by our College Data Analytics TeamMake an informed decision about your education by understanding Georgia Tech 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 freshmen retention rate applies to first-time / full-time students who come back for their second year.
With 97% students making it past their freshmen year, Georgia Tech 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 Georgia, the average is 65.40%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| Georgia Tech | 97% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Georgia | 65.40% |
There were approximately 3,109 students in the class of 2015. How many of them actually completed their degree in a timely fashion?
Four years after beginning their degree, 39% of those students had graduated. By 2017, six years after starting their degree, 85% of the students had graduated and after eight years 87% of this class completed their degree.
The official graduation rate of Georgia Tech is 85%. 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 typical Georgia Tech student takes 4.55 years to complete their bachelor's degree.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 1,798 | 49% |
| Six Years | 3,109 | 85% |
| Eight Years | 82 | 2% |
| Did Not Complete | 468 | 13% |
Approximately 468 students or 13% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 468 students who did not complete their degree?
10 are still enrolled.
326 transferred to another institution.
Georgia Tech lost contact with the remaining 123 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 10 | 2.1% |
| Transferred | 326 | 69.7% |
| Dropped Out | 123 | 26.3% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| Asian | 95% |
| Black / African-American | 82% |
| Hawaiian | 100% |
| Hispanic | 89% |
| International | 91% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 94% |
| Unknown | 85% |
| White | 90% |
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 Georgia Tech 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 Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus represent 74% of the students in the class of 2015, and 73.75% of Georgia Tech bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 39%, first-time students in the Georgia Tech class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were more likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the Georgia Tech graduation rate was 85%, and by the eight year mark, 88% 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 | Georgia Tech | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 39% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 85% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 88% | 47.82% |
328 first-time / full-time students or 12% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
10 are still enrolled.
233 transferred to another institution.
Georgia Tech lost contact with the remaining 81 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 10 | 3.05% |
| Transferred | 233 | 71.04% |
| Dropped Out | 81 | 24.70% |
First-time / part-time students at Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus represent 0.11% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six-year graduation rate of 50%, first-time, part-time students in the Georgia Tech class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were more likely than average to graduate on time.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 50%.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for first-time undergraduates attending classes part-time is: 14.37% after four years, 21.59% after six years, 23.72% after eight years.
| First-Time / Part-Time Completions | Georgia Tech | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 25% | 14.37% |
| Six Years | 50% | 21.59% |
| Eight Years | 50% | 23.72% |
2 first-time / part-time students or 50% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
1 transferred to another institution.
Georgia Tech 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 | 1 | 50.00% |
| Dropped Out | 1 | 50.00% |
894 Georgia Tech students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 24.43% 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 85%, 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 | Georgia Tech | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 85% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 86% | 55.07% |
126 non first-time / part-time students or 14% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
5 are still enrolled.
84 transferred to another institution.
Georgia Tech lost contact with the remaining 37 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 5 | 3.97% |
| Transferred | 84 | 66.67% |
| Dropped Out | 37 | 29.37% |
68 Georgia Tech students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 1.86% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six year graduation rate of 76%, returning students in the class of 2015 and attended classes full-time had a graduation rate higher than the national average.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 82%.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for non first-time undergraduates attending classes part-time is: 36.03% after six years, 36.03% after eight years.
| Returning / Part-Time Completions | Georgia Tech | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 76% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 82% | 37.80% |
12 non first-time / part-time students or 18% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
8 transferred to another institution.
Georgia Tech lost contact with the remaining 4 who we assumed dropped out.
| Returning / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 8 | 66.67% |
| Dropped Out | 4 | 33.33% |
