The Mayo Medical School is one of the premiere schools in the country and limits enrollment to 50 students each year. Located in Rochester, a 75-minute drive from the Twin Cities, Mayo Medical is ranked in the top 25 of medical schools nationally. It boasts a graduation rate of 100 percent. Tuition is $30,660 in February 2011.
Founded in 1885, the University of St. Thomas is a Catholic liberal arts college located in St. Paul, the state capitol. With more than 10,000 students spread among three campuses, including two satellites in Owatonna, Minnesota and Rome, Italy, it is the largest independent university in the state. St. Thomas offers 96 undergraduate programs and 48 graduate degrees and is ranked in the top five for study-abroad programs. Its School of Law has more than 600 students and placed No. 4 in The Princeton Review 2010 Best 172 Law Schools for quality of living. Tuition is $36,022 for first-year law students as of February 2011.
Carleton College is ranked nationally as the No. 8 best liberal arts college in the 2011 edition of Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report. Established in 1866 and located on 1,000 acres in Northfield, Carleton College is a private university offering 36 majors serving 1,991 students. Expect to spend around $48,000 for tuition and costs as the 2010-11 school year.
Located 85 miles from St. Paul, Minnesota State University Mankato sits on 300 acres, has a student population of 14,000, and offers more than 150 undergraduate programs. Tuition rates, in February 2011, start at $6,429 for residents. The school's Master of Business Administration program has been listed five consecutive years as one of the nation's best in The Princeton Review business school guidebook. Online programs are available.
The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities is the third largest school in the country with five campuses, 68,000 students and a 4,000-member faculty. Tuition costs for residents start at $12,369 as of the 2010-11 school year. In 2009 over 13,000 undergraduates received financial aid. This acclaimed public research school ranks in the top ten nationally with $564 million dollars of funding.