The College of Saint Scholastica

Private · Moderately Selective · MN

Photo: Brynn (CC BY-SA 3.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationMN · Midwest

SettingUrban

Undergrads1,765

Student:faculty12:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate61.5%

6-yr grad rate70.5%

Drop-out rate18.2%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$42k

Out-of-state tuition$42k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity26.7%

Gender diversity65.2%

International6.1%

IdentityRoman Catholic

Overview

The College of St. Scholastica sits on a hillside overlooking Lake Superior in Duluth, Minnesota, and was founded by Benedictine sisters. Its Benedictine heritage shows up in a service-oriented, community-focused campus culture layered onto what is primarily a health-professions-focused institution.

Academics

Health professions are St. Scholastica's clear signature: nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and health informatics are all well-established programs with strong clinical partnerships in the Duluth medical community. Benedictine values of hospitality and stewardship inform how these health programs frame patient care, not just clinical skill.

Campus & student life

The hillside campus overlooking Lake Superior gives Duluth's dramatic geography, steep hills, a big lake, cold winters, a central role in daily student life. Most students live on campus, and the college's overall scale keeps the community close-knit. Winters are long and genuinely cold, a real factor for students unused to Lake Superior weather.

Getting in

Admission review is holistic, with genuine interest in the health-professions pipeline and Benedictine mission valued alongside academic record. Nursing and other competitive health programs often involve a more selective secondary review beyond general admission.

After graduation

Nursing and allied-health graduates place strongly into the Duluth-Superior region's hospital systems and into health systems across Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Benedictine service ethos is frequently cited by alumni as shaping their approach to clinical work.

Worth knowing

Prospective health-professions students should note that programs like nursing and physical therapy often have separate, more competitive admission tracks than the college overall, worth researching directly given how central these programs are to the institution's identity.

css.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate93%

Enrolled mid-50%ACT 19–25

Test policyoptional

Rec letters—

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying