St. Olaf College has one of the best first-year to sophomore retention rates among its peers. High retention after the first year reflects student satisfaction with the college choice they made and the education they are receiving. High retention, as carried through four years of college, is also a strong predictor of graduation.
Liberal arts colleges pride themselves on providing a quality education that can be completed successfully within four years. Unlike flagship state universities and other public institutions, where five and even six year paths to undergraduate degree completion are increasingly the norm, St. Olaf College excels at having its students graduate in four years.
| Associated Colleges of the MidwestBeloit College Carleton College Coe College Colorado College Cornell College Grinnell College Knox College Lake Forest College Lawrence University Luther College Macalester College Monmouth College Ripon College St. Olaf College Minnesota Private Colleges Augsburg College Annapolis Group (Leading national liberal arts colleges) Agnes Scott College |
Annapolis Group Con’tCarleton College Centre College Chatham University Claremont McKenna College Coe College Colby College Colgate University College of Saint Benedict College of the Holy Cross Colorado College Connecticut College Cornell College Davidson College Denison University DePauw University Dickinson College Drew University Earlham College Eckerd College Franklin and Marshall College Furman University Gettysburg College Gordon College Goucher College Grinnell College Gustavus Adolphus College Hamilton College Hampden-Sydney College Hampshire College Harvey Mudd College Haverford College Hendrix College Hiram College Hobart William Smith Colleges Hollins University Hope College Houghton College Illinois Wesleyan University Juniata College Kalamazoo College Kenyon College Knox College Lafayette College Lake Forest College Lawrence University Lewis & Clark College Luther College Macalester College Manhattan College McDaniel College Middlebury College Millsaps College Monmouth College Mount Holyoke College Muhlenberg College |
Annapolis Group Con’tNebraska Wesleyan University Oberlin College Occidental College Oglethorpe University Ohio Wesleyan University Pitzer College Pomona College Presbyterian College Randolph College Randolph-Macon College Reed College Rhodes College Ripon College Rollins College Saint Johns University Saint Mary’s College Saint Norbert College Salem College Sarah Lawrence College Scripps College Sewanee-The University of the South Skidmore College Smith College Southwestern University Spelman College St John’s College St John’s College St Lawrence University St Olaf College Susquehanna University Swarthmore College Sweet Briar College The College of Wooster Transylvania University Trinity College Trinity University Union College University of Puget Sound Ursinus College Vassar College Wabash College Washington & Jefferson College Washington and Lee University Washington College Wellesley College Wesleyan University Westmont College Wheaton College Whitman College Whittier College Willamette University William Jewell College Williams College Wittenberg University Wofford College |
Longitudinal data for St. Olaf from 1991 and breakdown of rates by gender, race/ethnicity, and federal student aid category can be found here.