St Olaf College, thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gorgeous, classic-looking campus, a mile from town, up on a hill so it feels like its own world (in a good way, says DC). Leafy, peaceful. Modern facilities rivaling those of far more selective schools. Huge windows, with tons of sun-drenched spaces to study. Extremely friendly — if you look even a little lost, someone will stop and offer directions. Lots of different kinds of kids. Good food. All the best parts of any LAC — opportunities for research with faculty, low student-faculty ratios, easy to try new things, profs don’t need to earn their salaries via grants so they can focus on undergraduate teaching — but with a reasonable admit rate and good merit aid. I’m told the career center is strong, but I don’t have a kid there (yet?) so I can’t say more. Dry campus, which isn’t to say no drinking, only that it isn’t done at huge parties. Cold weather, bitter in January, but all those sunny spaces help, and the student center has a big fireplace, so it feels cozy. We really liked.

It's fugg'n Minnesota, ain't nothing going to be drenched in sun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gorgeous, classic-looking campus, a mile from town, up on a hill so it feels like its own world (in a good way, says DC). Leafy, peaceful. Modern facilities rivaling those of far more selective schools. Huge windows, with tons of sun-drenched spaces to study. Extremely friendly — if you look even a little lost, someone will stop and offer directions. Lots of different kinds of kids. Good food. All the best parts of any LAC — opportunities for research with faculty, low student-faculty ratios, easy to try new things, profs don’t need to earn their salaries via grants so they can focus on undergraduate teaching — but with a reasonable admit rate and good merit aid. I’m told the career center is strong, but I don’t have a kid there (yet?) so I can’t say more. Dry campus, which isn’t to say no drinking, only that it isn’t done at huge parties. Cold weather, bitter in January, but all those sunny spaces help, and the student center has a big fireplace, so it feels cozy. We really liked.

It's fugg'n Minnesota, ain't nothing going to be drenched in sun.

Just as sunny in MN as it is in DC, just cold in the winter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gorgeous, classic-looking campus, a mile from town, up on a hill so it feels like its own world (in a good way, says DC). Leafy, peaceful. Modern facilities rivaling those of far more selective schools. Huge windows, with tons of sun-drenched spaces to study. Extremely friendly — if you look even a little lost, someone will stop and offer directions. Lots of different kinds of kids. Good food. All the best parts of any LAC — opportunities for research with faculty, low student-faculty ratios, easy to try new things, profs don’t need to earn their salaries via grants so they can focus on undergraduate teaching — but with a reasonable admit rate and good merit aid. I’m told the career center is strong, but I don’t have a kid there (yet?) so I can’t say more. Dry campus, which isn’t to say no drinking, only that it isn’t done at huge parties. Cold weather, bitter in January, but all those sunny spaces help, and the student center has a big fireplace, so it feels cozy. We really liked.

It's fugg'n Minnesota, ain't nothing going to be drenched in sun.

Just as sunny in MN as it is in DC, just cold in the winter.

DC ain't exactly Scottsdale.

[Anonymous]

Good academics. Particularly noted for music, computer science, and mathematics. It is cold and its farther North than DC (latitude) so those cold winter days are shorter than here.

If DC goes, they should take a pair of bean boots or bean gumshoes along with many pairs of wool socks (both thinner & thicker wool socks) due to the climate/weather.

[Anonymous]

Northfield is actually very sunny in the winter. It’s also very cold, and the days in December are short, but the sky is clear and blue and the sun reflects off the snow so it’s extremely bright. All the schools west of the lakes are much sunnier than the snow-effect schools (Michigan, Cornell) where it seems like it’s always cloudy and grey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Northfield is actually very sunny in the winter. It’s also very cold, and the days in December are short, but the sky is clear and blue and the sun reflects off the snow so it’s extremely bright. All the schools west of the lakes are much sunnier than the snow-effect schools (Michigan, Cornell) where it seems like it’s always cloudy and grey.

Correct that Northfield isn't as dreary and gray as Ithaca or Ann Arbor, but calling it "very sunny" during the winter is as big an exaggeration as the PP saying St. O is "drenched in sun."

