Frequently Asked Questions

For 2024-25, the comprehensive fee is $73,390. The Comprehensive Fee includes all tuition, housing (non-single room) and meal plan charges. In addition, we anticipate students will spend $1,000 on books and $900 on personal and incidental expenses per year. The costs of travel to and from St. Olaf may also be factored into an aid award.

Most aid at St. Olaf is based on each applicant’s financial needs. This is called “need-based” aid. St Olaf takes many factors (such as income, assets, family size and others) into consideration when looking at a family’s eligibility for need-based aid.
Merit scholarships consist of scholarships that are awarded to students for specific talents or accomplishments: e.g., academic and fine arts (music, dance, theater, art and art history). They are awarded without regard to a family’s ability to pay for college.

There is limited financial aid available for international students, and no full scholarships are offered. International students are encouraged to contact Jenny Howenstine at howensti@stolaf.edu for more specific information about aid and admissions. Also, check out the International Student section of the Financial Aid website.

No. We are an NCAA Division III school, which prevents us from offering any scholarships tied to athletics. However, many of our student-athletes have qualified for other scholarships or grants, including academic scholarships and need-based aid.

St. Olaf bills twice per year. Fall semester bills are delivered electronically in early-July with payment due August 1st. Spring semester bills are delivered in early January with payment due  February 1st.

Yes. Your family can use the Net Price Calculator to estimate what your cost might be to attend St. Olaf. This is only an estimate. Due to the holistic nature of our merit scholarship awarding process, the estimator cannot completely predict your eligibility for our varied merit aid programs, nor can it take into account any of your family’s special financial circumstances that might be considered during the need-based aid application process. You can also get a quick estimate of cost through MyIntuition. This asks fewer questions and gives family a range of costs to attend St. Olaf. MyIntuition is much quicker and is easier to complete than the Net Price Calculator. It is important to note that MyIntution gives a range of costs, whereas the Net Price Calculator shows a specific dollar amount for the estimate.

Prospective students can find more detailed information here on the application process. The Financial Aid Application deadlines are slightly different for each type of student (Early Decision, Regular Decision, Transfer and International). You can find those deadlines on our website.

The FAFSA code for St. Olaf is: 002382.

The CSS PROFILE code for St. Olaf is: 6638.

The FSA ID is a username and password that is required of all students to sign in and submit the FAFSA. If the student is a dependent student (almost all St. Olaf students are dependent students), then a parent will also need an FSA ID to sign and submit the FAFSA. Click here to find out more information about the FSA ID.

Federal and state regulations require that the custodial parent (and stepparent, if custodial parent is remarried) complete the applications (both the FAFSA and the CSS PROFILE) for financial aid. For the purposes of state and federal financial aid (determined by the FAFSA), the parent that the student has lived with the most in the past year is considered the custodial parent. It does not matter who claimed the student as a dependent on a tax return, nor do any stipulations in the divorce agreement. For consideration of need-based financial aid from St. Olaf, a Noncustodial CSS PROFILE is required in cases where the applicant’s biological/adoptive parents are separated or divorced. When a student and custodial parent submit the PROFILE, the student will be sent instructions about how to file the Non-Custodial Profile. Each parent’s ability to pay for college expenses will be evaluated in determining eligibility for St. Olaf need-based aid.

Contact the Financial Aid Office before completing your financial aid application. Most sources of financial aid require that you be at least 24 years old in order to be considered an independent student. Please follow the link for more information about the US Department of Education’s definition of an independent student.

Assuming that your applications (Admission Application, CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE, and FAFSA) are completed by the deadlines, notification will depend upon the type of aid for which you are applying. Most academic scholarship notifications will come shortly after the admission decision. (Early Decision applicants may receive revised awards based on merit scholarship award processes.) Need-based financial aid awards are mailed one week following the admission decision. Please note: Some need-based financial aid awards may be delayed until merit scholarship decisions are finalized. You can find more information on financial aid dates and deadlines on our website.

Answer the questions on the CSS Profile and FAFSA as accurately as you are able. Families with similar circumstances will get similar awards. We do not negotiate packages based on what another college or university has offered. We want to ensure, however, that we use the most accurate and up-to-date information available to determine your award. If you have notified another institution about an unusual circumstance affecting your finances, be sure that we have that information as well. To provide extra information about your financial situation, you may use the “special circumstances” section of the Profile or send appropriate documentation and letters directly to the Financial Aid Office. Please use this link to send us secure electronic documents.

Absolutely not. The Financial Aid Office makes no distinction between Early Decision, Early Action and Regular students when awarding aid.

