St Olaf College

Date: Nov 06 2009
Major: Art & Design Department (This Major's Salary over time)
I had a love-hate relationship with the college. MN nice really means passive-aggressive. People are nice on the surface, but be warned. As an out-of-state student, it was very challenging to find people the first year who I felt were on the same wavelength. If you decide to come here, MAKE FRIENDS VERY VERY FAST your first semester. If you don't find your BFFs right away, you could end up a little screwed like I was. Okay, aside from all that, I feel the education I got was fantastic. It wasn't the book learning I did as much as it was learning how to think—as well as think about thinking. You will notice what an impact this had on you once you work in the real world with people who have not had a great liberal arts education. It's kind of shocking, really. The profs were great, talented, and they really are invested in you if you put in the work. But again, form those relationships. STO will be great for foundational art-making and some advanced work, but also be warned that you don't learn much about what to do once you get out. And you MUST do the Art-in-Manhattan J-term if you can. One of the most valuable learning experiences I had.