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
| Institution | Freshmen Retention Rate | 4-Year Graduation Rate | 5-Year Graduation Rate | 6-Year Graduation Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelphi University | 82% | 62% | 69% | 71% |
| Agnes Scott College | 84% | 69% | 74% | 75% |
| Alfred University | 70% | 48% | 58% | 60% |
| Allegheny College | 83% | 67% | 73% | 75% |
| American University | 91% | 73% | 77% | 79% |
| Amherst College | 98% | 87% | 91% | 92% |
| Appalachian State University | 86% | 57% | 71% | 73% |
| Arizona State University-Tempe | 86% | 52% | 64% | 68% |
| Auburn University | 93% | 55% | 77% | 81% |
| Austin College | 76% | 65% | 67% | 68% |
| Babson College | 94% | 90% | 93% | 94% |
| Bard College | 87% | 58% | 70% | 71% |
| Barnard College | 97% | 85% | 91% | 93% |
| Bates College | 92% | 88% | 91% | 90% |
| Baylor University | 88% | 68% | 80% | 82% |
| Belmont University | 82% | 59% | 70% | 71% |
| Beloit College | 84% | 66% | 71% | 74% |
| Bennington College | 80% | 61% | 70% | 71% |
| Bentley University | 91% | 83% | 87% | 88% |
| Berea College | 84% | 45% | 64% | 66% |
| Binghamton University | 91% | 75% | 82% | 84% |
| Boston College | 93% | 89% | 91% | 92% |
| Boston University | 94% | 84% | 88% | 89% |
| Bowdoin College | 97% | 89% | 93% | 94% |
| Bradley University | 86% | 57% | 72% | 75% |
| Brandeis University | 91% | 82% | 87% | 88% |
| Brown University | 98% | 86% | 95% | 95% |
| Bryant University | 90% | 80% | 83% | 84% |
| Bryn Mawr College | 89% | 81% | 86% | 87% |
| Bucknell University | 91% | 83% | 88% | 88% |
| Butler University | 87% | 76% | 83% | 84% |
| California Institute of Technology | 99% | 86% | 90% | 93% |
| California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 95% | 58% | 83% | 87% |
| California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | 88% | 28% | 59% | 69% |
| California State University-Fresno | 83% | 18% | 45% | 56% |
| California State University-Fullerton | 87% | 29% | 62% | 71% |
| California State University-Long Beach | 87% | 34% | 68% | 77% |
| California State University-Los Angeles | 73% | 11% | 40% | 52% |
| Carleton College | 94% | 87% | 91% | 91% |
| Carnegie Mellon University | 97% | 79% | 90% | 93% |
| Case Western Reserve University | 94% | 60% | 75% | 84% |
| Centre College | 90% | 85% | 86% | 84% |
| Chapman University | 92% | 72% | 78% | 80% |
| Claremont McKenna College | 98% | 80% | 91% | 93% |
| Clark University | 87% | 75% | 78% | 97% |
| Clemson University | 94% | 65% | 83% | 85% |
| Coastal Carolina University | 72% | 37% | 49% | 51% |
| Colby College | 95% | 81% | 86% | 87% |
| Colgate University | 93% | 87% | 90% | 90% |
| College of Charleston | 83% | 59% | 65% | 67% |
| College of the Holy Cross | 96% | 90% | 92% | 93% |
| College of William and Mary | 93% | 86% | 91% | 91% |
| Colorado College | 96% | 82% | 85% | 86% |
| Colorado School of Mines | 91% | 67% | 82% | 83% |
| Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 86% | 47% | 66% | 69% |
| Columbia University in the City of New York | 99% | 89% | 95% | 97% |
| Connecticut College | 86% | 78% | 80% | 81% |
| Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art | 95% | 62% | 78% | 83% |
| Cornell University | 97% | 86% | 93% | 94% |
| Creighton University | 91% | 70% | 77% | 78% |
| CUNY Bernard M Baruch College | 87% | 49% | 69% | 74% |
| CUNY Brooklyn College | 79% | 31% | 51% | 56% |
| CUNY Hunter College | 82% | 31% | 51% | 58% |
| Dartmouth College | 98% | 86% | 92% | 93% |
| Davidson College | 95% | 86% | 89% | 90% |
| Denison University | 87% | 77% | 81% | 82% |
