by our College Data Analytics TeamMake an informed decision about your education by understanding Mercy retention and graduation rates. First year retention rates let you know how many first-time, full-time students students come back for their second year. Graduation rates tell you how many students complete their degree and how long it takes.
Freshmen retention rate refers to the percentage of first-time / full-time students who return for their second year.
With 76% students making it past their freshmen year, Mercy 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 | |
|---|---|
| Mercy | 76% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| New York | 73.51% |
Of the 1182 students in the class of 2023, how many completed their degree on time?
Four years after beginning their degree, 43% of those students had graduated. By 2025, six years after starting their degree, 53% of the students had graduated and after eight years 55% 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 Mercy graduation rate 53%.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 954 | 43% |
| Six Years | 1182 | 53% |
| Eight Years | 39 | 2% |
| Did Not Complete | 990 | 45% |
The non-completers rate is anyone who is not still enrolled at the institution after eight years. Both transfer students and drop-outs could be included in this group.
Approximately 990 students or 45% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 990 students who did not complete their degree?
6 are still enrolled.
539 transferred to another institution.
Mercy lost contact with the remaining 440 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 6 | 0.6% |
| Transferred | 539 | 54.4% |
| Dropped Out | 440 | 44.4% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| Asian | 56% |
| Black / African-American | 56% |
| Hispanic | 40% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 71% |
| Unknown | 53% |
| White | 57% |
Traditional first-time, full-time students under 25 tend to graduate in four years far more often than other students. Some schools serve mostly traditional students while others serve more 'non-traditional' students — part-timers or those returning after time away — who commonly take longer to finish.
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.
A meaningful share of students at Mercy are considered 'non-traditional students' who are not first-time, full-time, and under 25.
Comparing the graduation rates of the specific cohorts below can be more revealing than the overall graduation rates.
First-time / full-time students at Mercy University represent 43.61% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the Mercy graduation rate was 46%, and by the eight year mark, 48% of the cohort had completed their degree.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for this group is 37.92% after four years, 46.43% after six years, and 47.82% after eight years.
| Completions | Mercy | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 30% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 46% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 48% | 47.82% |
503 first-time / full-time students or 52% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
4 are still enrolled.
303 transferred to another institution.
Mercy lost contact with the remaining 196 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 4 | 0.80% |
| Transferred | 303 | 60.24% |
| Dropped Out | 196 | 38.97% |
First-time / part-time students at Mercy University represent 2.53% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the Mercy graduation rate was 42%, and by the eight year mark, 55% of the cohort had completed their degree.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for this group is 14.37% after four years, 21.59% after six years, and 23.72% after eight years.
| Completions | Mercy | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 36% | 14.37% |
| Six Years | 42% | 21.59% |
| Eight Years | 55% | 23.72% |
25 first-time / part-time students or 45% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
8 transferred to another institution.
Mercy lost contact with the remaining 17 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 8 | 32.00% |
| Dropped Out | 17 | 68.00% |
Returning / full-time students at Mercy University represent 43.83% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the Mercy graduation rate was 63%, and by the eight year mark, 63% of the cohort had completed their degree.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for this group is 53.83% after six years, and 55.07% after eight years.
| Completions | Mercy | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 63% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 63% | 55.07% |
356 non first-time / part-time students or 37% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
4 are still enrolled.
182 transferred to another institution.
Mercy lost contact with the remaining 170 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 4 | 1.12% |
| Transferred | 182 | 51.12% |
| Dropped Out | 170 | 47.75% |
Returning / part-time students at Mercy University represent 10.03% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the Mercy graduation rate was 49%, and by the eight year mark, 52% of the cohort had completed their degree.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for this group is 30.46% after four years, 36.03% after six years, and 37.80% after eight years.
| Completions | Mercy | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 40% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 49% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 52% | 37.80% |
106 non first-time / part-time students or 48% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
3 are still enrolled.
46 transferred to another institution.
Mercy lost contact with the remaining 57 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 3 | 2.83% |
| Transferred | 46 | 43.40% |
| Dropped Out | 57 | 53.77% |
