Hey, was anyone else here waitlisted. I am kind of confused why I got waitlisted. My stats were 1400 SAT and 4.4 Gpa weighted. With decent extracurriculars and essays. Maybe I didn’t show enough interest?
Waitlisted as well!
We have an admitted student in our house with 19k in merit aid a year (otherwise full pay student). Stats up thread. We were initially disappointed that he didn’t get more, but it looks like it was a brutal year for St. Olaf admissions.
St. Olaf is in my kid’s top tier of schools, which includes two other SLACs. We need to see admissions and merit from two more (and in fact, we still have 6 schools outstanding) before he makes a decision. St. Olaf is certainly possible, especially if we are able to negotiate the merit aid up a bit.
Good luck to all!
We’re in the same boat. My D was admitted with the $19K merit level and while we were initially disappointed, it does sound like it was a rough year. Just because I know it can be helpful to see stats/profile:
3.8UW/4.3W GPA (very rigorous course load)
31 ACT (testing is her weak point)
Tons of ECs and Leadership (spanning Student Govt, Music, Sports, etc)
Several National Level Honors/Experiences - NSLI-Y (Amman, Jordan); BofA Student leaders, USSYP Finalist, US Presidential Scholar Nominee, CocaCola Semifinalist
She’s a strong swimmer and could swim for the Ole’s and she has some legacy (her grandmother is a St. Olaf grad)
Given the merit level, I’m not sure it will stay in contention (she’s a finalist for a Colorado Scholarship that would give her a full ride at any school in CO and she has some schools with much high merit offers), but she really loved it when she visited and she’s not completely ready to say no yet.
I realize now that I may have been waitlisted due to my socioeconomic status, as my EFC is 0.
Rejected RD
Very poor international (EFC 1600USD)
Paraguayan Latino
STATS
ACT Superscore 33 (36,30,32,35)
GPA 3.78
Excellent LORS and ESSAYS
Average to below average EC’s
Accepted RD with a Deans Scholarship of 21k/year! Honestly very surprised, I guess I’m just a good fit.
Lower middle class white girl living in a major city
STATS
ACT score of 32
GPA 3.8 (3 APs, mostly honors)
Top 25% of my class at a very highly ranked high school (top 3% in the country)
Great personal essay where I wrote specifically about choir, extra LORs including one from my choral conductor
Internationally ranked choirs for 10 years, 2 years NHS, Mock trial president, Intern at a food justice organization for 3 years, 3 years tutoring underprivileged students.
S was accepted!
overseas American
His stats are middling…
GPA 3.7 UW (full IB diploma)
SAT 1160 (oops!)
Where he does stand out are his ECs, community service, excellent essays and references.
We were able to visit last summer and interview in person, another strength of his.
Scholarship & grant of 38k. No as much as Lawrence, Wooster or Clark, but doable if his first choice.
We came away from St. Olaf with a very good impression. Overall, all the schools we visited impressed upon us how much they value the IB programme and students that complete it!
My D20 was accepted RD in early February with a Presidential scholarship. It appears that St Olaf is top choice at this point and it is “in the range” price-wise with the Presidential amount. However she also applied for the Service Leader scholarship and auditioned for a dance scholarship back in October. We don’t expect any financial aid. Does anyone know when we should hear on these other two programs?
If you don’t mind elaborating, in what way was it a “brutal year” for admissions?
I truly admire how St. Olaf value us as individuals rather than numbers. I applied with 1070 SAT and around 3.6 GPA (Not sure though as I’m doing the IB diploma) and I was accepted! I believe that my essays and my extracurricular activities got me into St. Olaf. It’s one of my top schools, so I’m extremely happy to be admitted!
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My D was accepted RD in early Feb. with a Presidential Scholarship. She is a music performance major (tuba) and was invited to audition for a music scholarship. Tuba professor says she passed her audition and they want her in the music program, but we are still waiting for any music scholarship offers. 4.0 weighted, 1500 SAT.
For people who received the Buntrock scholarship- Does St Olaf provide a travel credit for visiting campus?
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Feel free to message me if your D wants to talk to my D about swimming at Olaf .
Anyone know when financial package come out?
How/where are RD decisions communicated?
Through the applicant portal. They’ve posted an update that contained the decisions on March 4th
My D20 just got her financial aid letter through the St. Olaf portal (after an email prompt that her account had been updated). She was thrilled to get the maximum dance scholarship ($6000) on top of the presidential scholarship and is likely a future Ole!
Congratulations to your daughter! So great to hear some good news!!