| DePaul University | 84% | 58% | 68% | 70% |
| DePauw University | 88% | 79% | 82% | 83% |
| Dickinson College | 92% | 79% | 82% | 82% |
| Drew University | 88% | 48% | 72% | 74% |
| Drexel University | 90% | 0% | 75% | 78% |
| Duke University | 95% | 90% | 94% | 95% |
| Duquesne University | 84% | 67% | 76% | 77% |
| Earlham College | 73% | 65% | 70% | 73% |
| East Carolina University | 84% | 42% | 62% | 66% |
| Eckerd College | 80% | 64% | 68% | 39% |
| Elon University | 88% | 79% | 83% | 83% |
| Emerson College | 87% | 76% | 78% | 80% |
| Emory University | 95% | 83% | 88% | 90% |
| Fairfield University | 89% | 82% | 84% | 84% |
| Florida Atlantic University | 80% | 37% | 52% | 55% |
| Florida Gulf Coast University | 82% | 34% | 50% | 53% |
| Florida Institute of Technology | 82% | 59% | 65% | 66% |
| Florida International University | 91% | 42% | 61% | 66% |
| Florida Southern College | 79% | 64% | 67% | 68% |
| Florida State University | 94% | 70% | 82% | 83% |
| Fordham University | 88% | 78% | 83% | 83% |
| Franklin and Marshall College | 91% | 78% | 82% | 83% |
| Franklin W Olin College of Engineering | 100% | 78% | 97% | 97% |
| Furman University | 91% | 77% | 81% | 82% |
| George Mason University | 84% | 49% | 65% | 70% |
| George Washington University | 91% | 77% | 82% | 84% |
| Georgetown University | 98% | 90% | 94% | 95% |
| Georgia College & State University | 78% | 49% | 60% | 62% |
| Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 97% | 42% | 80% | 83% |
| Georgia State University | 73% | 36% | 54% | 60% |
| Gettysburg College | 91% | 79% | 82% | 82% |
| Gonzaga University | 92% | 77% | 87% | 88% |
| Grinnell College | 93% | 59% | 64% | 87% |
| Gustavus Adolphus College | 84% | 74% | 78% | 78% |
| Hamilton College | 94% | 87% | 91% | 91% |
| Harvard University | 75% | 86% | 96% | 98% |
| Harvey Mudd College | 98% | 88% | 93% | 94% |
| Haverford College | 94% | 84% | 89% | 90% |
| Hendrix College | 80% | 70% | 72% | 73% |
| High Point University | 82% | 66% | 70% | 70% |
| Hobart William Smith Colleges | 88% | 68% | 72% | 73% |
| Hofstra University | 80% | 60% | 68% | 70% |
| Illinois College | 76% | 62% | 64% | 64% |
| Illinois Institute of Technology | 87% | 37% | 67% | 72% |
| Illinois Wesleyan University | 85% | 76% | 80% | 81% |
| Indiana University-Bloomington | 90% | 69% | 79% | 81% |
| Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis | 69% | 38% | 52% | 57% |
| Iowa State University | 88% | 51% | 73% | 76% |
| Ithaca College | 84% | 72% | 77% | 77% |
| James Madison University | 91% | 65% | 80% | 82% |
| Johns Hopkins University | 97% | 89% | 93% | 95% |
| Juniata College | 83% | 73% | 76% | 76% |
| Kalamazoo College | 85% | 69% | 73% | 76% |
| Kansas State University | 86% | 41% | 64% | 68% |
| Kenyon College | 91% | 82% | 85% | 86% |
| Lafayette College | 91% | 85% | 87% | 88% |
| Lake Forest College | 87% | 67% | 72% | 73% |
| Lawrence University | 89% | 69% | 78% | 80% |
| Lehigh University | 91% | 79% | 87% | 88% |
| Lewis & Clark College | 86% | 66% | 73% | 73% |
| Linfield College-McMinnville Campus | 81% | 63% | 73% | 75% |
| Loyola Marymount University | 90% | 72% | 78% | 79% |
| Loyola University Chicago | 88% | 65% | 71% | 72% |
| Loyola University Maryland | 88% | 77% | 80% | 81% |
| Macalester College | 96% | 85% | 88% | 90% |
| Manhattan College | 76% | 64% | 75% | 77% |
| Marist College | 86% | 75% | 81% | 82% |
| Marquette University | 89% | 65% | 80% | 81% |
| Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts | 72% | 48% | 58% | 58% |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 99% | 88% | 94% | 96% |
