Freshman Retention Rate National Universities
As many as one in three first year students doesn't make it back for sophomore year. The reasons run the gamut, from family problems and loneliness to academic struggles and 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 freshman; some don't. The retention rates shown below, from highest to lowest, are the average proportion of freshmen entering starting in fall 2007 through fall 2010 who returned to school the following fall.
| Save | School | Average freshman retention rate |
|---|---|---|
|
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN |
98% | |
|
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA |
98% | |
|
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY |
97% | |
|
Duke University
Durham, NC |
97% | |
|
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD |
97% | |
|
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL |
97% | |
|
Rice University
Houston, TX |
97% | |
|
Tufts University
Medford, MA |
97% | |
|
University of California–Berkeley
Berkeley, CA |
97% | |
|
University of California–Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA |
97% |
