by our College Data Analytics TeamAre students coming back to Lake Forest after their first year? Are Lake Forest students graduating in a timely manner? What happens to the students who don't graduate? Get all your questions answered here.
Freshmen retention rate refers to the percentage of first-time / full-time students who return for their second year.
With 84% students making it past their freshmen year, Lake Forest 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 Illinois, the average is 72.64%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| Lake Forest | 84% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Illinois | 72.64% |
There were approximately 367 students in the class of 2015. How many of them actually completed their degree in a timely fashion?
66% of the cohort completed their degree in four years, 74% in six years, and 74% in eight years.
Any student who completes their bachelor's degree within six years is considered to have graduated on time, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. This makes the offical Lake Forest graduation rate 74%.
The typical Lake Forest student takes 4.08 years to complete their bachelor's degree.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 336 | 67% |
| Six Years | 367 | 74% |
| Eight Years | 3 | 0% |
| Did Not Complete | 128 | 26% |
Approximately 128 students or 26% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 128 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
113 transferred to another institution.
Lake Forest lost contact with the remaining 15 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 113 | 88.3% |
| Dropped Out | 15 | 11.7% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| American Indian or Alaskan Native | 100% |
| Asian | 82% |
| Black / African-American | 78% |
| Hispanic | 65% |
| International | 71% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 73% |
| Unknown | 60% |
| White | 78% |
Some schools have mainly first-time, full-time students, while others cater to part-time students, transfer students, or adult learners. For a variety of reasons first-time, full-time students under the age of 25 are usually more likely to graduate in four years.
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 Lake Forest are considered 'traditional students' who are first-time attending full-time.
Comparing the graduation rates of specific cohorts shown below will be more revealing than the overall statistics shared above.
First-time / full-time students at Lake Forest College represent 82% of the students in the class of 2015, and 80.93% of Lake Forest bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 66%, first-time students in the Lake Forest class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were more likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the Lake Forest graduation rate was 73%, and by the eight year mark, 73% 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 | Lake Forest | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 66% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 73% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 73% | 47.82% |
109 first-time / full-time students or 27% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
99 transferred to another institution.
Lake Forest lost contact with the remaining 10 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 99 | 90.83% |
| Dropped Out | 10 | 9.17% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on Lake Forest first-time, part-time students.
90 Lake Forest students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 18.07% 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 78%, 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 79%.
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 | Lake Forest | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 78% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 79% | 55.07% |
19 non first-time / part-time students or 21% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
14 transferred to another institution.
Lake Forest lost contact with the remaining 5 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 14 | 73.68% |
| Dropped Out | 5 | 26.32% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on Lake Forest returning, part-time students.