Sunny days per year:

Ithaca: 155
Ann Arbor: 176
Northfield: 206
U.S. average: 206
Charlotte, NC: 218
Miami: 248
Scottsdale, AZ: 300

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Northfield is actually very sunny in the winter. It’s also very cold, and the days in December are short, but the sky is clear and blue and the sun reflects off the snow so it’s extremely bright. All the schools west of the lakes are much sunnier than the snow-effect schools (Michigan, Cornell) where it seems like it’s always cloudy and grey.

Agreed. Went to the other school in Northfield and friends from places like Chicago said that it was so much brighter and less depressing than winter there. Minnesotans also get outside to enjoy the winter—cross country skiing, ice skating, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Northfield is actually very sunny in the winter. It’s also very cold, and the days in December are short, but the sky is clear and blue and the sun reflects off the snow so it’s extremely bright. All the schools west of the lakes are much sunnier than the snow-effect schools (Michigan, Cornell) where it seems like it’s always cloudy and grey.

Correct that Northfield isn't as dreary and gray as Ithaca or Ann Arbor, but calling it "very sunny" during the winter is as big an exaggeration as the PP saying St. O is "drenched in sun."

Sunny days per year:

Ithaca: 155
Ann Arbor: 176
Northfield: 206
U.S. average: 206
Charlotte, NC: 218
Miami: 248
Scottsdale, AZ: 300

NP and Minnesotan here. It’s been the mildest winter in 150 years so it feels wrong to comment on this now but Northfield is typically very dreary—cold, cloudy, snowy—in the winter and is really not that sunny. However, what the original pp was commenting on, I think, was how nice the architecture is at St Olaf, how buildings are designed to let a lot of natural light in and how there are lots of nice places to study on campus not about the weather.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Northfield is actually very sunny in the winter. It’s also very cold, and the days in December are short, but the sky is clear and blue and the sun reflects off the snow so it’s extremely bright. All the schools west of the lakes are much sunnier than the snow-effect schools (Michigan, Cornell) where it seems like it’s always cloudy and grey.

Agreed. Went to the other school in Northfield and friends from places like Chicago said that it was so much brighter and less depressing than winter there. Minnesotans also get outside to enjoy the winter—cross country skiing, ice skating, etc.

Well Chicago sucks so maybe your friend was just commenting on how Chicago is a more depressing place overall than northfield but the winter weather is typically actually quite a bit worse in Minnesota than Chicago. Average temps in December, January and February in northfield are highs of 26, 21, 28 whereas avg temps in those same months in Chicago are highs of 37, 31, and 35. Considerable difference. Northfield also gets more snow than Chicago with average annual snowfall in northfield at 42 inches and Chicago at 37 inches

[Anonymous]

^^basically love St Olaf for many reasons but nice winter weather or sunny days are not it.

[Anonymous]

Toured in 2001 (!) and thought the campus was beautiful and the town was lovely. Attended elsewhere because the price tag was too high.

[Anonymous]

PP who used the word “sun-drenched.” Sure, let’s say “letting in tons of natural light.”

I do think that given the location, the architecture is terrific.

[Anonymous]

For those who attended and/or whose kids attended, can you speak to the dry campus thing? Are there truly zero parties that feel like college parties?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Northfield is actually very sunny in the winter. It’s also very cold, and the days in December are short, but the sky is clear and blue and the sun reflects off the snow so it’s extremely bright. All the schools west of the lakes are much sunnier than the snow-effect schools (Michigan, Cornell) where it seems like it’s always cloudy and grey.

Agreed. Went to the other school in Northfield and friends from places like Chicago said that it was so much brighter and less depressing than winter there. Minnesotans also get outside to enjoy the winter—cross country skiing, ice skating, etc.

Well Chicago sucks so maybe your friend was just commenting on how Chicago is a more depressing place overall than northfield but the winter weather is typically actually quite a bit worse in Minnesota than Chicago. Average temps in December, January and February in northfield are highs of 26, 21, 28 whereas avg temps in those same months in Chicago are highs of 37, 31, and 35. Considerable difference. Northfield also gets more snow than Chicago with average annual snowfall in northfield at 42 inches and Chicago at 37 inches

Yes, of course Minnesota is cold and snowy (most years)! I came from a much warmer place and didn't find it depressing at all.

[Anonymous]

My DS got away into Christianity there. Never came home. We are now too liberal for him.