<p>I'm looking at a school that has an 84% retention rate and 66% graduation rate. Eww! So what do those low rates really mean? Easy to get into but hard to stay in? The surrounding area sucks (some people, not me, find Seattle depressing)?</p>
<p>Correct if im wrong but I believe the national college graduation rate is about 50%</p>
<p>How much does this school cost? Does it have good financial aid? Perhaps it has a low retention rate because students can't afford it after the first few years. </p>
<p>What is the composition of its student body? Does it have a lot of part-timers? That can affect both retention (life can get in the way) and 6-year graduation rates (it may take longer to graduate).</p>
<p>What is its "mission"? Berklee College of Music in Boston has both a low retention rate and a low graduation rate. But that's because its students get paying gigs before they graduate, and leave school to become professional performers, which is why they went to Berklee in the first place.</p>
<p>There are too many variables that, without more information, determining the "meaning" of those statistics is impossible.</p>
<p>Neither of those two numbers specifically determines how easy it is to get in, FWIW.</p>
<p>The school is Seattle University</p>