n Sept. 23, the U.S. News & World Report released its annual college rankings. In the Liberal Arts Colleges category, St. Olaf was listed in the top 50 four times: No. 9 for Best Value, No. 17 for Study Abroad, No. 36 for Undergraduate Teaching, and No. 41 for Most Innovative.
Associate Vice President for Enrollment Chris George believes that St. Olaf’s high rankings are a positive reflection of what the college has to offer.
“It’s exciting. I think it continues to showcase the value and opportunity that St. Olaf provides for the students that choose to come here,” George said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger.”
According to George, the high Best Value ranking shows that St. Olaf provides an outstanding education at an affordable price for students, as well as the College’s commitment to having a student body with diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.
“The ranking itself is the measure of the school’s academic quality based on their ranking relative to our net cost,” George said. “But what it means, and what I say it says about St. Olaf, is we provide an amazing opportunity and educational experience for our students at a price point and a place where families see tremendous value.”
Rankings like the U.S. News & World Report can also inform students about what kind of experience they can expect at a certain college.
“I think that the rankings definitely helped paint the picture of what my experience here would look like, and that it would be worth it,” Morgan Becker ’29 said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. “I think for the classes they offer, there’s a really wide selection, and just being able to get a good value for that education, that was really important to me and my parents.”
Highly-ranked schools often attract more attention from those applying to colleges. George said he wouldn’t be surprised if St. Olaf sees an increase in applications as it rises in the U.S. News & World Report’s rankings. However, he believes that prospective students will only truly understand what St. Olaf has to offer when they interact with the campus community.
“I think it’s important to note that… [rankings] play a role in this process, but what’s important to me is that St. Olaf is recognized as a top school. It opens the door for students to consider us,” George said. “But what really matters is the opportunity [for] students [to] really see and engage with our community. Whether it’s fellow students, with our faculty, [or] with the staff, that’s what really makes the difference in the process.”
