Kalamazoo College is a private liberal arts school in southwest Michigan. Students at Kalamazoo can join more than 80 campus clubs and drive about 35 miles to the beaches of Lake Michigan.

St. Olaf is an Evangelical Lutheran college and encourages students to examine and live out a life of faith. Students are required to take, at a minimum, the Bible in Culture and Community course and a class on Christian theology. About 96 percent of students live on campus at this residential college, and alcohol is not allowed on the premises. There is no Greek system, but students have more than 250 other student clubs and organizations to check out. More than a third of students are active in one of the many musical organizations, including eight choirs and two orchestras, and the school broadcasts its weekly Sing for Joy music and sermon radio series across the country. Student musicians can also perform in the St. Olaf Christmas Festival, a long-standing musical tradition that is broadcast on PBS.The Oles sports teams compete in the NCAA Division III Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in traditional college sports as well as Nordic and alpine skiing. The school mascot is a costumed lion named Ole. St. Olaf has a large, wooded campus in Northfield, Minnesota, and is surrounded by college-owned farmland and prairies. Carleton College is located in Northfield, too, and is St. Olafs main football rival. Minnesota's Twin Cities, St. Paul and Minneapolis, are thriving college towns about 35 miles away.In tribute to the Norwegian immigrants who founded the college, St. Olaf still offers a robust program in Scandinavian culture, including Norwegian language classes, Nordic film studies and Viking history courses. Notable alumni of the Norwegian-influenced college include Anton Armstrong, conductor of the St. Olaf Choir, and Al Quie, former governor of Minnesota. Jay Gatsby, the title character in the novel "The Great Gatsby," went to St. Olaf, too.