by our College Data Analytics TeamHow many Holy Cross first-year students return for their second year? How many graduate and how long does it take them? On this page we'll explore Holy Cross retention rates, graduation rates, drop out rates and more.
The freshmen retention rate applies to first-time / full-time students who come back for their second year.
With 89% students making it past their freshmen year, Holy Cross 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 Massachusetts, the average is 73.02%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| Holy Cross | 89% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Massachusetts | 73.02% |
There were approximately 705 students in the class of 2015. How many of them actually completed their degree in a timely fashion?
Four years after beginning their degree, 91% 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.
The official graduation rate of Holy Cross is 92%. This is the percentage of students who completed their degree within 150% of the published time. That means six years for a standard bachelor's degree program.
The average length of time it takes an Holy Cross undergraduate student to complete their bachelor's degree is 4.03 years.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 695 | 91% |
| Six Years | 705 | 92% |
| Eight Years | 1 | 0% |
| Did Not Complete | 59 | 8% |
Approximately 59 students or 8% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 59 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
32 transferred to another institution.
Holy Cross lost contact with the remaining 27 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 32 | 54.2% |
| Dropped Out | 27 | 45.8% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| Asian | 85% |
| Black / African-American | 97% |
| Hawaiian | 100% |
| Hispanic | 90% |
| International | 100% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 88% |
| Unknown | 95% |
| White | 94% |
First-time, full-time students under the age of 25 are much more likely to graduate in four years. Some schools cater to mostly traditional students while others cater to 'non-traditional' students. So called 'non-traditional' students include part-time students or those who may be returning after an absense. It is common for part-time and/or adult students to take longer to graduate.
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 Holy Cross are considered 'traditional students' who are first-time attending full-time.
Examining the graduation rates of the specific cohorts shown below may be more revealing than looking at the overall graduaton rates.
First-time / full-time students at College of the Holy Cross represent 98% of the students in the class of 2015, and 98.30% of Holy Cross bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 91%, first-time students in the Holy Cross class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were more likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the Holy Cross 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 | Holy Cross | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 91% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 92% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 92% | 47.82% |
57 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.
30 transferred to another institution.
Holy Cross lost contact with the remaining 27 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 30 | 52.63% |
| Dropped Out | 27 | 47.37% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on Holy Cross first-time, part-time students.
14 Holy Cross students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 1.83% 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 | Holy Cross | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 86% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 86% | 55.07% |
2 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.
2 transferred to another institution.
Holy Cross lost contact with the remaining 0 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 2 | 100.00% |
| Dropped Out | 0 | 0.00% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on Holy Cross returning, part-time students.