| Miami University-Oxford | 89% | 73% | 82% | 83% |
| Michigan State University | 92% | 59% | 79% | 82% |
| Michigan Technological University | 85% | 34% | 64% | 69% |
| Middlebury College | 89% | 87% | 92% | 94% |
| Milwaukee School of Engineering | 80% | 45% | 57% | 66% |
| Mississippi State University | 81% | 36% | 56% | 60% |
| Morehouse College | 85% | 33% | 46% | 54% |
| Mount Holyoke College | 91% | 82% | 84% | 85% |
| Muhlenberg College | 93% | 77% | 82% | 82% |
| New College of Florida | 86% | 54% | 61% | 64% |
| New Jersey Institute of Technology | 88% | 48% | 68% | 74% |
| New York Institute of Technology | 81% | 38% | 53% | 53% |
| New York University | 94% | 78% | 85% | 87% |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh | 94% | 64% | 83% | 85% |
| Northeastern University | 97% | 0% | 88% | 91% |
| Northern Arizona University | 75% | 45% | 56% | 59% |
| Northwestern University | 99% | 86% | 94% | 95% |
| Oberlin College | 89% | 72% | 81% | 82% |
| Occidental College | 92% | 79% | 83% | 83% |
| Ohio State University-Main Campus | 94% | 67% | 86% | 88% |
| Ohio University-Main Campus | 81% | 51% | 64% | 67% |
| Ohio Wesleyan University | 82% | 61% | 65% | 67% |
| Oklahoma State University-Main Campus | 83% | 45% | 62% | 66% |
| Oregon State University | 85% | 41% | 64% | 69% |
| Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 93% | 69% | 83% | 85% |
| Pepperdine University | 93% | 72% | 81% | 83% |
| Pitzer College | 93% | 81% | 88% | 88% |
| Pomona College | 96% | 86% | 92% | 93% |
| Princeton University | 96% | 90% | 96% | 98% |
| Providence College | 92% | 85% | 88% | 89% |
| Purdue University-Main Campus | 92% | 61% | 79% | 83% |
| Quinnipiac University | 87% | 77% | 80% | 80% |
| Ramapo College of New Jersey | 87% | 58% | 70% | 72% |
| Reed College | 87% | 61% | 71% | 73% |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 89% | 70% | 82% | 84% |
| Rhodes College | 94% | 82% | 85% | 85% |
| Rice University | 97% | 87% | 91% | 92% |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | 88% | 25% | 64% | 71% |
| Rollins College | 83% | 63% | 70% | 71% |
| Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 90% | 73% | 82% | 83% |
| Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 94% | 68% | 81% | 84% |
| Saint Johns University | 85% | 73% | 77% | 79% |
| Saint Mary's College of California | 88% | 66% | 72% | 73% |
| San Diego State University | 90% | 49% | 73% | 78% |
| San Francisco State University | 81% | 25% | 49% | 55% |
| San Jose State University | 89% | 25% | 58% | 69% |
| Santa Clara University | 94% | 85% | 90% | 91% |
| Sarah Lawrence College | 88% | 67% | 75% | 76% |
| Scripps College | 97% | 77% | 82% | 82% |
| Seattle University | 85% | 65% | 74% | 75% |
| Seton Hall University | 83% | 66% | 71% | 72% |
| Skidmore College | 90% | 81% | 83% | 84% |
| Smith College | 95% | 85% | 90% | 91% |
| Soka University of America | 94% | 87% | 90% | 90% |
| Southern Methodist University | 91% | 75% | 82% | 82% |
| Southwestern University | 81% | 68% | 73% | 74% |
| Spelman College | 91% | 66% | 73% | 76% |
| St John's University-New York | 82% | 52% | 60% | 68% |
| St Lawrence University | 89% | 77% | 81% | 82% |
| St Olaf College | 91% | 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 Maryland | 85% | 64% | 72% | 73% |
| Stanford University | 98% | 81% | 92% | 95% |
| Stetson University | 72% | 56% | 62% | 63% |
| Stevens Institute of Technology | 93% | 63% | 86% | 87% |
| Stonehill College | 83% | 77% | 82% | 82% |
| Stony Brook University | 89% | 64% | 76% | 78% |
| SUNY at Albany | 83% | 56% | 62% | 63% |
