by our College Data Analytics TeamMake an informed decision about your education by understanding Sweet Briar 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.
The percentage of first-time / full-time students who return for their second year is tracked as the freshmen retention rate.
With 69% students making it past their freshmen year, Sweet Briar has freshmen retention rates near the national average.
Nationwide, the average first to second year retention rate is 70.57%.
When looking at just colleges and universities in Virginia, the average is 69.66%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| Sweet Briar | 69% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Virginia | 69.66% |
There were approximately 89 students in the class of 2023. How many of them actually completed their degree in a timely fashion?
Four years after beginning their degree, 57% of those students had graduated. By 2025, six years after starting their degree, 57% of the students had graduated and after eight years 58% 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 Sweet Briar graduation rate 57%.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 89 | 57% |
| Six Years | 89 | 57% |
| Eight Years | 1 | 1% |
| Did Not Complete | 66 | 42% |
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 66 students or 42% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 66 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
22 transferred to another institution.
Sweet Briar lost contact with the remaining 44 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 22 | 33.3% |
| Dropped Out | 44 | 66.7% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| Black / African-American | 71% |
| Hispanic | 50% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 75% |
| White | 46% |
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.
The majority of students at Sweet Briar are considered 'traditional students' who are first-time attending full-time.
Comparing the graduation rates of the specific cohorts below can be more revealing than the overall graduation rates.
First-time / full-time students at Sweet Briar College represent 85.90% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the Sweet Briar graduation rate was 61%, and by the eight year mark, 61% 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 | Sweet Briar | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 61% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 61% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 61% | 47.82% |
52 first-time / full-time students or 39% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
22 transferred to another institution.
Sweet Briar lost contact with the remaining 30 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 22 | 42.31% |
| Dropped Out | 30 | 57.69% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data for this cohort at Sweet Briar College.
Returning / full-time students at Sweet Briar College represent 14.10% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the Sweet Briar graduation rate was 32%, and by the eight year mark, 36% 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 | Sweet Briar | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 32% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 36% | 55.07% |
14 non first-time / part-time students or 64% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
0 transferred to another institution.
Sweet Briar lost contact with the remaining 14 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 0 | 0.00% |
| Dropped Out | 14 | 100.00% |
We don’t have data for this cohort at Sweet Briar College.
