<p>I have had this question since S1 was looking at schools 4 years ago.</p>
<p>When we have questioned the admissions offices about why students transfer we don't really get honest answers and is there any way to find out?</p>
<p>We are looking at schools for S2 that aren't the typical CC researched schools and a couple have lower than average retention rates (Westminster - UT, 76%) but we don't know why.
Also have a couple other schools with lower than average (Linfield - 81%, Dominican U. of CA - 80%) but if we knew it would really help our S2 decide.</p>
<p>He seems to like every school he visits and we don't want to just decide by the lowest price tag. Wish there was 1 or 2 stand outs for him.</p>
<p>81% is lower than average retention? That seems pretty high to me… There’s really no way to find out why retention rates may be lower than average at a particular school.When students leave a school, they’re not asked to fill out a survey explaining their reasons, and the reasons may be incredibly diverse – medical reasons, finances, changing priorities, not liking something specific about the school, etc. etc. etc. So there’s simply no way of gathering good data on why schools don’t retain a certain amount of students. If you’re not satisfied with the answers from admissions staff, keep in mind that they probably don’t know why the retention rates are low either, because again, they don’t have that data or a way of gathering it. </p>
<p>Sometimes if a school is well known for a particular program, but that program is also very competitive, that can explain why there might be some lowering of retention. Students go there hoping to be chosen for the program, then they don’t get in, so they decide to go elsewhere. Or schools with unusual rules or out of the ordinary student body makeup (women’s colleges, for example, often have lower than average retention rates. There’s a certain amount of loss of people who end up not as enamored with the women’s college life as they thought, and so it’s good and proper for them to seek environments that suit them better).</p>
<p>The average freshman retention rate overall is 66%. I can’t seem to post the link for this data, but if you simply Google the phrase “average freshman retention rate colleges and universities” you’ll bring up some articles.</p>
<p>I teach at a liberal arts college and served for a year on a committee devoted to retention issues. I can tell you that financial aid is a huge factor. For instance, a school with a fixed financial aid package and a rising tuition rate can lose students who find that they can’t make it work financially after a year or two. Each school’s common data set (reported to the government each year and posted by law) is available on the web and states, under the section titled “Financial Aid,” the size of the average financial aid package to students with need and the average merit package to students without need. </p>
<p>Academic success and support is another factor. The less selective the college, the more critical it is to provide academic support services (i.e., writing center, tutorial center, etc.) for students who may struggle with the rigor of the college curriculum. You should be able to get on the schools’ websites and compare the services available to students. </p>
<p>Finally, happiness is also a factor. When students experience the campus culture as unwelcoming or unsupportive, they leave. Some institutions actually post online the results of NSSE (National Survey of Student Engagement), which reveals the degree to which students feel a sense of community and belonging on campus. But not all schools do this.</p>
<p>Personally, I’m very impressed with Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. Last year, the school’s freshman retention rate was 90%, according to the common data set on the website. Willamette has the entire package: great financial aid, both need and merit; strong academic support services; friendly, welcoming campus. My son chose it over UC San Diego and Emory University, and after kicking the tires, we agreed with his choice. He’s now a freshman there. You might check it out, if you haven’t done so already.</p>
<p>I didn’t think the retention rates that the OP posted looked all that bad. Calalum did a nice job of pointing out the various factors that cause kids not to return in year 2. For us, graduation rates were more important than the retention rates.</p>
<p>The main school we were questioning was Westminster - UT at 76%. I just read that the average was 81% according to US News and World Report. The info. given above is very helpful and explains a lot. I find the graduation rates to be even more confusing.
Our S2 has applied to Willamette but we haven’t heard back yet because somehow they lost his info. from the Common App. but found it last week. He isn’t too excited about Willamette but he hasn’t visited since he was 15. I think it’s one of the best choices but we don’t know what merit aid he might get yet either. The coach hasn’t been all that engaging with him.</p>
<p>I think it can be somewhat of a red flag. Some schools have such a unique culture that fit can be more hit or miss. I think when the retention number is lower than other peer institutions, a thorough visit is really important.</p>
<p>You would probably get the most insightful answers from students at those schools.</p>
<p>As an aside, high retention rates are not always good either. At my small liberal arts college it’s primarily the wealthy students who transfer (often because of academics). Many students on financial aid want to transfer but find themselves stuck here because their preferred transfer institutions don’t have much financial aid for transfer students. The problem (loss of tuition dollars from full-paying students transferring out, and unhappy students being stuck here) has become pronounced enough that the administration has formed a committee to address the issue. On the bright side, we are very lucky that the college is so generous with financial aid that finances are not usually a reason to transfer out.</p>
<p>But at all the top schools the freshman retention rate is much higher, generally north of 90%. Among Ivies the lowest is Cornell at 96.2%. Among US News top 25 universities, Emory and UC Berkeley tie for lowest at 94.2%. Lowest among top 50 universities is the University of Miami at 90%. Among top 25 LACs, Smith is lowest at 90.5%.</p>
<p>Whether Westminster is 76% or 79% is a quibble. Either way it means something between 1 in 4 and 1 in 5 freshmen don’t return. To me that raises is big caution flag. I’d want to learn a lot more about the student culture, financial aid, etc, before sending my kid there.</p>
<p>There may be lots of different reasons that students transfer out. But you probably will not find out those reasons from the admissions people or any other representative of the college. Why? Because that is not what they want to focus on in their communication with you and also because they may not know the true reasons that students transfer.</p>
