Retention and Graduation Rates

Matriculating into a college is one thing, returning your sophomore year in good standing and then successfully pushing through to a diploma is quite another. Nationwide, the average retention rate (students who return for sophomore year) is 78%. Graduation rates are measured by: 1) the percentage of students that complete their degree; and 2) how long it takes to do so. Our list of retention and graduation rates at roughly 330 of the nation’s top colleges and universities will show you each institution’s retention rate as well as what percentage of their student body graduates in four, five, and six years. A high retention and four-year graduation rate are indicators of quality undergraduate education.

Data was collected from each institution's Common Data Set for 2021-22. Graduation rates were collected from the Fall 2015 cohort and retention rates measured students who enrolled in Fall 2020 and returned for Fall 2021.

Table updated November 2022

InstitutionFreshmen Retention Rate4-Year Graduation Rate5-Year Graduation Rate6-Year Graduation Rate
Adelphi University82%62%69%71%
Agnes Scott College84%69%74%75%
Alfred University70%48%58%60%
Allegheny College83%67%73%75%
American University91%73%77%79%
Amherst College98%87%91%92%
Appalachian State University86%57%71%73%
Arizona State University-Tempe86%52%64%68%
Auburn University93%55%77%81%
Austin College76%65%67%68%
Babson College94%90%93%94%
Bard College87%58%70%71%
Barnard College97%85%91%93%
Bates College92%88%91%90%
Baylor University88%68%80%82%
Belmont University82%59%70%71%
Beloit College84%66%71%74%
Bennington College80%61%70%71%
Bentley University91%83%87%88%
Berea College84%45%64%66%
Binghamton University91%75%82%84%
Boston College93%89%91%92%
Boston University94%84%88%89%
Bowdoin College97%89%93%94%
Bradley University86%57%72%75%
Brandeis University91%82%87%88%
Brown University98%86%95%95%
Bryant University90%80%83%84%
Bryn Mawr College89%81%86%87%
Bucknell University91%83%88%88%
Butler University87%76%83%84%
California Institute of Technology99%86%90%93%
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo95%58%83%87%
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona88%28%59%69%
California State University-Fresno83%18%45%56%
California State University-Fullerton87%29%62%71%
California State University-Long Beach87%34%68%77%
California State University-Los Angeles73%11%40%52%
Carleton College94%87%91%91%
Carnegie Mellon University97%79%90%93%
Case Western Reserve University94%60%75%84%
Centre College90%85%86%84%
Chapman University92%72%78%80%
Claremont McKenna College98%80%91%93%
Clark University87%75%78%97%
Clemson University94%65%83%85%
Coastal Carolina University72%37%49%51%
Colby College95%81%86%87%
Colgate University93%87%90%90%
College of Charleston83%59%65%67%
College of the Holy Cross96%90%92%93%
College of William and Mary93%86%91%91%
Colorado College96%82%85%86%
Colorado School of Mines91%67%82%83%
Colorado State University-Fort Collins86%47%66%69%
Columbia University in the City of New York99%89%95%97%
Connecticut College86%78%80%81%
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art95%62%78%83%
Cornell University97%86%93%94%
Creighton University91%70%77%78%
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College87%49%69%74%
CUNY Brooklyn College79%31%51%56%
CUNY Hunter College82%31%51%58%
Dartmouth College98%86%92%93%
Davidson College95%86%89%90%
Denison University87%77%81%82%
DePaul University84%58%68%70%
DePauw University88%79%82%83%
Dickinson College92%79%82%82%
Drew University88%48%72%74%
Drexel University90%0%75%78%
Duke University95%90%94%95%
Duquesne University84%67%76%77%
Earlham College73%65%70%73%
East Carolina University84%42%62%66%
Eckerd College80%64%68%39%
Elon University88%79%83%83%
Emerson College87%76%78%80%
Emory University95%83%88%90%
Fairfield University89%82%84%84%
Florida Atlantic University80%37%52%55%
Florida Gulf Coast University82%34%50%53%
Florida Institute of Technology82%59%65%66%
Florida International University91%42%61%66%
Florida Southern College79%64%67%68%
Florida State University94%70%82%83%
Fordham University88%78%83%83%
Franklin and Marshall College91%78%82%83%
Franklin W Olin College of Engineering100%78%97%97%
Furman University91%77%81%82%
George Mason University84%49%65%70%
George Washington University91%77%82%84%
Georgetown University98%90%94%95%
Georgia College & State University78%49%60%62%
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus97%42%80%83%
Georgia State University73%36%54%60%
Gettysburg College91%79%82%82%
