Admission & Financial Aid

Think You Can’t Afford a Private College?

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It’s probably the most commonly stated myth in higher education: a private college is not affordable. We hear it way too often. Even though families recognize the value of the high quality education we offer, countless students tell us they didn’t consider CSB+SJU because of the price. If this is what you and your family are thinking we urge you to think again:

  • 100% of CSB+SJU students receive scholarship or grant assistance to help pay for college.
  • 93% of CSB+SJU graduates finish in four years.
  • 97% of CSB+SJU alums rate their college experience as good or excellent.

Consider the longterm value of a college, which relates total cost to measurements like quality of education and career readiness-all metrics that impact your bottomline throughout life.

Think you can’t get (enough) financial aid at CSB+SJU? Think again!

Remember, the initial “sticker price” of a college is only one factor in determining your actual cost. Financial aid based on your family’s income and financial circumstances ( need-based aid) and merit scholarships based on your academic achievements and talents, can significantly reduce the cost of college. Need-based aid is determined by a federal formula that evaluates your family’s financial situation and determines an “Expected Family Contribution” or EFC. Curious about your family’s EFC?

Compare Four-year Graduation Rates

  • CSB+SJU
    %
  • Minnesota Private Colleges
    %
  • University of Minnesota System
    %
  • National Private Colleges
    %
  • National Public Colleges
    %
  • Minnesota State Universities
    %

A college’s “four-year graduation rate” is the percent of first-year students that graduates four years later – and that rate accounts for students who transfer out or drop out of the college. At CSB+SJU, that rate is 75 percent. However, “students who graduate in four years” is a different number; it is the percent of graduates that completed a degree in four years (not counting students who leave the college prior to graduation). At CSB+SJU, that graduation rate is 90 percent.

Students Who Graduate in Four Years:

%

90% of CSB+SJU graduates finish in four years.

Why does this matter?

The likelihood of graduating in four years from many colleges has become so remote that colleges routinely report their graduation rate as the percent of students that graduate in six years. It’s easy to take a college’s annual cost and multiply it by four, but unfortunately, that number is increasingly wrong.

CSB+SJU stands in stark contrast. Our commitment to student success ensures most CSB+SJU students get their cap and gown in four years. That means the potential for less debt and the chance to start a career or attend graduate school while peers at other colleges are still paying for their education.

Robert Piechota
Executive Director of Financial Aid

College of Saint Benedict
37 S. College Ave.
St. Joseph, MN 56374

Phone 320-363-5388
Fax 320-363-6090
Email [email protected]

Saint John’s University
PO Box 5000
Collegeville, MN 56321

Phone 320-363-3664
Fax 320-363-3102
Email [email protected]