Best Colleges: Average Freshmen Retention Rates: Baccalaureate Colleges (South)
As many as one in three first-year students doesn't make it back for sophomore year. The reasons run the gamut, of course, from family problems to loneliness to academic struggles to a lack of money. If schools you're considering have a low freshman retention rate, you'll want to ask the admissions office why. Some colleges do a great job of taking care of their freshmen; some don't. The retention rates shown below, from lowest to highest, are the average proportion of freshmen entering starting in 2005 thru 2008 who returned to school the following fall.
| Average freshman retention rate: | |
|---|---|
| High Point University High Point, NC | 78.8% |
| John Brown University Siloam Springs, AR | 78.5% |
| Ouachita Baptist University Arkadelphia, AR | 76.5% |
| Erskine College Due West, SC | 76.0% |
| Bryan College Dayton, TN | 76.0% |
| Elizabeth City State University Elizabeth City, NC | 75.8% |
| Flagler College St. Augustine, FL | 75.2% |
| Covenant College Lookout Mountain, GA | 74.0% |
| Claflin University Orangeburg, SC | 72.8% |
| Milligan College Milligan College, TN | 72.8% |
| Winston-Salem State University Winston-Salem, NC | 72.2% |
| Brescia University Owensboro, KY | 71.5% |
| Catawba College Salisbury, NC | 71.2% |
| Florida Southern College Lakeland, FL | 70.8% |
| Limestone College Gaffney, SC | 70.8% |
| University of Charleston Charleston, WV | 70.8% |
| Southern Adventist University Collegedale, TN | 70.5% |
| Bethune-Cookman University Daytona Beach, FL | 69.8% |
| Coker College Hartsville, SC | 69.8% |
| Fairmont State University Fairmont, WV | 69.8% |
| Oakwood University Huntsville, AL | 69.2% |
| Shorter College Rome, GA | 68.8% |
| King College Bristol, TN | 68.8% |
| Tuskegee University Tuskegee, AL | 68.5% |
| Free Will Baptist Bible College Nashville, TN | 68.2% |
| Lenoir-Rhyne University Hickory, NC | 68.0% |
| Ohio Valley University Vienna, WV | 68.0% |
| West Liberty State College West Liberty, WV | 68.0% |
| Shepherd University Shepherdstown, WV | 67.8% |
| University of the Ozarks Clarksville, AR | 67.5% |
| Methodist University Fayetteville, NC | 67.5% |
| Blue Mountain College Blue Mountain, MS | 67.2% |
| Alderson-Broaddus College Philippi, WV | 67.2% |
| Toccoa Falls College Toccoa Falls, GA | 67.0% |
| Barton College Wilson, NC | 66.8% |
| Mars Hill College Mars Hill, NC | 66.8% |
| Warner University Lake Wales, FL | 66.8% |
| Concord University Athens, WV | 66.5% |
| Glenville State College Glenville, WV | 66.2% |
| Montreat College Montreat, NC | 66.0% |
| LaGrange College LaGrange, GA | 65.8% |
| Campbellsville University Campbellsville, KY | 65.8% |
| University of South Carolina--Aiken Aiken, SC | 65.8% |
| Southeastern University Lakeland, FL | 65.5% |
| Midway College Midway, KY | 65.5% |
| Davis and Elkins College Elkins, WV | 65.0% |
| Emmanuel College Franklin Springs, GA | 64.5% |
| Alice Lloyd College Pippa Passes, KY | 64.2% |
| Anderson University Anderson, SC | 63.5% |
| University of South Carolina--Upstate Spartanburg, SC | 63.5% |
| Bluefield College Bluefield, VA | 63.3% |
| Virginia Intermont College Bristol, VA | 63.3% |
| Lander University Greenwood, SC | 63.0% |
| Tennessee Wesleyan College Athens, TN | 62.2% |
| Clearwater Christian College Clearwater, FL | 62.0% |
| Stillman College Tuscaloosa, AL | 61.8% |
| Bluefield State College Bluefield, WV | 61.8% |
| Central Baptist College Conway, AR | 61.7% |
| University of the Cumberlands Williamsburg, KY | 61.7% |
| Mount Olive College Mount Olive, NC | 61.3% |
| Southern Arkansas University Magnolia, AR | 60.8% |
| Atlanta Christian College East Point, GA | 60.8% |
| Miles College Birmingham, AL | 60.5% |
| Lees-McRae College Banner Elk, NC | 60.5% |
| Newberry College Newberry, SC | 60.2% |
| Faulkner University Montgomery, AL | 60.0% |
| Philander Smith College Little Rock, AR | 59.8% |
| Shaw University Raleigh, NC | 59.7% |
| Williams Baptist College Walnut Ridge, AR | 59.2% |
| Louisiana College Pineville, LA | 59.2% |
| Reinhardt College Waleska, GA | 58.8% |
| Belmont Abbey College Belmont, NC | 58.8% |
| Clayton State University Morrow, GA | 58.5% |
| Averett University Danville, VA | 58.0% |
| Virginia Union University Richmond, VA | 58.0% |
| University of Arkansas--Pine Bluff Pine Bluff, AR | 56.8% |
| Benedict College Columbia, SC | 56.5% |
| St. Augustine's College Raleigh, NC | 55.2% |
| Brewton-Parker College Mount Vernon, GA | 54.0% |
| Livingstone College Salisbury, NC | 53.8% |
| Crichton College Memphis, TN | 53.5% |
| West Virginia University Institute of Technology Montgomery, WV | 53.0% |
| Kentucky State University Frankfort, KY | 52.5% |
| North Carolina Wesleyan College Rocky Mount, NC | 50.5% |
| Chowan University Murfreesboro, NC | 47.8% |
| St. Paul's College Lawrenceville, VA | 45.8% |
| LeMoyne-Owen College Memphis, TN | 44.8% |
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