<p>I was admitted to Ursinus recently, and am trying to get more information about it. Does any one know what the social atmosphere is like there? Also, does anyone know why the graduation rate is so low? It's about 70%. This seems odd for a college known for strong student services and counseling.</p>
<p>Based on the data at collegeresults dot org, Ursinus had a 2007 6-year graduation rate of 75.5%, which is near the top end of its peer schools.
[College</a> Results Online](<a href=“http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/search1b.aspx?institutionid=216524]College”>http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/search1b.aspx?institutionid=216524)
By comparison, Wooster had a 6-year graduation rate of 72.6% and Earlham 74.5%.</p>
<p>The collegeresults web site is a great place to compare graduation rates. You can look at the rate for different groups, which can be instructive. </p>
<p>Graduation rates are typically postively correlated with median SAT scores, and negatively correlated with % URM and % of students receiving Pell grants. Looking at 2 other colleges with similar median SAT scores, Beloit and Union College (NY), we see overall 6-year graduation rates of:
Ursinus 75.5%
Beloit 79.1%
Union 85.9%</p>
<p>For white males, the graduation rates are as follows:
Ursinus 77.6%
Beloit 74.5%
Union 85.2%</p>
<p>On this basis, Ursinus is doing better than Beloit, but not as well as Union. Ursinus, however, has 18% of its student body with Pell Grants, while Union has only 13.3% of its student body with Pell Grants. This may account for some of the difference in graduation rates, but on the whole it seems that Union might be doing a somewhat better job in the graduation rate department. On the other hand, Union College is slightly more selective in admisstions - it’s PR selectivity rating is 95 versus 92 for Ursinus.</p>