What the Guidebooks Say About St. Olaf
Colleges That Change Lives
St. Olaf College is one of only six colleges in the Upper Midwest included in the best-selling Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College. In the guide, former New York Times higher education editor Loren Pope profiles a select group of colleges that "excel at developing potential, values, initiative, and risk-taking in a wide range of students."
Lauded as “enlightened, forward-looking, and innovative,” a place “where the welfare of the student takes top priority” and where professors care about their students as human beings, St. Olaf is the only college in Minnesota and the only Lutheran college in the nation to be featured.
Among other attributes cited in the nine-page overview of St. Olaf: the college’s “magnificent” health and fitness center, the faculty’s commitment to active scholarship, and the off-campus and study-abroad opportunities that the guidebook deems “nearly without limit.”
Kiplinger’s "100 Best Values in Private Colleges"
St. Olaf College ranks 27th in the latest edition of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine's listing of the top 100 private liberal arts colleges and top 100 private universities in the nation. The rankings, which are based on an examination of more than 600 private institutions, seek to measure academic excellence and affordability, with quality accounting for two-thirds of the total score.
Among the factors considered by Kiplinger's were the percentage of the incoming first-year class that scored 600 or higher on the verbal and math SATs, or 24 or higher on the ACT; the average number of students per instructor; and the percentage of first-year students who earned a bachelor's degree within four or five years.
The magazine also looked at total cost for the academic year, the average need-based financial aid package, and the average student debt at graduation.
Fiske Guide to Colleges
The Fiske Guide to Colleges, a guide created by another former education editor of the New York Times, Edward Fiske, provides profiles of "more than 300 of the best and most interesting institutions in the nation."
In addition to its individual college profiles, the guide offers selective listings of colleges and universities with "unusual strength" in one of nine preprofessional areas. St. Olaf College was cited among the small colleges and universities strong in music as a performing art and international studies.
In describing the college, the guide proclaims that St. Olaf is "a school where students work hard, are encouraged by good teachers, toughened by Minnesota winters, and nourished by strong moral values."
The campus climate is portrayed as "Minnesota nice," and described as a great place "for those yearning for a school where spirituality and scholarship exist on the same exalted plane."
The guide also praises the "outstanding" Division III athletic programs, the rigorous general education requirements, and the "meticulously landscaped" 300-acre campus.
U.S. News Best Colleges
According to U.S. News & World Report, St. Olaf College ranks 51st among the nation's 266 liberal arts colleges.
The U.S. News "America's Best Colleges" 2011 edition evaluated more than 1,400 of the nation's public and private four-year schools using 15 different criteria organized according to peer assessment, student selectivity, graduation and retention rate, financial resources, alumni giving, and graduation rate performance.
In addition to placing in the top quartile of the nation's leading liberal arts colleges, St. Olaf was rated No. 9 in the "Focused on Their Undergrads" list ("where the faculty has an unusual commitment to undergraduate teaching") and No. 36 in the new "High School Counselors' Picks" category. The college also was noted for its distinctive International and Off-Campus Studies program.
Insider's Guide to the Colleges
Compiled and edited by the staff of the Yale Daily News, Yale University's student newspaper, The Insider’s Guide to the Colleges claims to rely on hours of interviews with current students to give a true sense of each school profiled and its student body.
The guide touts the number of students who study abroad at St. Olaf and the dedication of faculty members, noting that "the faculty goes above and beyond its academic calling to help students develop and hone their intellectual curiosity." It also highlights the college’s dedication to sustainability initiatives — pointing out that "the student body has an appreciation for conservation not experienced at many other schools" — and sense of community.
"With close to the entire student body living on campus and on its gourmet meal plan, the entire collegiate experience is designed to foster a tight-knit and welcoming community," asserts the guide, which also includes St. Olaf College on its list of schools with exceptionally high four-year graduation rates.
Princeton Review's Best Value Colleges
St. Olaf provides a "great liberal arts education rich with musical, academic, and social opportunities in a tight-knit, caring community," says the 2011 edition of America’s Best Value Colleges. It also touts the popularity of the study abroad program and the "excellent vocational training programs in nursing, social work, and education."
The 2011 edition of the Princeton Review's The Best 373 Colleges notes that "St. Olaf's national reputation is sharply on the rise."
The guide also gives St. Olaf College high marks for the quality of its food (No. 6 in the nation), its town-gown relationship with the community of Northfield (No. 6), and for best quality of life (No. 15).
Making a Difference Colleges
Called “a great guidebook for college-bound young activists,” the Making a Difference Colleges: Distinctive Colleges to Make a Better World guidebook uses more than 10 criteria to rate colleges for their focus on environmental issues, mission and values, and commitment to a global education.
Billed as "the original and authoritative guide to green, socially responsible, progressive, and alternative colleges," the guide profiles 75 colleges that "educate for a healthy future for our communities, our nation, and our planet."
The guide singles out St. Olaf's commitment to international education; its innovative academic programs in American racial and multicultural studies, environmental studies, women’s studies, and Hispanic studies; its community service orientation; and its environmental stewardship.
Parents and Colleges
The online publication Parents and Colleges was "created by passionate college admissions professionals to help parents navigate the college preparation and admissions process."
The site ranks St. Olaf at No. 8 on its "Top Ten Best College Eats" list, noting that food service provider Bon Appetit uses produce from STOGROW, the student-run organic farm, as well as other local sources to make meals on campus a "locavore’s dream come true."
Washington Monthly
Washington Monthly calls its guide a “different kind of college ranking,” and its sixth annual listing of 252 liberal arts colleges ranks St. Olaf No. 46.
The Washington Monthly rankings concentrate on three criteria: social mobility, or how the school recruits and graduates less advantaged students; how the school supports and conducts research and, as in St. Olaf’s case, produces Ph.D. candidates; and how well the school fosters a culture of service.
