Our Early Decision Commitments include financial, study abroad/away, and housing benefits for students who are admitted via Early Decision 1 or Early Decision 2.
- Any student who applies and is admitted through Early Decision will receive a minimum of a $30,000 St. Olaf scholarship
- 100% of all additional costs above being on campus will be covered for a single semester or year study abroad/away program
- Students who are admitted Early Decision will be placed in one of their top two choices of first-year residence halls on campus.*
*Note: housing choice may be pre-determined for students in a learning community (i.e. Enduring Questions); students who request accommodations; or students who request gender inclusive housing.
Top 5 reasons to apply Early Decision
If you’ve researched colleges and can’t get St. Olaf out of your head, apply Early Decision. If your heart tells you St. Olaf is the best fit, listen to it and apply Early Decision. We notify Early Decision applicants one month after the deadline, which is a faster turnaround time than Regular Decision in the spring. You’ll be able to enjoy the rest of your senior year knowing you’ve made your college decision. On average, nearly 25% of the first-year class choose to enroll through Early Decision at St. Olaf.
When we say we meet the demonstrated need of ALL admitted students, we mean it. We share families’ concerns about student loans and affordability. On average, 90% of the students who applied Early Decision and also applied for financial aid were able to enroll. To help students graduate with manageable debt, we have increased grants and reduced the loans used to meet demonstrated need. Use MyIntuition or our Net Price Calculator to get a good estimate of the financial aid you may receive.
Beyond need-based aid, St. Olaf offers fine arts and academic scholarships as part of the Early Decision application process. We follow the same awarding process and apply the same holistic review criteria to students applying through both Early Decision, Early Action, or Regular Decision process. Our Early Decision Commitment: Any student who applies and is admitted through Early Decision will receive a minimum of a $30,000 St. Olaf Scholarship.
Whether you are able to visit or not, you will make a great choice in coming to St. Olaf. Go to our visit page to see photos and videos of campus.
Early Decision is a two-way commitment between St. Olaf and you. You commit to us that St. Olaf is your #1 choice and we pledge to give your application a thorough and thoughtful consideration.
What’s the difference between Early Action and Early Decision?
If you’ve done your research, know St. Olaf is the place for you, and you’re ready to be an Ole, apply for Early Decision by November 1 or January 15. You’ll receive admission notification from us in early December for Early Decision 1 and in early February for Early Decision 2. Early Decision is binding and is based on an agreement that if admitted, you’ll withdraw your applications to other colleges and commit officially to St. Olaf.
We know that many of our students want to weigh admission offer options, which is not possible with Early Decision. If you want to apply early to St. Olaf and receive your admission notification early, send us your Early Action application. The Early Action deadline is November 1; you’ll hear from us by late December. Early Action is non-binding, so you may still apply to other colleges. After you receive your admission notification from us, you are not required to make your college choice until May 1. Early Action applicants will get the same consideration for scholarships and need-based financial aid as our Early Decision and Regular Decision applicants. If you want to find out early if you’re admitted to St. Olaf while you consider other colleges, this is the early application option for you.
HOW TO APPLY
- First, you’ll need to decide if Early Decision is right for you. (See our top 5 reasons why Early Decision is a great choice.) Early Action is also a good option if you’re ready to hit that “submit” button.
- Then, you’ll need to submit either the Common Application or the Coalition Application, which go live on August 1. You need to submit the same materials for Early Decision and Early Action as required for Regular Decision.
- Additionally, if you’re applying Early Decision, we need the Early Decision Agreement to be submitted with signatures from you, a parent/guardian, your school counselor, and yourself. The Agreement states that you understand the binding nature of Early Decision, and — after reviewing financial aid and scholarship awards — you will commit to St. Olaf, withdrawing your applications at other colleges.
There are two Early Decision deadlines: Early Decision 1 is November 1 (with notification in early December), and Early Decision 2 is January 15 (with notification in early February). There’s no difference in preference for either Early Decision.