Freshmen Retention Rate

[ucbalumnus]

@oldfort

I think most students transfer out because it is the wrong fit.

Probably the most common “wrong fit” for students leaving college (either transfer or dropping out completely) is the financial fit (i.e. not being able to afford to continue). See page 7 of https://www.publicagenda.org/files/theirwholelivesaheadofthem.pdf .

But also, academic struggles may matter. 4.0 HS GPA students are less likely to have academic difficulty in college than 2.5 HS GPA students, for example.

So it is no surprise that colleges with high percentages of students from wealthy families, good financial aid for the rest, and highly selective admissions have the highest retention and graduation rates.

[ucbalumnus]

@Riversider

I’m trying to understand why everyone is counting transfers and major changes as drop outs?

Changing major while staying at the same college does not count as leaving the college. Changing major may be a reason for some students to leave the college, if the new major is not offered at the current college.

Transferring away would not count as dropping out if looking at student, but would count as non-retention if looking at the initially attended college.