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College graduation rates, explained

By Select Your College editors · Updated · Where our data comes from

Graduates in caps and gowns at commencement
Photo: DHSgov, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A college's graduation rate tells you how many students who start there finish there. The median at 4-year colleges is 55% within six years, and at 2-year colleges 37% within three years.

How the rate is measured

The federal graduation rate follows first-time, full-time students who start in the same year and counts how many finish a degree at that school within 150% of the normal time: six years for a bachelor's degree, three years for an associate degree. The latest rates are for 4-year students who started in 2019 and 2-year students who started in 2022.

What it misses

  • Students who transfer and finish elsewhere count as non-completers. This makes community college rates look low, because transferring is often the plan.
  • Part-time students and students who transfer in are not in the main rate.
  • It reflects the students a school enrolls as much as what the school does for them.

How to use it

  • Compare schools that enroll similar students: similar acceptance rates, similar share of Pell Grant recipients.
  • Look at the retention rate too: the share of first-year students who return for year two. A big drop after year one is a warning sign.
  • Be wary of a school that graduates fewer than half its students unless it costs very little.

See the colleges with the highest graduation rates or check any school's page.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

What is a good graduation rate for a college?

Above the median, which is 55% for 4-year colleges within six years. Rates above 80% are common at selective schools.

Why are community college graduation rates so low?

Many community college students transfer to a 4-year college before earning an associate degree, or attend part-time. The federal rate counts both as not completing.

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