SE Twin Cities

Rice County's three universities admitted an estimated 32.3% of applicants for fall 2022, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Of those who were admitted, 30.9% enrolled.

Of the three institutions in the county, two provided detailed enrollment data at the time, including St Olaf College and Carleton College.

At least 14,107 people applied to Rice County colleges in the 2022-23 school year.

NCES data shows that among them, around 5,105 students enrolled in the universities, all of them in undergraduate programs. Only 0.5% of undergraduates transferred from another college or university.

The reported undergraduate student body is comprised mostly of white (61%) and U.S. nonresident (10.6%) students.

Among the institutions that provided disclosed enrollment data, St Olaf College stood out with the largest enrollment at the time, welcoming 3,046 students.

U.S. college enrollment has been in a downward trend since peaking at around 18.1 million students in 2010. Recent increases offered some relief, but experts project a steeper decline in 2025.

This decline is likely due to two main factors. First, the pool of young adults is shrinking as birth rates have fallen nearly 23% between 2007 and 2022. Second, the rising cost of higher education, including skyrocketing student loan debt. A 2023 Wall Street Journal report shows that more than half of Americans think a four-year degree is not worth the cost.

NCES shows that enrollment data was not available for South Central College-Faribault in Rice County.

Some educational data is based on estimates. Shifting demographics among student populations can sometimes result in gender totals which do not equal 100%.

Institution	# of Applicants	# of Admitted Students	Total Enrollment
St Olaf College	5,524	3,093	3,046
Carleton College	8,583	1,459	2,059
South Central College-Faribault	--	--	--