St Olaf College vs Saint Mary's College

St Olaf College and Saint Mary's College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. St Olaf, located in Northfield, Minnesota, boasts a higher acceptance rate (63%) compared to Saint Mary's in Notre Dame, Indiana (58%). While St Olaf excels in the sciences, Saint Mary's shines in the social sciences and humanities. St Olaf's student body is predominantly White (84%) and female (56%), while Saint Mary's is more diverse, with a larger population of students of color (30%) and a more balanced gender ratio (52% female, 48% male). Both colleges boast impressive graduation rates, with St Olaf at 84% and Saint Mary's at 82%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more distinctions and determine which college aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Saint Mary's College	St Olaf College
Overview
Location	Notre Dame, Indiana	Northfield, Minnesota
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	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 and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	81.0%	91.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Catholic	Evangelical

Admission
Acceptance rate	83.1%	47.4%
Application fees
SAT range	1055 - 1265	1240 - 1430
ACT range	22 - 30	28 - 33
Students submitting SAT score	41.0%	16.0%
Students submitting ACT score	26.0%	39.0%
Total number of applicants	2,351	6,494
Total number of admissions given out	1,953	3,080
Admitted students who chose to enroll	375	755
Yield rate	19.2%	24.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$60,160	$66,570
Average net price	$27,686	$27,729
Tuition	$47,000	$52,670
Room & board	$13,120	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 $34,350	100.0% Average amount $37,281
Students receiving federal student loan	64.0% Average amount $5,152	49.0% Average amount $5,006
Students taking out private loans	13.0% Average amount $16,919	9.0% Average amount $15,087

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,402 Men 0.2% Women 99.8%	2,988 Men 42.2% Women 57.8%
Graduate students	125 Men 6.4% Women 93.6%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	63.7%	N/A
International students	0.7%	10.2%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	1,274	2,703
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Indiana Illinois Michigan Ohio Texas	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Communication and Journalism Mathematics and Statistics Education Social Sciences	Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Foreign Languages and Literatures Mathematics and Statistics Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	74.5%	85.0%
Dropout rate	10.7%	3.9%
Transferred out	14.8%	11.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,091 Year 2: $53,537 Year 3: $71,322 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,921 Year 2: $59,599 Year 3: $65,939 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,943 Year 2: $41,342 Year 3: $50,481 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,834 Year 2: $40,737 Year 3: $41,035 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,367 Year 2: $24,421 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,220 Year 2: $26,896 Year 3: N/A Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $45,715 Year 3: N/A Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,382 Year 3: N/A Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,752 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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