St. Olaf included in Wall Street Journal’s 2025 Best Colleges in America

St. Olaf College | News

September 9, 2024

St. Olaf included in Wall Street Journal’s 2025 Best Colleges in America

The St. Olaf Connections Program took students to a networking event at the New York Stock Exchange. A collaboration between the Piper Center for Vocation and Career and the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations, the Connections Program takes students each year to cities across the country to meet with alumni working in a variety of fields. — Students participating in the St. Olaf Connections Program take part in a networking event at the New York Stock Exchange. A collaboration between the Piper Center for Vocation and Career and the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations, the Connections Program takes students each year to cities across the country to meet with alumni working in a variety of fields.

St. Olaf College is featured in a new list of Best Colleges in the U.S. published by The Wall Street Journal.

The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse 2025 rankings measure how well colleges set graduates up for financial success.

“We look at how much a school improves students’ chances of graduating and their future earnings, balancing these outcomes with feedback from students on college life,” the authors of the ranking note in The Wall Street Journal.

They add that many colleges on the list have set their students up to succeed through extensive, highly engaged alumni networks that ease graduates’ career paths; partnerships with businesses; and programs focused on career-ready skills.

Those are all areas where St. Olaf excels. With the robust support of the Piper Center for Vocation and Career, St. Olaf advisors and career coaches connect students to a menu of more than 5,000 internships, undergraduate research experiences, and other hands-on opportunities at a breadth of organizations ranging from nonprofits to Fortune 500 companies.

These opportunities are supercharged by the power of the Ole network: thousands of St. Olaf alumni who are eager to support current students by sponsoring opportunities, supervising interns, and sharing openings at their organization. Several alumni have funded signature St. Olaf internship programs that give cohorts of students hands-on experience each year in fields like medicine, law, social impact, and business. Even more have shared their expertise and talent through the St. Olaf Connections Program and Ole Career Launcher.

Angie Oscal Orrego '24 and Sadrin Mukamba '24 participate in the conversation during the Denver Connections Program. Photo by Fernando Sevilla — Angie Oscal Orrego ’24 and Sadrin Mukamba ’24 participate in the conversation during the Denver Connections Program. Photo by Fernando Sevilla

On campus, the St. Olaf Collaborative Undergraduate Research and Inquiry (CURI) program gives scores of talented students each summer the opportunity to work alongside faculty members on significant research and creative projects in a wide array of fields.

By the time St. Olaf students graduate, 90 percent have participated in an internship, research or field experience, community service, or similar experiential learning opportunity while on campus.

“We’re pleased to be part of The Wall Street Journal rankings because they highlight our commitment to providing students with a holistic education that layers hands-on career exploration opportunities on top of compelling academic programs,” says St. Olaf President Susan Rundell Singer. “This gives our students the foundation to pursue their vocation with vigor.”

This fall St. Olaf was also named a Princeton Review Best Value College and earned a number of other top rankings in the Princeton Review’s Best 390 Colleges: 2025 Edition.