| SUNY at Purchase College | 78% | 56% | 62% | 64% |
| SUNY College at Geneseo | 83% | 69% | 74% | 75% |
| SUNY College at Oswego | 74% | 54% | 65% | 67% |
| SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 80% | 68% | 75% | 77% |
| SUNY Oneonta | 76% | 60% | 73% | 74% |
| Susquehanna University | 87% | 66% | 70% | 71% |
| Swarthmore College | 95% | 87% | 93% | 94% |
| Syracuse University | 91% | 72% | 81% | 82% |
| Temple University | 86% | 57% | 72% | 75% |
| Texas A & M University-College Station | 93% | 59% | 81% | 83% |
| Texas Christian University | 91% | 71% | 82% | 83% |
| Texas Tech University | 85% | 38% | 58% | 63% |
| The College of New Jersey | 92% | 76% | 85% | 87% |
| The College of Wooster | 85% | 75% | 77% | 77% |
| The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 88% | 54% | 70% | 72% |
| The University of Texas at Austin | 96% | 70% | 85% | 88% |
| The University of Texas at Dallas | 88% | 54% | 70% | 74% |
| The University of the South | 90% | 75% | 79% | 80% |
| Trinity College | 90% | 78% | 82% | 82% |
| Trinity University | 92% | 69% | 79% | 80% |
| Truman State University | 84% | 59% | 71% | 72% |
| Tufts University | 97% | 89% | 93% | 94% |
| Tulane University of Louisiana | 94% | 77% | 85% | 86% |
| Union College | 91% | 80% | 84% | 85% |
| United States Air Force Academy | 92% | 85% | 86% | 86% |
| United States Coast Guard Academy | 94% | 91% | 92% | 92% |
| United States Merchant Marine Academy | 94% | 69% | 77% | 78% |
| United States Military Academy | 96% | 79% | 83% | 84% |
| United States Naval Academy | 97% | 85% | 86% | 86% |
| University at Buffalo | 83% | 60% | 71% | 74% |
| University of Alabama at Birmingham | 84% | 42% | 58% | 62% |
| University of Arizona | 84% | 50% | 62% | 64% |
| University of Arkansas | 87% | 52% | 67% | 70% |
| University of California-Berkeley | 96% | 79% | 91% | 93% |
| University of California-Davis | 93% | 62% | 84% | 87% |
| University of California-Irvine | 94% | 68% | 82% | 84% |
| University of California-Los Angeles | 97% | 83% | 91% | 91% |
| University of California-Merced | 86% | 48% | 68% | 69% |
| University of California-Riverside | 88% | 61% | 74% | 77% |
| University of California-San Diego | 95% | 73% | 87% | 89% |
| University of California-Santa Barbara | 91% | 71% | 85% | 89% |
| University of California-Santa Cruz | 89% | 60% | 76% | 78% |
| University of Central Florida | 92% | 46% | 69% | 75% |
| University of Chicago | 99% | 91% | 95% | 96% |
| University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 87% | 39% | 69% | 72% |
| University of Colorado Boulder | 87% | 53% | 71% | 74% |
| University of Connecticut | 93% | 73% | 81% | 83% |
| University of Dayton | 88% | 64% | 79% | 80% |
| University of Delaware | 92% | 73% | 82% | 84% |
| University of Denver | 84% | 67% | 74% | 76% |
| University of Florida | 97% | 72% | 90% | 91% |
| University of Georgia | 95% | 69% | 86% | 88% |
| University of Houston | 85% | 38% | 57% | 62% |
| University of Illinois at Chicago | 81% | 36% | 57% | 62% |
| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | 94% | 71% | 83% | 85% |
| University of Iowa | 88% | 56% | 72% | 74% |
| University of Kentucky | 86% | 51% | 65% | 68% |
| University of Louisville | 81% | 37% | 56% | 60% |
| University of Maine | 76% | 41% | 56% | 59% |
| University of Mary Washington | 83% | 59% | 67% | 68% |
| University of Maryland-Baltimore County | 87% | 45% | 66% | 71% |
| University of Maryland-College Park | 96% | 73% | 86% | 88% |
| University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 91% | 77% | 83% | 84% |