We encourage students to apply for outside sources of aid, especially through your local community, high school, church and community organizations. Also, check with your parents’ employers to see if they offer scholarships for children of employees. Researching and applying for private scholarships is time-consuming but it can really pay off (last year St. Olaf students received over $3.0 million in private scholarship aid!). Talk to your local high school guidance office for possible scholarship sources and conduct your own internet search of possible sources. While the large online scholarship databases, such as Fastweb can be really helpful, your best chances of winning a scholarship is at the local level. The best way to find out what scholarships you have the best chance of winning is to talk to your teachers, counselors and even older friends who may have won the scholarship in the past.

You are required to apply for need-based aid every year, but you do not have to reapply for merit scholarships. To reapply for need-based aid, please complete the FAFSA. You will not need to complete the CSS Profile form in your returning years at St. Olaf. Merit scholarships are automatically renewed each year, assuming you have met the minimum GPA and/or fine arts participation requirements outlined in your original scholarship offer.

When we create your need-based financial aid package, the merit scholarships you receive will be used to meet your demonstrated need along with any need-based grants for which you are eligible.

Generally, we will renew the need-based St. Olaf gift aid portion of your package each year, and we may increase it to cover a portion of future tuition increases. If, however, your family experiences a significant change in financial circumstances, such as a large increase in income (more than inflation) or a drop in the number of people in the household enrolled in college, your St. Olaf need-based gift aid may be reduced. Federal and state gift aid is determined using a federal formula, so even small changes in income may affect the amount awarded. Commensurate with federal loan limits and guidelines, sophomores, juniors, and seniors can expect increases in the loan amount of their financial aid awards. If you or your parents have specific questions about how your package will look for all four years, we encourage you to talk with your St. Olaf Financial Aid counselor, especially if you know that your financial circumstances will change (e.g., an older sibling is graduating from college or a younger one will start college while you are enrolled). We understand you are making a four-year commitment, and we are happy to provide an estimate of future eligibility.

Outside scholarships are added on top of the package already offered by St. Olaf. However, when a student has a need-based award, college policy and federal regulations may require us to make adjustments to the package. In those cases, the Federal Perkins Loan will be reduced or eliminated first, and further reductions will be split between student employment and the Federal Direct Subsidized Loan. If a student receives enough outside aid to eliminate the self-help portion (subsidized student loans and work study) of the package and the student’s need has been fully met, only then will need-based St. Olaf gift aid be reduced. Merit scholarships generally are not reduced when a student receives an outside scholarship. In all cases, outside scholarships improve the financial aid package by increasing the total amount of grant and scholarship dollars in your award and sometimes reducing the amount you have to earn and borrow.

No. Every school has different financial aid resources and chooses to use those resources differently. We recognize that most families are looking at a range of costs when looking at different schools. Our mission in the St. Olaf Financial Aid Office is to provide access to a St. Olaf education to families of varied economic backgrounds. We administer financial aid programs with a commitment to equity, consistency and transparency in awarding resources. Although we do our best to take into account each family’s specific circumstances, we do not adjust financial aid packages based on the amount of financial aid offered from a different school.

Merit scholarships are awarded by the Admissions Office during the admission application process. Due to this, all questions regarding merit scholarship decisions should be directed to the Admissions Office.

Families may request a review of their financial aid award when the family’s circumstances have changed significantly. Job losses and major medical expenses (that have already been paid) are examples of circumstances that can be grounds for reconsideration. These requests should be based on the family’s financial situation changing, not other factors. Please feel free to contact us (finaid@stolaf.edu) if you have questions about your family’s circumstances and how to request reconsideration.

If your or your family’s financial circumstances have changed since you applied, or if you feel you provided us with incomplete information, you may request a review of the award by writing to the Financial Aid Office. We may adjust your award if the circumstances are both extenuating and documented. Please include specific information and data showing how your situation has changed since you completed the PROFILE.

If your family’s financial situation changes at any time we encourage you to contact the Financial Aid Office immediately. We review each situation individually and can make adjustments to your award at any time during the year.

Student employment is primarily a financial aid program at St. Olaf and our primarily goal is to ensure that students who receive need-based aid have the opportunity to work on campus to contribute toward their expenses. With the exception of a few “special skills” positions (e.g., tutoring, lifeguarding, phoning for the Annual Fund), only students who have a work award as a component of their need-based financial aid award are eligible to work on campus.

Any need-based aid or merit scholarships that you receive from St. Olaf will still be available if you decide to study overseas or off-campus through one of our many approved St. Olaf programs. If you choose to attend a program that is not St. Olaf approved, your institutional grants and scholarships will not be available for you, although federal loans may still be utilized. St. Olaf also has additional scholarships available to help defray the extra costs associated with studying abroad on one of our approved semester or year-long programs. You will be instructed on how to apply for these scholarships when you are accepted to a program. Additional loans (for students or parents) will also be available.

The amount borrowed by St. Olaf students varies greatly with individual circumstances. For the graduating class of 2023, 59 percent of the students used student loans to finance a portion of their education. The median individual student indebtedness was $26,800 in this cohort.