Gonzaga University92%77%87%88%
Grinnell College93%59%64%87%
Gustavus Adolphus College84%74%78%78%
Hamilton College94%87%91%91%
Harvard University75%86%96%98%
Harvey Mudd College98%88%93%94%
Haverford College94%84%89%90%
Hendrix College80%70%72%73%
High Point University82%66%70%70%
Hobart William Smith Colleges88%68%72%73%
Hofstra University80%60%68%70%
Illinois College76%62%64%64%
Illinois Institute of Technology87%37%67%72%
Illinois Wesleyan University85%76%80%81%
Indiana University-Bloomington90%69%79%81%
Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis69%38%52%57%
Iowa State University88%51%73%76%
Ithaca College84%72%77%77%
James Madison University91%65%80%82%
Johns Hopkins University97%89%93%95%
Juniata College83%73%76%76%
Kalamazoo College85%69%73%76%
Kansas State University86%41%64%68%
Kenyon College91%82%85%86%
Lafayette College91%85%87%88%
Lake Forest College87%67%72%73%
Lawrence University89%69%78%80%
Lehigh University91%79%87%88%
Lewis & Clark College86%66%73%73%
Linfield College-McMinnville Campus81%63%73%75%
Loyola Marymount University90%72%78%79%
Loyola University Chicago88%65%71%72%
Loyola University Maryland88%77%80%81%
Macalester College96%85%88%90%
Manhattan College76%64%75%77%
Marist College86%75%81%82%
Marquette University89%65%80%81%
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts72%48%58%58%
Massachusetts Institute of Technology99%88%94%96%
Miami University-Oxford89%73%82%83%
Michigan State University92%59%79%82%
Michigan Technological University85%34%64%69%
Middlebury College89%87%92%94%
Milwaukee School of Engineering80%45%57%66%
Mississippi State University81%36%56%60%
Morehouse College85%33%46%54%
Mount Holyoke College91%82%84%85%
Muhlenberg College93%77%82%82%
New College of Florida86%54%61%64%
New Jersey Institute of Technology88%48%68%74%
New York Institute of Technology81%38%53%53%
New York University94%78%85%87%
North Carolina State University at Raleigh94%64%83%85%
Northeastern University97%0%88%91%
Northern Arizona University75%45%56%59%
Northwestern University99%86%94%95%
Oberlin College89%72%81%82%
Occidental College92%79%83%83%
Ohio State University-Main Campus94%67%86%88%
Ohio University-Main Campus81%51%64%67%
Ohio Wesleyan University82%61%65%67%
Oklahoma State University-Main Campus83%45%62%66%
Oregon State University85%41%64%69%
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus93%69%83%85%
Pepperdine University93%72%81%83%
Pitzer College93%81%88%88%
Pomona College96%86%92%93%
Princeton University96%90%96%98%
Providence College92%85%88%89%
Purdue University-Main Campus92%61%79%83%
Quinnipiac University87%77%80%80%
Ramapo College of New Jersey87%58%70%72%
Reed College87%61%71%73%
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute89%70%82%84%
Rhodes College94%82%85%85%
Rice University97%87%91%92%
Rochester Institute of Technology88%25%64%71%
Rollins College83%63%70%71%
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology90%73%82%83%
Rutgers University-New Brunswick94%68%81%84%
Saint Johns University85%73%77%79%
Saint Mary's College of California88%66%72%73%
San Diego State University90%49%73%78%
San Francisco State University81%25%49%55%
San Jose State University89%25%58%69%
Santa Clara University94%85%90%91%
Sarah Lawrence College88%67%75%76%
Scripps College97%77%82%82%
Seattle University85%65%74%75%
Seton Hall University83%66%71%72%
Skidmore College90%81%83%84%
Smith College95%85%90%91%
Soka University of America94%87%90%90%
Southern Methodist University91%75%82%82%
Southwestern University81%68%73%74%
Spelman College91%66%73%76%
St John's University-New York82%52%60%68%
St Lawrence University89%77%81%82%
St Olaf College91%81%84%85%
St. John's College (MD)81%71%75%75%
St. John's College (NM)66%64%70%72%
St. Mary's College of Maryland85%64%72%73%
Stanford University98%81%92%95%
Stetson University72%56%62%63%
Stevens Institute of Technology93%63%86%87%
Stonehill College83%77%82%82%
Stony Brook University89%64%76%78%
SUNY at Albany83%56%62%63%
SUNY at Purchase College78%56%62%64%
SUNY College at Geneseo83%69%74%75%
SUNY College at Oswego74%54%65%67%
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry80%68%75%77%
SUNY Oneonta76%60%73%74%
Susquehanna University87%66%70%71%
Swarthmore College95%87%93%94%
Syracuse University91%72%81%82%
Temple University86%57%72%75%
Texas A & M University-College Station93%59%81%83%
Texas Christian University91%71%82%83%
Texas Tech University85%38%58%63%
The College of New Jersey92%76%85%87%
The College of Wooster85%75%77%77%
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville88%54%70%72%