| University of Massachusetts-Boston | 76% | 25% | 43% | 49% |
| University of Miami | 93% | 73% | 82% | 84% |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 97% | 81% | 92% | 94% |
| University of Minnesota-Morris | 78% | 46% | 57% | 58% |
| University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | 92% | 72% | 82% | 84% |
| University of Mississippi | 88% | 52% | 66% | 68% |
| University of Missouri-Columbia | 88% | 52% | 70% | 73% |
| University of Nebraska-Lincoln | 80% | 46% | 64% | 66% |
| University of Nevada-Las Vegas | 76% | 19% | 39% | 47% |
| University of Nevada-Reno | 78% | 40% | 58% | 62% |
| University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 87% | 70% | 77% | 78% |
| University of New Mexico-Main Campus | 68% | 34% | 49% | 51% |
| University of North Carolina at Asheville | 75% | 48% | 62% | 65% |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 97% | 85% | 91% | 92% |
| University of North Carolina at Charlotte | 85% | 43% | 62% | 66% |
| University of North Carolina at Greensboro | 78% | 39% | 55% | 58% |
| University of North Carolina Wilmington | 83% | 56% | 70% | 72% |
| University of Notre Dame | 98% | 90% | 96% | 96% |
| University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 89% | 50% | 72% | 76% |
| University of Oregon | 87% | 61% | 72% | 74% |
| University of Pennsylvania | 98% | 89% | 95% | 96% |
| University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 93% | 69% | 82% | 84% |
| University of Portland | 90% | 74% | 80% | 81% |
| University of Puget Sound | 88% | 67% | 73% | 74% |
| University of Redlands | 85% | 58% | 68% | 73% |
| University of Rhode Island | 85% | 53% | 67% | 70% |
| University of Richmond | 91% | 84% | 89% | 89% |
| University of Rochester | 91% | 76% | 84% | 86% |
| University of San Diego | 92% | 67% | 79% | 80% |
| University of San Francisco | 86% | 68% | 74% | 76% |
| University of South Carolina-Columbia | 87% | 67% | 77% | 78% |
| University of South Florida-Main Campus | 90% | 60% | 72% | 75% |
| University of Southern California | 96% | 79% | 90% | 92% |
| University of Tulsa | 82% | 58% | 72% | 74% |
| University of Utah | 87% | 36% | 58% | 67% |
| University of Vermont | 88% | 67% | 75% | 77% |
| University of Virginia-Main Campus | 97% | 89% | 93% | 94% |
| University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 93% | 71% | 83% | 84% |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | 95% | 70% | 88% | 89% |
| Ursinus College | 85% | 67% | 72% | 73% |
| Vanderbilt University | 97% | 89% | 92% | 93% |
| Vassar College | 94% | 87% | 92% | 93% |
| Villanova University | 96% | 88% | 90% | 89% |
| Virginia Commonwealth University | 84% | 48% | 63% | 68% |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 92% | 65% | 83% | 86% |
| Wake Forest University | 94% | 86% | 90% | 91% |
| Washington and Lee University | 96% | 91% | 93% | 94% |
| Washington State University | 84% | 38% | 57% | 60% |
| Washington University in St Louis | 96% | 87% | 92% | 93% |
| Wellesley College | 93% | 86% | 87% | 88% |
| Wesleyan University | 95% | 86% | 90% | 91% |
| West Virginia University | 80% | 44% | 60% | 61% |
| Wheaton College (IL) | 89% | 82% | 87% | 88% |
| Wheaton College (MA) | 87% | 72% | 77% | 78% |
| Whitman College | 89% | 78% | 87% | 89% |
| Willamette University | 86% | 67% | 71% | 72% |
| Williams College | 97% | 85% | 92% | 94% |
| Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 94% | 81% | 86% | 87% |
| Yale University | 98% | 88% | 96% | 97% |
| Yeshiva University | 92% | 69% | 76% | 78% |
Colleges Worth Your Money
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