St Olaf College vs Hope College

St. Olaf College and Hope College, both highly regarded liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. St. Olaf, located in Northfield, Minnesota, boasts a slightly higher acceptance rate (58%) compared to Hope's 49%. St. Olaf students come from more diverse backgrounds, with 21% identifying as students of color compared to Hope's 15%. Hope, situated in Holland, Michigan, has a slightly larger student body, with an undergraduate enrollment of 3,100 compared to St. Olaf's 2,900. Both colleges offer a wide range of majors, with popular choices at St. Olaf including biology, economics, and music, while Hope students commonly pursue majors in business, education, and engineering. With graduation rates of 86% for St. Olaf and 84% for Hope, both institutions ensure that their students are well-prepared for their future careers. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover

	Hope College	St Olaf College
Overview
Location	Holland, Michigan	Northfield, Minnesota
Campus setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	4-1-4
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	87.0%	91.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Protestant	Evangelical

Admission
Acceptance rate	92.4%	47.4%
Application fees
SAT range	1100 - 1330	1240 - 1430
ACT range	24 - 31	28 - 33
Students submitting SAT score	45.0%	16.0%
Students submitting ACT score	19.0%	39.0%
Total number of applicants	4,172	6,494
Total number of admissions given out	3,854	3,080
Admitted students who chose to enroll	793	755
Yield rate	20.6%	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)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$46,800	$66,570
Average net price	$28,688	$27,729
Tuition	$36,300	$52,670
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,020 Meal plan: $6,380	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)	98.0% Average amount $21,987	100.0% Average amount $37,281
Students receiving federal student loan	48.0% Average amount $5,148	49.0% Average amount $5,006
Students taking out private loans	8.0% Average amount $15,533	9.0% Average amount $15,087

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	3,132 Men 38.5% Women 61.5%	2,988 Men 42.2% Women 57.8%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	2.3%	10.2%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	2,472	2,703
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Business Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Foreign Languages and Literatures	Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Foreign Languages and Literatures Mathematics and Statistics Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	11:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	80.6%	85.0%
Dropout rate	19.2%	3.9%
Transferred out	N/A	11.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,322 Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: $72,313 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $71,669 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,426 Year 2: $58,777 Year 3: $65,929 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,978 Year 2: $58,108 Year 3: $59,160 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,084 Year 2: $44,418 Year 3: $54,157 Special Education and Teaching (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,887 Year 2: $40,768 Year 3: $43,511 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,462 Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: $43,135 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,998 Year 2: $38,621 Year 3: $41,964 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,013 Year 2: $35,416 Year 3: $40,600 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,918 Year 2: $21,964 Year 3: $36,728	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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