Colleges with Highest Retention Rates

Santa Clara University
- Ranked No. 2 in the West by U.S. News & World Report in 2009. It had the highest average freshman retention rate (93 percent) of master’s universities in the West.
- SCU had the highest average freshman retention rate (93 percent) of master's universities in the West. The freshman retention rate reflects the percentage of freshmen who enroll in their sophomore year (US News 2008).

Butler University
- Butler is located on the north side of Indianapolis. The University’s freshman retention rate from fall 2009 to spring 2010 is 96 percent — the highest in school history. The retention rate for all undergraduates from fall to spring is 95%.
- The average fall-to-fall retention rate for Indiana private colleges and universities is 76.8 percent.

Eastern Illinois University
- Eastern's freshman to sophomore retention rate is 80.8%%, the 23rd highest among masters institutions throughout the Midwest, and nearly 10% higher than the national average, according to the U.S. News & World Report, "America's Best Colleges 2010".

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
- Cal Poly Pomona is 21st in the West Region for Freshmen Retention Rate amongst all private and public schools (15 states), according to the U.S. News & World Report 2010 College Rankings: Universities-Master’s category.
- It is the 5th top public school for freshmen retention rate in the West Region, 81.8%.

University of Virginia
- In the 20th annual "America's Best Colleges" issue (August 2007), U.S. News & World Report ranked the University of Virginia the nation's No. 2 public university. It has the highest graduation and retention rate of any public college or university and is tied for 9th overall. No other public university is ranked within the top 15 places.

Yale University
- The student retention rate at Yale University is excellent (99%), well above Princeton University (98%), Stanford University (98%), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (98%), California Institute of Technology (98%), University of Pennsylvania (98%), according to the US News America's Best Colleges, August 2009.

* Next: Universities with Lowest Drop Out Rates

Author

Kelvin Wong Loke Yuen is a highly experienced lecturer and writer. He is also a Certified Microsoft Innovative Educator with many internationally recognized certifications, including an MBA and a Postgraduate Diploma from Heriot-Watt (UK's World-Class University) and a BCom degree from Adelaide (Australia's Group of Eight University). Follow him on: LinkedIn

Search This Site