by our College Data Analytics TeamAre students coming back to Mt. Holyoke after their first year? Are Mt. Holyoke students graduating in a timely manner? What happens to the students who don't graduate? Get all your questions answered here.
The freshmen retention rate applies to first-time / full-time students who come back for their second year.
With 81% students making it past their freshmen year, Mt. Holyoke 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 Massachusetts, the average is 73.02%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| Mt. Holyoke | 81% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Massachusetts | 73.02% |
There were approximately 634 students in the class of 2015. How many of them actually completed their degree in a timely fashion?
Four years after beginning their degree, 79% of those students had graduated. By 2017, six years after starting their degree, 86% of the students had graduated and after eight years 86% 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 Mt. Holyoke graduation rate 86%.
The typical Mt. Holyoke student takes 4.06 years to complete their bachelor's degree.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 589 | 80% |
| Six Years | 634 | 86% |
| Eight Years | 2 | 0% |
| Did Not Complete | 101 | 14% |
Approximately 101 students or 14% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 101 students who did not complete their degree?
1 are still enrolled.
71 transferred to another institution.
Mt. Holyoke lost contact with the remaining 30 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 1.0% |
| Transferred | 71 | 70.3% |
| Dropped Out | 30 | 29.7% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| Asian | 88% |
| Black / African-American | 87% |
| Hispanic | 83% |
| International | 86% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 86% |
| Unknown | 100% |
| White | 81% |
First-time, full-time students under the age of 25 are much more likely to graduate in four years. Some schools cater to mostly traditional students while others cater to 'non-traditional' students. So called 'non-traditional' students include part-time students or those who may be returning after an absense. It is common for part-time and/or adult students to take longer to graduate.
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 Mt. Holyoke are considered 'traditional students' who are first-time attending full-time.
Examining the graduation rates of the specific cohorts shown below may be more revealing than looking at the overall graduaton rates.
First-time / full-time students at Mount Holyoke College represent 89% of the students in the class of 2015, and 88.49% of Mt. Holyoke bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 79%, first-time students in the Mt. Holyoke class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were more likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the Mt. Holyoke graduation rate was 85%, and by the eight year mark, 86% 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 | Mt. Holyoke | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 79% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 85% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 86% | 47.82% |
94 first-time / full-time students or 14% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
1 are still enrolled.
66 transferred to another institution.
Mt. Holyoke lost contact with the remaining 28 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 1.06% |
| Transferred | 66 | 70.21% |
| Dropped Out | 28 | 29.79% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on Mt. Holyoke first-time, part-time students.
77 Mt. Holyoke students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 10.42% 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 92%, 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 92%.
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 | Mt. Holyoke | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 92% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 92% | 55.07% |
6 non first-time / part-time students or 8% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
4 transferred to another institution.
Mt. Holyoke lost contact with the remaining 2 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 4 | 66.67% |
| Dropped Out | 2 | 33.33% |
4 Mt. Holyoke students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 0.54% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six year graduation rate of 75%, returning students in the class of 2015 and attended classes full-time had a graduation rate higher than the national average.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 75%.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for non first-time undergraduates attending classes part-time is: 36.03% after six years, 36.03% after eight years.
| Returning / Part-Time Completions | Mt. Holyoke | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 75% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 75% | 37.80% |
1 non first-time / part-time students or 25% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
1 transferred to another institution.
Mt. Holyoke lost contact with the remaining 0 who we assumed dropped out.
| Returning / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 1 | 100.00% |
| Dropped Out | 0 | 0.00% |
