Welcome

Welcome to the St. Olaf College Financial Aid Office website.  Whether you are a prospective student or parent just learning about St. Olaf or a current student looking for answers to your financing questions, we are happy you have found us.  Our programs provide support to Ole students and families from a wide variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. As a staff, we are committed to providing personalized service to families as they work through the financing of a St. Olaf education.  So please read our website.  But more important, if you have questions about how to pay for a St. Olaf education, don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and call us (877-235-8386), or email us at finaid@stolaf.edu.  We are here to help. 

Our Program

Paying for college involves a partnership between our students, their families, and the 
college. We look carefully at the unique financial circumstances of every family, and offer every student the best package of support we can.  While each family differs in its resources, its priorities and its attitudes toward money, St. Olaf follows policies and practices to treat families equitably in the process.  The majority of our financial aid program is need-based aid, including federal, state, and college grants, student employment awards, and loans.  St. Olaf also offers a number of merit scholarship awards for academic accomplishments, community involvement, and fine arts ability and achievement.

Upcoming Dates and Deadlines

For Current Students:

Applying for Financial Aid for 2012-2013 – For Continuing (Non-International) Students
 

Now is the time to start thinking about applying for financial aid for the 2012-2013 school year.  If you are a continuing (non-international) student, you will need to complete these 2 steps by APRIL 30, 2012:
  1. Submit your 2012-2013 FAFSA at www.fafsa.gov  -  preferably after you have completed and the IRS has processed your 2011 federal tax return(s).
 

We encourage you to wait to complete your FAFSA until after both you and your parents have completed your 2011 tax returns and the IRS has processed them.  The U.S. Department of Education has created an enhancement to the FAFSA filing process which allows applicants and parents to retrieve tax data directly from the IRS.  This process is called the IRS Data Retrieval Tool.  We strongly suggest that you select this option when filing your 2012-13 FAFSA.  By doing so, it will streamline and expedite the processing of your financial aid and may minimize the need to provide further documentation to our office because your income data will already be verified by the IRS.
If you are unable to have your taxes completed and processed by the IRS before the deadline of April 30, 2012, you should complete your FAFSA using estimated income and tax data.  Then, once your taxes are complete, you can go back to the FAFSA and elect to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool at that time.
  2. Submit your 2012-2013 St. Olaf Online Financial Aid Application
 

This online application will be available in early February via Financial Aid Online (through the Student Information System).  It must be completed by the student using his/her St. Olaf log in information.  This application requests information from the student regarding enrollment plans, study abroad plans, majors, career plans, etc.  It takes approximately 5 minutes to complete and contains no parent or financial information.
 

In early February, the Financial Aid Office will begin sending out periodic reminders to students to complete their applications by the April 30 deadline.
For Prospective Students: 2012-2013 CSS/PROFILE due for Regular Decision applicants: February 1, 2012
   
  2012-2013 FAFSA due for Early Decision 1, Early Decision 2, and Regular Decision applicants: March 1, 2012