by our College Data Analytics TeamMake an informed decision about your education by understanding Bates retention and graduation rates. First year retention rates let you know how many first-time, full-time students students come back for their second year. Graduation rates tell you how many students complete their degree and how long it takes.
The percentage of first-time / full-time students who return for their second year is tracked as the freshmen retention rate.
With 90% students making it past their freshmen year, Bates has freshmen retention rates above the national average.
Nationwide, the average first to second year retention rate is 70.57%.
When looking at just colleges and universities in Maine, the average is 71.23%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| Bates | 90% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Maine | 71.23% |
There were approximately 469 students in the class of 2015. How many of them actually completed their degree in a timely fashion?
Four years after beginning their degree, 90% of those students had graduated. By 2017, six years after starting their degree, 92% of the students had graduated and after eight years 92% of this class completed their degree.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, a student is considered to have graduated on time if they complete their degree within six years, making the official Bates graduation rate 92%.
The typical Bates student takes 4.04 years to complete their bachelor's degree.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 457 | 90% |
| Six Years | 469 | 92% |
| Eight Years | 0 | 0% |
| Did Not Complete | 41 | 8% |
Approximately 41 students or 8% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 41 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
35 transferred to another institution.
Bates lost contact with the remaining 6 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 35 | 85.4% |
| Dropped Out | 6 | 14.6% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| Asian | 100% |
| Black / African-American | 95% |
| Hispanic | 92% |
| International | 94% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 96% |
| Unknown | 100% |
| White | 92% |
First-time, full-time students, under the age of 25 are known as traditional students. These students are more likely to graduate in four years than so called 'non-traditional' students that includes part-time students, transfer students, or adult learners. Some schools cater to non-traditional students and it may affect their overall graduation rates.
Traditional Students:
First-time, full-time students under the age of 25.
Non-Traditional Students:
Any student that is not first-time, full-time, and under the age of 25.
The majority of students at Bates are considered 'traditional students' who are first-time attending full-time.
How does this school do graduating the type of student you are most concerned bout?
First-time / full-time students at Bates College represent 99% of the students in the class of 2015, and 98.72% of Bates bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 90%, first-time students in the Bates class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were more likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the Bates graduation rate was 92%, and by the eight year mark, 92% of the cohort had completed their degree.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for first-time undergraduates attending classes full-time is 37.92% after four years, 46.43% after six years, and 47.82% after eight years.
| First-Time / Full-Time Completions | Bates | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 90% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 92% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 92% | 47.82% |
40 first-time / full-time students or 8% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
35 transferred to another institution.
Bates lost contact with the remaining 5 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 35 | 87.50% |
| Dropped Out | 5 | 12.50% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on Bates first-time, part-time students.
7 Bates students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 1.37% of the students in the class of 2015.
Non first-time students could include transfer students or adults who have returned to school after an absense.
With a six year graduation rate of 86%, returning students in the class of 2015 and attended classes full-time had a graduation rate higher than the national average for students in this category.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 86%.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for non first-time undergraduates attending classes full-time is: 49.57% after four years, 53.83% after six years, and 55.07% after eight years.
| Returning / Full-Time Completions | Bates | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 86% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 86% | 55.07% |
1 non first-time / part-time students or 14% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
0 transferred to another institution.
Bates lost contact with the remaining 1 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 0 | 0.00% |
| Dropped Out | 1 | 100.00% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on Bates returning, part-time students.
