive, you will find anything you could ask for. What else do you want?</p>
<p>My D visited and found everyone to be amazingly friendly also. We haven’t received our scholarship/financial aid packet yet to see if It will be doable for our family but she’s very interested in St. Olaf!</p>