by our College Data Analytics TeamHow many The Colleges first-year students return for their second year? How many graduate and how long does it take them? On this page we'll explore The Colleges retention rates, graduation rates, drop out rates and more.
Freshmen retention rate refers to the percentage of first-time / full-time students who return for their second year.
With 81% students making it past their freshmen year, The Colleges has freshmen retention rates above the national average.
Nationwide, the average first to second year retention rate is 70.57%.
When looking at just colleges and universities in New York, the average is 73.51%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| The Colleges | 81% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| New York | 73.51% |
There were approximately 569 students in the class of 2015. How many of them actually completed their degree in a timely fashion?
Four years after beginning their degree, 75% of those students had graduated. By 2017, six years after starting their degree, 81% of the students had graduated and after eight years 81% of this class completed their degree.
Any student who completes their bachelor's degree within six years is considered to have graduated on time, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. This makes the offical The Colleges graduation rate 81%.
The typical The Colleges student takes 4.05 years to complete their bachelor's degree.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 534 | 76% |
| Six Years | 569 | 81% |
| Eight Years | 1 | 0% |
| Did Not Complete | 136 | 19% |
Approximately 136 students or 19% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 136 students who did not complete their degree?
6 are still enrolled.
65 transferred to another institution.
The Colleges lost contact with the remaining 71 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 6 | 4.4% |
| Transferred | 65 | 47.8% |
| Dropped Out | 71 | 52.2% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| American Indian or Alaskan Native | 100% |
| Asian | 68% |
| Black / African-American | 77% |
| Hispanic | 74% |
| International | 68% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 54% |
| Unknown | 68% |
| White | 79% |
Some schools have mainly first-time, full-time students, while others cater to part-time students, transfer students, or adult learners. For a variety of reasons first-time, full-time students under the age of 25 are usually more likely to graduate in four years.
Traditional Students:
First-time, full-time students under the age of 25.
Non-Traditional Students:
Any student that is not first-time, full-time, and under the age of 25.
The majority of students at The Colleges are considered 'traditional students' who are first-time attending full-time.
Comparing the graduation rates of specific cohorts shown below will be more revealing than the overall statistics shared above.
First-time / full-time students at Hobart and William Smith Colleges represent 97% of the students in the class of 2015, and 96.84% of The Colleges bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 75%, first-time students in the The Colleges class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were more likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the The Colleges graduation rate was 80%, and by the eight year mark, 80% of the cohort had completed their degree.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for first-time undergraduates attending classes full-time is 37.92% after four years, 46.43% after six years, and 47.82% after eight years.
| First-Time / Full-Time Completions | The Colleges | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 75% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 80% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 80% | 47.82% |
134 first-time / full-time students or 20% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
6 are still enrolled.
64 transferred to another institution.
The Colleges lost contact with the remaining 70 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 6 | 4.48% |
| Transferred | 64 | 47.76% |
| Dropped Out | 70 | 52.24% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on The Colleges first-time, part-time students.
20 The Colleges students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 2.83% of the students in the class of 2015.
Non first-time students could include transfer students or adults who have returned to school after an absense.
With a six year graduation rate of 90%, returning students in the class of 2015 and attended classes full-time had a graduation rate higher than the national average for students in this category.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 90%.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for non first-time undergraduates attending classes full-time is: 49.57% after four years, 53.83% after six years, and 55.07% after eight years.
| Returning / Full-Time Completions | The Colleges | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 90% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 90% | 55.07% |
2 non first-time / part-time students or 10% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
1 transferred to another institution.
The Colleges lost contact with the remaining 1 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 1 | 50.00% |
| Dropped Out | 1 | 50.00% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on The Colleges returning, part-time students.
