by our College Data Analytics TeamMake an informed decision about your education by understanding Grinnell 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 81% students making it past their freshmen year, Grinnell 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 Iowa, the average is 68.94%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| Grinnell | 81% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Iowa | 68.94% |
Of the 398 students in the class of 2015, how many completed their degree on time?
Four years after beginning their degree, 84% of those students had graduated. By 2017, six years after starting their degree, 87% of the students had graduated and after eight years 87% of this class completed their degree.
The official graduation rate of Grinnell is 87%. 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 Grinnell undergraduate student to complete their bachelor's degree is 4.05 years.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 382 | 83% |
| Six Years | 398 | 87% |
| Eight Years | 1 | 0% |
| Did Not Complete | 60 | 13% |
Approximately 60 students or 13% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 60 students who did not complete their degree?
1 are still enrolled.
50 transferred to another institution.
Grinnell lost contact with the remaining 9 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 1.7% |
| Transferred | 50 | 83.3% |
| Dropped Out | 9 | 15.0% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| Asian | 94% |
| Black / African-American | 87% |
| Hispanic | 87% |
| International | 87% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 95% |
| Unknown | 100% |
| White | 85% |
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 Grinnell 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 Grinnell College represent 98% of the students in the class of 2015, and 98.24% of Grinnell bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 84%, first-time students in the Grinnell class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were more likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the Grinnell graduation rate was 87%, 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 | Grinnell | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 84% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 87% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 88% | 47.82% |
56 first-time / full-time students or 12% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
1 are still enrolled.
46 transferred to another institution.
Grinnell lost contact with the remaining 9 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 1.79% |
| Transferred | 46 | 82.14% |
| Dropped Out | 9 | 16.07% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on Grinnell first-time, part-time students.
11 Grinnell students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 2.40% 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 64%, 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 64%.
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 | Grinnell | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 64% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 64% | 55.07% |
4 non first-time / part-time students or 36% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
4 transferred to another institution.
Grinnell 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 | 4 | 100.00% |
| Dropped Out | 0 | 0.00% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on Grinnell returning, part-time students.
