Biology at St Olaf College

St. Olaf's biology graduates earn slightly less than their peers at public universities like Saint Cloud State or Metropolitan State, but they're still doing better than most biology majors nationwide—ranking in the 76th percentile nationally. The $36,429 starting salary edges above the national median of $32,316, though within Minnesota it's closer to average. With $24,500 in debt, the program produces a manageable debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.67, meaning graduates owe about eight months of their first-year salary.

The real question is whether St. Olaf's private school tuition premium justifies earnings that trail Minnesota's public options by $7,000-$8,000 annually. Biology is often a pre-med or pre-graduate school degree, and St. Olaf's strong academic reputation (average SAT of 1373) may provide advantages in graduate admissions that aren't captured in these immediate earnings figures. The 16% earnings growth to year four suggests graduates are finding their footing, though $42,177 remains modest for someone four years into their career.

If your child is headed directly to the workforce in biology-related fields, the public university options offer better immediate returns. But if St. Olaf's smaller classes and research opportunities support successful applications to medical, dental, or PhD programs, that calculus changes entirely. The debt load is reasonable enough not to sink those future plans.