St. Olaf’s campus is bustling this year, with the class of 2028 totaling over 860 first-year students. The busy campus has raised questions, such as: did St. Olaf’s acceptance rate increase in the last admissions cycle?
According to Director of Admissions Dave Wagner, during the 2023-2024 admissions cycle, St. Olaf’s overall acceptance rate actually decreased, with 6,623 applications received and only a percentage of 48.3% accepted. However, the yield rate, or the number of students that committed to the college after being accepted, increased by 0.5%.
As Wagner explains, other colleges and universities did not find the same success with their yield rates: “Due to the [FAFSA] delay, some schools offered less financial aid packages and admitted smaller classes, causing their yield rates to go down.”
In St. Olaf’s situation, this wasn’t the case.
“Last year was stressful with the FAFSA delays, but with St. Olaf also using the CSS [College Scholarship Service] profile, we were still able to get financial aid awards to families in time,” Wagner said. “This gave families a picture of St. Olaf that could have impacted their decision.”
Wagner explained that all of the admissions cycle numbers are based on data, and that the Admissions team admitted the number that would yield the class size requested by the College. It just so happened that the yield rate unexpectedly increased, even if the acceptance rate did not. This year’s bustling campus, therefore, is not a result of a higher acceptance rate, but rather a reflection of the unpredictable post-pandemic world, shifting enrollment patterns, and changes in federal financial aid programs.