The University of Texas at Austin96%70%85%88%
The University of Texas at Dallas88%54%70%74%
The University of the South90%75%79%80%
Trinity College90%78%82%82%
Trinity University92%69%79%80%
Truman State University84%59%71%72%
Tufts University97%89%93%94%
Tulane University of Louisiana94%77%85%86%
Union College91%80%84%85%
United States Air Force Academy92%85%86%86%
United States Coast Guard Academy94%91%92%92%
United States Merchant Marine Academy94%69%77%78%
United States Military Academy96%79%83%84%
United States Naval Academy97%85%86%86%
University at Buffalo83%60%71%74%
University of Alabama at Birmingham84%42%58%62%
University of Arizona84%50%62%64%
University of Arkansas87%52%67%70%
University of California-Berkeley96%79%91%93%
University of California-Davis93%62%84%87%
University of California-Irvine94%68%82%84%
University of California-Los Angeles97%83%91%91%
University of California-Merced86%48%68%69%
University of California-Riverside88%61%74%77%
University of California-San Diego95%73%87%89%
University of California-Santa Barbara91%71%85%89%
University of California-Santa Cruz89%60%76%78%
University of Central Florida92%46%69%75%
University of Chicago99%91%95%96%
University of Cincinnati-Main Campus87%39%69%72%
University of Colorado Boulder87%53%71%74%
University of Connecticut93%73%81%83%
University of Dayton88%64%79%80%
University of Delaware92%73%82%84%
University of Denver84%67%74%76%
University of Florida97%72%90%91%
University of Georgia95%69%86%88%
University of Houston85%38%57%62%
University of Illinois at Chicago81%36%57%62%
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign94%71%83%85%
University of Iowa88%56%72%74%
University of Kentucky86%51%65%68%
University of Louisville81%37%56%60%
University of Maine76%41%56%59%
University of Mary Washington83%59%67%68%
University of Maryland-Baltimore County87%45%66%71%
University of Maryland-College Park96%73%86%88%
University of Massachusetts-Amherst91%77%83%84%
University of Massachusetts-Boston76%25%43%49%
University of Miami93%73%82%84%
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor97%81%92%94%
University of Minnesota-Morris78%46%57%58%
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities92%72%82%84%
University of Mississippi88%52%66%68%
University of Missouri-Columbia88%52%70%73%
University of Nebraska-Lincoln80%46%64%66%
University of Nevada-Las Vegas76%19%39%47%
University of Nevada-Reno78%40%58%62%
University of New Hampshire-Main Campus87%70%77%78%
University of New Mexico-Main Campus68%34%49%51%
University of North Carolina at Asheville75%48%62%65%
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill97%85%91%92%
University of North Carolina at Charlotte85%43%62%66%
University of North Carolina at Greensboro78%39%55%58%
University of North Carolina Wilmington83%56%70%72%
University of Notre Dame98%90%96%96%
University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus89%50%72%76%
University of Oregon87%61%72%74%
University of Pennsylvania98%89%95%96%
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus93%69%82%84%
University of Portland90%74%80%81%
University of Puget Sound88%67%73%74%
University of Redlands85%58%68%73%
University of Rhode Island85%53%67%70%
University of Richmond91%84%89%89%
University of Rochester91%76%84%86%
University of San Diego92%67%79%80%
University of San Francisco86%68%74%76%
University of South Carolina-Columbia87%67%77%78%
University of South Florida-Main Campus90%60%72%75%
University of Southern California96%79%90%92%
University of Tulsa82%58%72%74%
University of Utah87%36%58%67%
University of Vermont88%67%75%77%
University of Virginia-Main Campus97%89%93%94%
University of Washington-Seattle Campus93%71%83%84%
University of Wisconsin-Madison95%70%88%89%
Ursinus College85%67%72%73%
Vanderbilt University97%89%92%93%
Vassar College94%87%92%93%
Villanova University96%88%90%89%
Virginia Commonwealth University84%48%63%68%
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University92%65%83%86%
Wake Forest University94%86%90%91%
Washington and Lee University96%91%93%94%
Washington State University84%38%57%60%
Washington University in St Louis96%87%92%93%
Wellesley College93%86%87%88%
Wesleyan University95%86%90%91%
West Virginia University80%44%60%61%
Wheaton College (IL)89%82%87%88%
Wheaton College (MA)87%72%77%78%
Whitman College89%78%87%89%
Willamette University86%67%71%72%
Williams College97%85%92%94%
Worcester Polytechnic Institute94%81%86%87%
Yale University98%88%96%97%
Yeshiva University92%69%76%78%
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