With respect to graduation rate methodology, it seems that Washington Monthly’s been using this figure for a number of years.
Continuing the discussion from Public Flagships and Renowned Private Colleges:
So, in looking at the 2023 Washington Monthly rankings (which allows users to download the full data set) Tufts was expected to have a 94% graduation rate and it had a 94% graduation rate. According to the Washington Monthly data, Tufts actually performed better than many other Top X schools in terms of how its Pell graduation rate compared to its regular rate. (Data sorted by graduation rate rank.)
| Rank | Name | 8-year graduation rate | Graduation rate rank | Predicted graduation rate based on % of Pell recipients, incoming SATs, etc. | Graduation rate performance rank | Pell/non-Pell graduation gap | Pell graduation gap rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harvard University (MA) | 98% | 1 | 88% | 21 | -2% | 41 |
| 5 | Princeton University (NJ) | 98% | 2 | 94% | 136 | -5% | 119 |
| 8 | Yale University (CT) | 98% | 3 | 96% | 173 | -3% | 68 |
| 4 | University of Pennsylvania ¶ | 97% | 4 | 94% | 153 | -3% | 67 |
| 2 | Stanford University (CA) | 96% | 5 | 95% | 176 | -3% | 70 |
| 12 | University of Notre Dame (IN) | 96% | 6 | 93% | 131 | -4% | 92 |
| 43 | Brown University (RI) | 96% | 7 | 94% | 172 | -4% | 86 |
| 28 | Dartmouth College (NH) | 96% | 8 | 92% | 126 | -4% | 106 |
| 3 | MA Institute of Technology (MA) | 96% | 9 | 99% | 324 | -4% | 89 |
| 6 | Duke University (NC) | 95% | 10 | 97% | 262 | -3% | 58 |
| 10 | Cornell University (NY) | 95% | 11 | 96% | 256 | -4% | 85 |
| 31 | Northwestern University (IL) | 95% | 12 | 94% | 209 | -3% | 63 |
| 32 | University of Chicago (IL) | 94% | 13 | 98% | 332 | -2% | 47 |
| 15 | Georgetown University (DC) | 94% | 14 | 90% | 115 | -3% | 78 |
| 42 | University of Virginia (VA)* | 94% | 15 | 90% | 127 | -3% | 84 |
| 99 | Tufts University (MA) | 94% | 16 | 94% | 222 | 0% | 15 |
| 95 | Rice University (TX) | 93% | 17 | 97% | 334 | -3% | 76 |
| 9 | University of CA–Berkeley (CA)* | 93% | 18 | 95% | 268 | -5% | 130 |
| 27 | Washington Univ. in St. Louis (MO) | 93% | 19 | 93% | 202 | -1% | 24 |
| 35 | California Institute of Tech. (CA) | 93% | 20 | 100% | 385 | 1% | 14 |
| 13 | Johns Hopkins University (MD) | 93% | 21 | 96% | 292 | -2% | 32 |
| 7 | Columbia Univ. in the City of NY (NY) | 93% | 22 | 90% | 141 | -2% | 44 |
| 18 | Vanderbilt University (TN) | 93% | 23 | 93% | 232 | -3% | 77 |
| 23 | University of MI–Ann Arbor (MI)* | 93% | 24 | 90% | 143 | -6% | 140 |
| 47 | University of Southern CA (CA) | 93% | 25 | 92% | 220 | -2% | 46 |
| 16 | University of California–LA (CA)* | 93% | 26 | 93% | 246 | -5% | 117 |
| 50 | Emory University (GA) | 92% | 27 | 93% | 248 | -2% | 35 |
| 41 | Boston College (MA) | 92% | 28 | 90% | 178 | -2% | 36 |
| 69 | William & Mary (VA)* | 92% | 29 | 88% | 119 | -1% | 29 |
But when we reorder the list based on the Graduation rate performance rank (i.e. percentage graduating vs. the percentage expected to graduate), that list looks a lot different and we see some of the surprise schools, like NJIT, from the WSJ’s list.
| Rank | Name | 8-year graduation rate | Graduation rate rank | Predicted graduation rate based on % of Pell recipients, incoming SATs, etc. | Graduation rate performance rank | Pell/non-Pell graduation gap | Pell graduation gap rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | Winston-Salem State University (NC)* | 63% | 234 | 39% | 1 | -4% | 110 |
| 131 | Univ. of Houston–Clear Lake (TX)* | 68% | 180 | 52% | 2 | -5% | 132 |
| 344 | Keiser University (FL) | 56% | 310 | 40% | 3 | -3% | 83 |
| 25 | Brigham Young University (UT) | 85% | 54 | 69% | 4 | -10% | 233 |
| 320 | Immaculata University ¶ | 69% | 171 | 53% | 5 | -10% | 239 |
| 190 | Oakland City University (IN) | 66% | 202 | 52% | 6 | 19% | 2 |
| 113 | Albizu University–Miami (FL) | 63% | 228 | 50% | 7 | 34% | 1 |
| 45 | Michigan State University (MI)* | 81% | 73 | 69% | 8 | -13% | 318 |
| 88 | New Jersey Institute of Tech. (NJ)* | 80% | 89 | 67% | 9 | -8% | 191 |
| 251 | Rowan University (NJ)* | 75% | 118 | 63% | 10 | -13% | 298 |
| 89 | Rutgers University–Camden (NJ)* | 69% | 168 | 57% | 11 | -9% | 214 |
| 254 | SUNY Envir. Science & Forestry (NY)* | 79% | 94 | 67% | 12 | -2% | 38 |
| 29 | CA State Univ.–San Bernardino (CA)* | 70% | 161 | 58% | 13 | -5% | 128 |
| 44 | Rutgers University–Newark (NJ)* | 72% | 143 | 60% | 14 | -1% | 25 |
| 177 | Stockton University (NJ)* | 76% | 116 | 65% | 15 | -8% | 184 |
| 75 | James Madison University (VA)* | 83% | 61 | 72% | 16 | -5% | 133 |
| 86 | East Carolina University (NC)* | 67% | 186 | 56% | 17 | -9% | 215 |
| 65 | California State Univ.–Fullerton (CA)* | 78% | 105 | 67% | 18 | -4% | 111 |
| 127 | West Chester University of PA ¶* | 74% | 126 | 63% | 19 | -9% | 213 |
| 192 | Saint Mary’s Univ. of MN (MN) | 68% | 178 | 58% | 20 | -11% | 250 |
| 1 | Harvard University (MA) | 98% | 1 | 88% | 21 | -2% | 41 |
| 319 | Gallaudet University (DC) | 58% | 286 | 48% | 22 | -21% | 427 |
| 26 | CA State University–Fresno (CA)* | 69% | 172 | 59% | 23 | -10% | 228 |
| 49 | CA State University–Long Beach (CA)* | 80% | 85 | 70% | 24 | -2% | 45 |
| 151 | University of the Cumberlands (KY) | 60% | 265 | 51% | 25 | -5% | 118 |
| 324 | George Fox University (OR) | 74% | 130 | 64% | 26 | -8% | 194 |
| 106 | Illinois State University (IL)* | 72% | 138 | 64% | 27 | -16% | 385 |
| 172 | Thomas Jefferson University ¶ | 76% | 115 | 67% | 28 | -10% | 247 |
| 147 | Gonzaga University (WA) | 85% | 49 | 77% | 29 | -4% | 104 |