I don’t know about you, but I measure the success of a university with student outcomes, and in my opinion, the most critical student outcome is a university’s 4-year graduation rate. Simply put, with all of the resources that you have, what percentage of your students graduate in 4-years? For high students and those transferring from community colleges who are reading this article, if that number is below 60%, stay far, far away. I stand by this line of demarcation. I mean, if a school has not proven that it can help students matriculate through college in 4-years, why do you think you will be the exception? Knowledge is power, so we decided to post a list of the colleges and universities with the best 4-year graduation rates in America.
- Harvard University, Cambridge, MA- The graduation rate is 98%
- Princeton University, Princeton, NJ- The graduation rate is 97%
- The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN – The graduation rate is 96%
- Yale University, New Haven, CT- The graduation rate is 96%
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA- The graduation rate is 96%
- Georgetown University, Washington, DC- The graduation rate is 95%
- Williams College, Williamstown, MA- The graduation rate is 95%
- Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH- The graduation rate is 95%
- Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO- The graduation rate is 95%
- Claremont McKenna College, Claremont, CA- The graduation rate is 95%
- Columbia University, New York, NY- The graduation rate is 95%
- Duke University, Durham, NC- The graduation rate is 95%
- Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA- The graduation rate is 94%
- Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT- The graduation rate is 94%
- University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA- The graduation rate is 94%
- Amherst College, Amherst, MA- The graduation rate is 94%
- Haverford College, Haverford, PA- The graduation rate is 94%
- Pomona College, Claremont, CA- The graduation rate is 93%
- Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD- The graduation rate is 93%
- University of Chicago, Chicago, IL- The graduation rate is 93%
- Davidson College, Davidson, NC – The graduation rate is 93%
- Cornell University, Ithaca, NY- The graduation rate is 93%
- Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN- The graduation rate is 93%
- Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT- The graduation rate is 93%
- Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME- The graduation rate is 93%
- Carleton College, Northfield, MN- The graduation rate is 93%
- College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA- The graduation rate is 92%
- Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY- The graduation rate is 92%
- Tufts University, Medford, MA- The graduation rate is 92%
- Colgate University, Hamilton, NY- The graduation rate is 92%
- Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA- The graduation rate is 91%
- Emory University, Atlanta, GA- The graduation rate is 91%
- Hamilton College, Clinton, NY- The graduation rate is 91%
- United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD- The graduation rate is 91%
- Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA- The graduation rate is 90%
- Babson College, Babson Park, MA- The graduation rate is 90%
- Villanova University, Villanova, PA- The graduation rate is 90%
- Lafayette College, Easton, PA- The graduation rate is 90%
- Kenyon College, Gambier, OH- The graduation rate is 89%
- Olaf College, Northfield, MN- The graduation rate is 89%
- Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA- The graduation rate is 88%
- Smith College, Northampton, MA- The graduation rate is 87%
- Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY- The graduation rate is 87%
- College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA- The graduation rate is 83%
- Centre College, Danville, KY- The graduation rate is 82%
Click here to learn more about the ranking methodology that we used to compile this list.
Congratulations! If you represent a college or university that is included in this list, please collect your seal below.