One college from Happykid's short list has a very distinct performing arts & communications focus. Many students leave because they change from those majors to others that promise more steady employment, and many leave because they flat-out run out of money. However, a significant proportion leave because they get a well-paying gig and their performance or production commitments are not compatible with being a full-time (or even a part-time) student.
If a college promotes itself as a 4 year program,undergrad,which most do, the curriculum is designed for 4 years.Anything below 80% in 4years would make me wonder.At todays costs another1 or 2 is outrageous.Remember when evaluating merit aid it may only last a limited period.
As noted before, an important distinction would be whether "late" graduations mean extra semesters or quarters in school, or not. Also, whether any need or merit aid time limits are based on calendar years, or semesters or quarters in school.
My two sons go to a California State University (CSU) where the 6 year graduation rate is only 42%. Many CSUs have similar 6 year graduation rates and one has a 32% graduation rate. CSUs only look at the Math and Critical Reading sections of the SATs for admission and my elder son had a Math+CR SAT score of 1300/1600 and the younger 1400/1600 but they were hopeless slackers in HS with low GPAs so they ended up at at a CSU. Looking at the average M+CR SAT scores for admitted CSU students, with a few exceptions, they rarely exceed 1000/1600. Clearly these schools are accepting a very large number of students who are simply not capable of doing college level work and therefore the low graduation rates are to be expected.
Williams' graduation rate of 91% is created by a 4-1-4 schedule that allows a lighter load and still yields the credits needed for graduation. And then, they kick you out. They do not allow any student to hang around after 8 semesters. If you aren't done, you're going to have to make up the credits somewhere else. Great motivator.
There may also be financial motivations. If tuition is expensive, there is large incentive to avoid taking an extra semester, whether one is full pay, or if one has financial aid grants or merit scholarships that stop after eight semesters.
Berkeley's four year graduation rate steadily rose in the 1990s and 2000s as both costs and admission selectivity increased.