<p>One of mine transferred from a college with about an 85-89% retention rate at the time. Student had visited many times, spoken with many people on campus, sat in on classes, gone to sporting event there. But from the day they moved in, they were very unhappy. They transferred at the end of the first semester. College requested an exit interview before they would release the transcript. Student didn’t want to talk, but knew they had to say something to fulfill that request. I don’t know exactly what was said, but I know it was not the real reasons. I asked student to tell the real reasons, but they didn’t want to go into it, they just wanted to be done. So I know the college did not get the real reasons in our case.</p>
<p>Westminster isn’t the only college with around an 80% freshman retention rate, but that IS a sign of concern. I think it’s also a sign of concern that, of those who return for their sophomore years, another 25% fails to graduate in six years. I presume that a lot of that is also transfers out. So, definitely worth looking into. This is the kind of thing that you actually have to discuss with live people rather than googling.</p>
<p>OP- I know a few kids who have attended Westminster. I know very little about the school, but these kids were all transitioning out of residential programs having successfully completed therapies for eating disorders, other behavioral issues. I don’t know if the school actively reaches out to these programs or if it’s just known to be a college which is receptive to kids that other colleges may not be able to handle- but if your research discovers that there are lots of kids in this situation, then I think the Freshman retention rate is pretty good. Relapsing for eating disorders is very common; if a kid comes home after Freshman year and the parent realizes the kid is no longer a candidate for dorm living, that’s the kid who ends up living at home and commuting- or back in a residential treatment program.</p>
<p>I know very little about the college as I mentioned- but it can’t be a coincidence that this school is high on the list of kids who might not otherwise be candidates for college (not due to intellect, academics, or anything like that- just other factors.) And it speaks well for the school if they are willing to give kids a chance that other schools just won’t consider.</p>
<p>My son is a freshman at a small private college with a lower retention rate than I would like. I chalked much of it up to finances because the state where this school is located has state schools that are priced much cheaper than our state schools. Now that my son is in his second semester, 2 of his friends are no longer at the school (one had very poor grades so he lost his financial aid, and for the other student it was about finances). My son is aware of two more of his friends who plan to transfer. The reasons are that their instate public schools are much more affordable. Additionally, one student has changed majors and the parents do not see a reason to spend money for a private school if the student is no longer in the original major for which they were willing to pay higher tuition costs at the private college. Additionally, the one friend who lost financial aid told my son during his first week at college that he plans to transfer because his family could not afford to pay for this school for four years (not sure why he matriculated to this school in the first place). My son has also heard that some people who want to transfer are unhappy because they don’t care for the small size of the school (they did not realize just how small it was), and because a major that they are interested in is not offered at this school. So far my son is very happy, and he has no regrets!</p>
<p>I know of a handful of kids who’ve come back to our state flagship after the financial meltdown left their families really challenged by OOS or private college tuition. I’ve heard through the grapevine that some others will be transferring back as juniors after either not being really thrilled with their programs or not making it into selective programs or past mandatory cuts in the arts.</p>
<p>*My son is a freshman at a small private college with a lower retention rate than I would like. I chalked much of it up to finances because the state where this school is located has state schools that are priced much cheaper than our state schools. Now that my son is in his second semester, 2 of his friends are no longer at the school (one had very poor grades so he lost his financial aid, and for the other student it was about finances). *</p>
<p>I think this is often the case.</p>
<p>Many kids have to transfer out of various schools simply because of money. </p>
<p>Sometimes parents over-estimate how much they can “pay out” each year and find that they can’t continue with their estimated “family contribution.” I think this happens a LOT. Parents who’ve never paid tuition before can have a very hard time estimating whether they can REALLY come up with an extra $20k+ per year for college. </p>
<p>Sometimes a school is affordable the first year because “one time” private scholarships made them affordable, but only for the first year.</p>
<p>Sometimes family situations change…a parent loses his job, parents split up, etc.</p>
<p>Sometimes a second sibling goes to college, and funding 2 kids at pricey schools is impossible.</p>
<p>On CC, we often see kids post that they have to leave their schools because of money.</p>
<p>Sometimes it’s grades, sometimes the kid doesn’t like the school, but I think often it’s money.</p>
<p>^^ I also think that the school my son attends might be being used as a stepping stone by some to get into a “better” state school if the kiddo was not admitted right out of hs (nearly half of the students at this private college are instate). I think that they put in a semester or two of college (perhaps up to 2 years) and then they reapply to the flagship state U, but they have have had the advantage of small freshman classes to keep the GPA up and they have had a semester or two+ of going away to a private residential college in a nice area.</p>
<p>ACT (the testing service) has collected years of data for first- to second-year retention rates and for persistence to degree rates. The data suggests strong correlations between these rates and school selectivity.</p>
<p>Example:
(First- to Second-Year Retention Rates of 4-Year Private Institutions)</p>
<p>Similar patterns prevail for 2 year institutions and for public institutions, for both retention and for degree completion in 4-6 years. Generally, the more selective the school, the higher the retention and degree completion rates (although for some comparisons, rates are higher for completely Open admission schools than for “Liberal” admission schools.)</p>
<p>I would add that at smaller schools there are sometimes students who discover what they want from college only after they are there - and then realize that what they want isn’t available at their current school.</p>