火爆社区

Founded in 1874, St. Olaf College is a liberal arts college that views the entire undergraduate experience as an education. The Piper Center for Vocation and Career 鈥渃onstantly has new opportunities available for students in any field of study,鈥� science classes offer students the chance 鈥渢o dip their toes in research,鈥� and approximately 70% of students participate in the 鈥渟econd to none鈥� study abroad programs. There are endless resources in support of students, and 鈥渋f you need something, St. Olaf will do everything in their power to accommodate.鈥� Professors at St. Olaf are universally beloved, helping with 鈥渆verything from a mistake on a homework assignment, a course concept that is confusing, writing a thesis for a paper, planning course schedules, and advising students on how to reach their long-term goals.鈥� The best classes 鈥渢end to include a lot of discussion and focus on the process of learning rather than the graded outcome鈥�; indeed, academic innovation thrives at St. Olaf, with courses featuring 鈥渃onversation dinners for language classes, exploratory field trips, exhibition tours for art courses, guest speakers, and interactive seminars.鈥� Professors also organize 鈥減anels of people to share their expertise and perspectives (such as a panel of local farmers when studying environmental science).鈥� Academics are 鈥渃hallenging with enough resources that they鈥檙e manageable,鈥� and the school 鈥済ets students ready to apply to jobs, internships, and graduate school all over the course of four years.鈥�

St. Olaf College is entirely welcome to all students and faiths: 鈥渢he chapel and college pastors, rabbi, [and] Muslim chaplain are very inclusive.鈥� Students feel that they are all united by 鈥渁n interest and desire to learn鈥� that often manifests itself 鈥渋n deep discussions in and out of the classroom.鈥� Moreover, because the school is interdisciplinary, you鈥檙e likely to get exposure to a wider variety of perspectives, as 鈥渋t is not uncommon to be in a philosophy class full of biology and music majors.鈥� On the whole, Oles are 鈥済enerally kind and cheerful, and with an unmatched respect for others and their property.鈥�

Though St. Olaf is located only 45 minutes from the bustling Twin Cities, nearly all students live on the beautiful campus. The college provides 鈥渟ocial activities which do not rely on alcohol鈥� and, consequently, there鈥檚 鈥渁 lot of school programming with relatively high attendance.鈥� This is especially true of extracurriculars: students describe being 鈥渧ery involved at high levels鈥� in things like music ensembles and sports. Academics are equally taken seriously, such that 鈥渟tudying is also a form of hanging out for many people.鈥� That said, students do find time for relaxing, especially on weekends, which are filled with seasonal activities like 鈥済oing to the pumpkin patch or apple orchard ten minutes from campus,鈥� and a main student pastime is simply 鈥済oing to dinner and seeing all of their friends and then going to each other鈥檚 rooms afterwards.鈥� Oles are an outdoorsy bunch, and students 鈥渉ave access to hundreds of acres of forest and prairie on campus to run, bike, and cross-country ski,鈥� and 鈥渢he natural lands and hiking trails are often used.鈥�

Students say that one of St. Olaf鈥檚 greatest strengths is its Piper Center for Vocation and Career. By maintaining 鈥渟trategic relationships with employers, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and donors,鈥� the center can 鈥渕aximize opportunities for students and alumni.鈥� These relationships yield hundreds of internships exclusively available to St. Olaf students, as well as a number of internship cohort programs that allow students to work with institutions such as the Mayo Clinic or a Norwegian biotech company during their breaks. Furthermore, students say that the 鈥渧ocational retreats, alumni luncheons, [and] one-on-one coaching鈥�makes sure that all the hard work put into classes pays off.鈥� In recent years, the center has helped students by arranging thousands of appointments with coaches and peer advisors. According to PayScale.com, 53 percent of St. Olaf alums report that they derive a high level of meaning from their careers, and graduates earn a median starting salary of $64,200.