At a moment when families across the country are doing hard math about whether college is worth the cost, the financial aid package for admitted St. Olaf College students carries real weight. For many, it isn’t just relief — it’s one of the key factors that brings them to the Hill and makes the St. Olaf experience possible.

Hailee Fredrickson ’28 — who is majoring in nursing and religion — says it certainly played a role in her decision to become an Ole.

“Throughout high school, I really wanted to be a nurse,” she says. “I had a medically complex childhood, and I was surrounded by nurses. My grandparents were nurses, and I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”

When Fredrickson started considering college, the financial reality quickly made it feel out of reach. She planned to enroll in a community college, but then she received a financial aid package from St. Olaf that expanded her options.

“I was so excited,” she says. “I was able to pursue a four-year degree.”

St. Olaf is committed to meeting the demonstrated financial need of every admitted student – 99 percent of students received some form of aid last year. The college can do so because of alumni and friends who donate to financial aid. Funded aid, supported through the St. Olaf Fund and endowed scholarships, amounted to $11.47 million and directly supported 1,256 students.

“We couldn’t meet their need if we didn’t have donor funding,” says Steve Lindley, Director of Financial Aid. “Every bit is important. It recognizes students’ interests and passions, and enables us to step in and meet families where they are while accepting great students.”

That investment shows up in outcomes. St. Olaf ranked #9 on U.S. News & World Report’s Best Value Schools list for 2026 — a meaningful distinction at a moment when prospective students across the U.S. are questioning whether a four-year degree is worth the cost, and debates about student loan debt dominate headlines. St. Olaf graduates carry less of that debt than their peers: the median loan debt for Oles in the class of 2025 was about $25,000, compared to the national average of $34,420. The St. Olaf average has held relatively steady since 2015, even as costs have risen with inflation.

The largest share of aid comes as an institutional tuition discount, money St. Olaf commits to a student’s education without collecting as revenue. It’s a significant investment in access, and it reflects a core institutional value: that a St. Olaf education should be within reach, regardless of a family’s financial circumstances.

The commitment is also a strategic one. Private nonprofit four-year colleges saw undergraduate enrollment fall 7.9 percent over the past 10 years, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, part of a longer pattern hitting small liberal arts institutions especially hard. Concerns about cost and return on investment are reshaping how families approach college decisions, and schools that can’t make a compelling affordability case are feeling it. Yet St. Olaf’s enrollment has held within a consistent range for nearly a decade, a sign that intentional investment in financial aid is helping the college hold its ground in a difficult national climate.

“Being at St. Olaf has opened up so many opportunities for me to connect with faculty and do research. I am so grateful that I ended up at St. Olaf, because I really feel like this is where I was meant to be.”

Hailee Fredrickson ’28

The makeup of each incoming class reflects what that stability is protecting. About 21 percent of new students are first-generation college students; 18 percent come from low-income families supported by the donor-funded aid that keeps St. Olaf within reach, opening opportunities each fall to a class that reflects the full range of students the college exists to serve.

Fredrickson says she couldn’t imagine herself anywhere other than St. Olaf and her experience has expanded what she considered possible.

The strength of St. Olaf’s nursing program made the college a natural choice for Fredrickson. The nursing program pairs rigorous clinical and scientific training with a liberal arts education, preparing nurses who can think critically, communicate effectively, act ethically, and advocate for health equity. That preparation has Fredrickson feeling confident and excited for her next steps when she graduates in a couple of years.

“I’d like to work for a few years, build up my experience. Then I’ve been really interested in going to graduate school and becoming a nurse practitioner eventually,” she says.

“Being at St. Olaf has opened up so many opportunities for me to connect with faculty and do research. I am so grateful that I ended up at St. Olaf, because I really feel like this is where I was meant to be.”