So, as we all know, it’s very common for people to go to college, and after spending some time there, discovering that post-high-school education simply isn’t for them, thus causing them to drop out. A portion of students drop out their freshman year, another portion of students drop out their sophomore year, another portion junior year, as well as senior year, meaning only a small fraction of those who started at the college make it to graduation. When you were in college, what percent of the students who started with you finished with you?
Good question. I actually looked up the answer for my alma mater.
In my time there, about 70 percent of entering freshmen graduated within four years and about 80 percent graduated within six years. More recently, the numbers have gone up to about 82 and 93 percent, respectively.
But my alma mater is far from typical. I went to Cornell. It’s unusual for students at that type of college to discover that post-high-school education just isn’t for them. Some may encounter situations that slow things down a bit or cause them to interrupt their education (and I had several friends who had these sorts of experiences), but the vast majority graduate within a reasonable amount of time.
I realize that this is not typical of U.S. universities as a whole.
My alma mater isn’t typical either. I started at a local cc, then transferred. As expected at a cc a lot of students left school and some were only planning on 2 years anyway. But a surprising number transferred and finished degrees and several I know went on for more. At least 4 people who were in my cc chem and bio classes are now MD’s, at least 3 are pharmacists (one with a PhD), 2 dentists, 2 optometrists one university professor. Not too bad, huh?
My perception at the time was that most everyone I started with finished with me. The people who left, left early. The actual 4-year graduation rate this year is 91%. My alma mater is a four-year residential LAC, so again, not a typical institution.
4-and 6-year graduation statistics are available for any school. They can tell you a lot about the nature of the student body. Commuter schools, schools with a substantial portion of part-time students, and schools with low admissions requirements/high acceptance rates are more likely to have a lower percentage of students graduating within the 4-6 year timeframe. Lack of completion is correlated with poor academic preparation in high school, lack of funds, and competing life priorities (i.e. those who can’t, for various reasons, dedicate themselves primarily to their studies).
The graduation rate of my college is over 90% now. I assume it was similar then. I knew a handful of students who graduated a year or two later, due to taking some time off.
Yes I went to a small LAC and the graduation rate was well over 90% for 4 years. We lost a few to transfers and a few to 3+2 programs in engineering and we lost a couple that simply flunked out. We lost 2 that arrived as a married couple, so unusual was this, that there was no where to house them and they had to make special arrangements. According the admissions data it had a retention rate of 95% after freshman year. At the time I graduated it was ranked as one of the top twenty colleges in the country sending the highest percentage of students onto graduate schools which contributed to a higher percentage completing the four years.
When I went to college, the college’s four year graduation rate was probably under 40%.
The likely reasons were:
a. It was not as selective then as now.
b. It was very inexpensive then (an in-state student living on his/her own without any financial aid or parental support could probably work himself/herself through college), so there was less financial incentive to graduate quickly (and those working themselves through college were working enough hours that it was less feasable to take 15 credit units instead of 12 credit units per semester).
The most financially successful of us never finished. (He just retired and bought a house in Tahoe.)
Everyone else graduated, though some later than others due to a combination of factors, including study abroad, taking time off to work, and finishing up the second of a double major.
The stats for Williams are available online for anyone who wants to know them, so I won’t look them up and quote them here. But purely subjectively, everyone I knew graduated with me at four years.
“Look to your left. Look to your right. One of you won’t be here in 5 years.” (It was a co-op college, so it took 5 years to graduate.)
We heard this speech at orientation. That is pretty much how it worked out.
Not so much today, because the world is a lot different. School costs a fortune, and families are not keen on spending a bunch of money with nothing to show for it. The graduation rate at my alma mater is higher than it used to be, but it is still relatively low … it’s an engineering school, and the rate of students who don’t do well or decide to pursue another path seems (anecdotally, I will admit) to be higher in engineering than it is in some other programs.
(Texas A&M in the '80s) I didn’t know too many people who officially dropped out. (One I recall, due to drugs mostly, though he showed up on LinkedIn recently and evidently got a degree somewhere else a few years later.) Lots changed majors from STEM to humanities. I knew several people on the 10-year-plan who were worried about credits from years past expiring. They’d changed majors multiple times, and in all honesty preferred college to the “real world.” I had to finish in 4 years, because my scholarship and in-state status went away after that. Most people didn’t have to worry about that, so they didn’t feel pressure to graduate in 4 years.
I was under the impression that you weren’t allowed to take longer than 4 years. I’m pretty sure you sure you have to leave after 4 years, done or not. Otherwise, there would be students older than 22 on campus.
Many colleges have students older than 22. You might not have planned to afford more than 4 years, but for most colleges you don’t have to leave until you graduate.
Colleges publish their 4-year and 6-year graduation rates. See section B of the Common Data Set published by each college. It’s never that 100% graduate in 4 years.
There is often a limit on how many semesters you can be enrolled, but it’s considerably more than 8.
Also, some students who take longer than 4 years aren’t in college continuously. They may have taken a leave of absence at some point – for example, because of illness.
And there are plenty of students older than 22 on most campuses, even if the campus doesn’t have graduate students.
There are lots of non-traditional students older than 22 on college campuses. Of course, there are also graduate students at many colleges.
In terms of not being allowed to take too long (or too many credits) to graduate, such limitations are probably more common at state universities, who do not want the subsidized in-state students taking up more than “their fair share” of the in-state subsidy.
All but two, one of whom joined the Israeli army after his first year.
Seriously? You think that you can on,y be an undergrad for four years…and must be gone by the time you are 22?
Wrong. My DH was 31 when he completed his undergrad degree. So we’re a lot of his classmates.
Thread is being closed due to OP reregistering after being banned. If you suspect someone is a previously banned member, please use the report button and let the moderators know what you suspect.