by our College Data Analytics TeamAre students coming back to Williams after their first year? Are Williams 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 90% students making it past their freshmen year, Williams 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 | |
|---|---|
| Williams | 90% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Massachusetts | 73.02% |
Of the 517 students in the class of 2015, how many completed their degree on time?
86% of the cohort completed their degree in four years, 94% in six years, and 94% in eight years.
The official graduation rate of Williams is 94%. 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 Williams student takes 4.08 years to complete their bachelor's degree.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 474 | 86% |
| Six Years | 517 | 94% |
| Eight Years | 2 | 0% |
| Did Not Complete | 32 | 6% |
Approximately 32 students or 6% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 32 students who did not complete their degree?
1 are still enrolled.
23 transferred to another institution.
Williams lost contact with the remaining 9 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 3.1% |
| Transferred | 23 | 71.9% |
| Dropped Out | 9 | 28.1% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| Asian | 97% |
| Black / African-American | 94% |
| Hispanic | 96% |
| International | 98% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 98% |
| White | 95% |
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 Williams 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 Williams College represent 99% of the students in the class of 2015, and 99.03% of Williams bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 86%, first-time students in the Williams class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were more likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the Williams graduation rate was 94%, and by the eight year mark, 94% 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 | Williams | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 86% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 94% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 94% | 47.82% |
31 first-time / full-time students or 6% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
1 are still enrolled.
22 transferred to another institution.
Williams lost contact with the remaining 9 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 3.23% |
| Transferred | 22 | 70.97% |
| Dropped Out | 9 | 29.03% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on Williams first-time, part-time students.
6 Williams students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 1.09% 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 83%, 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 83%.
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 | Williams | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 83% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 83% | 55.07% |
1 non first-time / part-time students or 17% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
1 transferred to another institution.
Williams 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 | 1 | 100.00% |
| Dropped Out | 0 | 0.00% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on Williams returning, part-time students.
