Per US News ranking data, the 4-year graduation rate at University of Utah is low (34% - so about only 1 in 3 graduate in 4 years).
Question mainly to current students (and their parents) - Does this seem surprising? Is it generally hard to get into the required courses ? Difficult to get a passing grade ? Any other reasons?
You have to factor in the LDS students who go on missions. At 19-26, college years are prime for that. It will significantly lower 4 year graduation rates.
Besides the CJCLDS mission factor, graduation rates are typically correlated with admission selectivity, since students who are not as academically strong are less likely to be able to handle full loads of college work.
Compared to Arizona State University, the selectivity seems to be higher at the U. The average GPA at admission, SAT/ACT scores are higher as well; but ASU 4-year graduation rate is significantly higher at 51%, so it does seem like the LDS/missions factor could be a key contributor. Thanks for highlighting that, I wasn’t thinking of it.
Also, a measurable portion of the LDS female students stop school entirely (or take a long break) when they have their first child, which is not unusual to happen before they graduate.
Plus the girls are more likely to serve missions nowadays than in past times. I really think that the figures are skewed by the large number of LDS students serving missions.
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