St. Olaf College
- Academics

Wow

St. Olaf offers challenging courses in almost all majors. The class sizes are small mostly around 30 to 40 students. The professors though have difficulty actually teaching the material. They may incredibly knowledgable in their field but many are not able to convey the information in a way that students understand. This is why many students visit their professors during office hours which I highly recommend. If you are interested in any of the sciences you will love it here. Regents hall is my favorite academic building on campus. It has huge windows and great views. It is only a few years old so most of the equipment in classrooms and labs are state-of-the-art. If you are planning on going into the business field there are not a business, marketing or finance major. These can be found in concentrations as a economics major. Overall, St Olaf's academics are well known in most fields so graduating with a degree from St. Olaf is definitely something to be proud of. HOWEVER, be prepared to work harder than you have ever imagined in order to succeed and do not plan on getting much sleep.

Biology Department

The biology department at St. Olaf rocks! Biology is the most popular major at Olaf. The intro level classes are a bit larger--about 50 students in the class--but of course you break up into very small lab sections. Most of the biology professors are stellar, and there are classes ranging from biology for non-majors to the top 300 level classes. With the biology major, it is fairly easy to concentrate in other areas, and also be on a pre-health track. Most of the biology profs are fairly knowledgeable about the track, so that program is also very stellar. They have a ton of resources guiding students to research opportunities and internships, as well as paths to create your own internships with faculty supervision. Regents halls of natural sciences is state-of-the-art and GORGEOUS.

Well-Balanced Academic Rigor

The professors at St. Olaf are always willing and able to answer any questions or respond to any concerns their students have. The academic courses are challenging but students who need help can visit professors during office hours or attend the tutoring sessions made available for almost every course. The registration process is based on a random draw system but the school is small enough that students are able to join any classes they really need even if they did not originally sign up for it. The most popular study area is the library but there are countless lounges or corners where students study outside of the library.