Occidental College vs St Olaf College

Occidental College and St Olaf College, two esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Occidental, nestled in Los Angeles, California, boasts an acceptance rate of 34%, while St Olaf, located in Northfield, Minnesota, has a slightly lower acceptance rate of 29%. Occidental's student body is more diverse, with 48% of students identifying as students of color compared to St Olaf's 17%. Both colleges excel in academics, with Occidental's popular majors including Economics, Psychology, and Biology, and St Olaf's popular majors including Biology, Music, and Economics. While Occidental has a higher graduation rate of 86%, St Olaf's graduation rate is a respectable 82%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these two exceptional colleges and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Occidental College	St Olaf College
Overview
Location	Los Angeles, California	Northfield, Minnesota
Campus setting	City: Large	Town: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	4-1-4
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	92.0%	91.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Evangelical

Admission
Acceptance rate	38.2%	47.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $60
SAT range	1340 - 1490	1240 - 1430
ACT range	30 - 33	28 - 33
Students submitting SAT score	29.0%	16.0%
Students submitting ACT score	22.0%	39.0%
Total number of applicants	6,495	6,494
Total number of admissions given out	2,484	3,080
Admitted students who chose to enroll	535	755
Yield rate	21.5%	24.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$77,878	$66,570
Average net price	$43,047	$27,729
Tuition	$57,830	$52,670
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,512 Meal plan: $8,090	Room/dormitory: $5,720 Meal plan: $6,280
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $29,715	100.0% Average amount $37,281
Students receiving federal student loan	31.0% Average amount $4,603	49.0% Average amount $5,006
Students taking out private loans	17.0% Average amount $6,554	9.0% Average amount $15,087

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,964 Men 42.1% Women 57.9%	2,988 Men 42.2% Women 57.8%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	62.5%	N/A
International students	6.3%	10.2%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	1,650	2,703
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Washington New York Illinois Mississippi	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Physical Science Multidisciplinary Studies Visual & Performing Arts	Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Foreign Languages and Literatures Mathematics and Statistics Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	82.9%	85.0%
Dropout rate	4.1%	3.9%
Transferred out	12.6%	11.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,544 Year 2: $55,078 Year 3: $63,231 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,360 Year 2: $37,779 Year 3: $49,843 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,329 Year 2: $36,132 Year 3: $45,083 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,948 Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: $43,488 Cultural Studies/Critical Theory and Analysis (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $33,877 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,967 Year 3: $31,152 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,035 Year 2: $26,933 Year 3: $31,095 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,916 Year 2: $30,047 Year 3: $30,729 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: N/A Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $15,793 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: N/A	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,475 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $85,264 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,389 Year 2: $60,623 Year 3: $67,970 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,177 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $61,505 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,461 Year 2: $42,123 Year 3: $48,934 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,797 Year 2: $46,478 Year 3: $47,009 Chemistry (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,149 Year 2: $38,829 Year 3: $45,715 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,228 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $44,563 Sociology and Anthropology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,528 Year 2: $31,708 Year 3: $42,811 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,398 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $41,551 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,226 Year 2: $23,166 Year 3: $38,521

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