St Olaf College vs La Sierra University

St. Olaf College and La Sierra University, two distinct institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. St. Olaf, a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, boasts a 49% acceptance rate and is renowned for its strong academic programs, particularly in the humanities and natural sciences. La Sierra, a private Christian university in Riverside, California, has a higher acceptance rate of 67% and is known for its emphasis on faith-based education and its health sciences programs. While both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate and graduate programs, their student body demographics and graduation rates vary significantly. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into the details of these two institutions and discover which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	La Sierra University	St Olaf College
Overview
Location	Riverside, California	Northfield, Minnesota
Campus setting	City: Large	Town: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Quarter	4-1-4
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	72.0%	91.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation	Protestant	Evangelical

Admission
Acceptance rate	66.1%	47.4%
Application fees
SAT range	880 - 1140	1240 - 1430
ACT range	18 - 28	28 - 33
Students submitting SAT score	25.0%	16.0%
Students submitting ACT score	2.0%	39.0%
Total number of applicants	2,726	6,494
Total number of admissions given out	1,801	3,080
Admitted students who chose to enroll	287	755
Yield rate	15.9%	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	$59,289	$66,570
Average net price	$25,230	$27,729
Tuition	$33,228	$52,670
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,740 Meal plan: $4,050	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 $20,812	100.0% Average amount $37,281
Students receiving federal student loan	59.0% Average amount $4,980	49.0% Average amount $5,006
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $22,020	9.0% Average amount $15,087

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,351 Men 41.2% Women 58.8%	2,988 Men 42.2% Women 57.8%
Graduate students	387 Men 33.1% Women 66.9%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	14.1%	10.2%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	850	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	Law Enforcement and Firefighting Health Professions Education Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Foreign Languages and Literatures Mathematics and Statistics Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	44.9%	85.0%
Dropout rate	20.1%	3.9%
Transferred out	34.7%	11.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $60,771 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $56,649 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,359 Year 2: $26,933 Year 3: $41,100 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $41,044 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,771 Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,215 Year 2: $16,478 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,179 Year 2: $28,019 Year 3: N/A Health/Medical Preparatory Programs (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,431 Year 2: $29,751 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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