St Olaf College vs Bethany College

St Olaf College and Bethany College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. St Olaf, located in Northfield, Minnesota, boasts a lower acceptance rate (33%) compared to Bethany's (58%) in Lindsborg, Kansas. St Olaf's student body is more diverse, with international students comprising 10% of the population, while Bethany's international student population is 2%. St Olaf excels in the sciences, with popular majors including biology, chemistry, and environmental science, while Bethany's strengths lie in the humanities and social sciences, with popular majors such as psychology, English, and history. Both colleges boast impressive graduation rates, with St Olaf's at 83% and Bethany's at 78%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these two exceptional institutions and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Bethany College	St Olaf College
Overview
Location	Lindsborg, Kansas	Northfield, Minnesota
Campus setting	Town: Remote	Town: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	4-1-4	4-1-4
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	38.0%	91.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation	Evangelical	Evangelical

Admission
Acceptance rate	71.9%	47.4%
Application fees
SAT range	810 - 1015	1240 - 1430
ACT range	17 - 23	28 - 33
Students submitting SAT score	14.0%	16.0%
Students submitting ACT score	43.0%	39.0%
Total number of applicants	2,627	6,494
Total number of admissions given out	1,888	3,080
Admitted students who chose to enroll	256	755
Yield rate	13.6%	24.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$51,560	$66,570
Average net price	$26,732	$27,729
Tuition	$29,200	$52,670
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,375 Meal plan: $5,600	Room/dormitory: $5,720 Meal plan: $6,280
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $22,305	100.0% Average amount $37,281
Students receiving federal student loan	90.0% Average amount $5,285	49.0% Average amount $5,006
Students taking out private loans	12.0% Average amount $13,614	9.0% Average amount $15,087

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	737 Men 57.7% Women 42.3%	2,988 Men 42.2% Women 57.8%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	67.2%	N/A
International students	4.8%	10.2%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	712	2,703
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Kansas Texas Oklahoma California Florida	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Education Law Enforcement and Firefighting Visual & Performing Arts Kinesiology & Leisure Studies	Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Foreign Languages and Literatures Mathematics and Statistics Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	14:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	30.4%	85.0%
Dropout rate	69.6%	3.9%
Transferred out	N/A	11.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,319 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,090 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Criminology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,141 Year 3: N/A Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,708 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,475 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $85,264 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,389 Year 2: $60,623 Year 3: $67,970 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,177 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $61,505 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,461 Year 2: $42,123 Year 3: $48,934 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,797 Year 2: $46,478 Year 3: $47,009 Chemistry (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,149 Year 2: $38,829 Year 3: $45,715 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,228 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $44,563 Sociology and Anthropology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,528 Year 2: $31,708 Year 3: $42,811 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,398 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $41,551 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,226 Year 2: $23,166 Year 3: $38,521

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