Academics & admissions
Best first-year retention
The share of full-time first-years who come back for a second year — the earliest signal that students are happy and supported.
99%
#1 · Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Division III · New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference · Cambridge, MA
79%
Median
of 420 schools, Division III
1.3×
Top vs median
how far the leader sits above the middle
97%
10th place
the cut for a top-ten list
Top 15
Every school, Division III
#1 · Massachusetts Institute of Technologyevery school
The spread across 420 schools; the median is 79%.
How it is measured
Full-time retention rate, fall to fall.
Related
The full list · top 100
| # | School | Return for year two | Graduate | Student–faculty | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology Division III · New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference · Cambridge, MA | 99% | 96% | 3:1 | |
| 2 | University of Chicago Division III · University Athletic Association · Chicago, IL | 99% | 95% | 5:1 | |
| 3 | U.S. Coast Guard Academy Division III · New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference · New London, CT | 99% | 88% | 7:1 | |
| 4 | Bowdoin College Division III · New England Small College Athletic Conference · Brunswick, ME | 98% | 96% | 9:1 | |
| 5 | California Institute of Technology Division III · Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conf. · Pasadena, CA | 98% | 93% | 3:1 | |
| 6 | Johns Hopkins University Division III · Centennial Conference · Baltimore, MD | 98% | 95% | 6:1 | |
| 7 | Amherst College Division III · New England Small College Athletic Conference · Amherst, MA | 97% | 93% | 7:1 | |
| 8 | Carnegie Mellon University Division III · University Athletic Association · Pittsburgh, PA | 97% | 93% | 5:1 | |
| 9 | Swarthmore College Division III · Centennial Conference · Swarthmore, PA | 97% | 94% | 8:1 | |
| 10 | Williams College Division III · New England Small College Athletic Conference · Williamstown, MA | 97% | 97% | 6:1 | |
| 11 | Carleton College Division III · Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference · Northfield, MN | 96% | 91% | 8:1 | |
| 12 | Claremont McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps Colleges Division III · Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conf. · Claremont, CA | 96% | 95% | 8:1 | |
| 13 | Emory University Division III · University Athletic Association · Atlanta, GA | 96% | 92% | 9:1 | |
| 14 | Hamilton College Division III · New England Small College Athletic Conference · Clinton, NY | 96% | 91% | 9:1 | |
| 15 | New York University Division III · University Athletic Association · New York, NY | 96% | 89% | 8:1 | |
| 16 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges Division III · Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conf. · Claremont, CA | 96% | 93% | 7:1 | |
| 17 | Tufts University Division III · New England Small College Athletic Conference · Medford, MA | 96% | 93% | 10:1 | |
| 18 | Washington University in St. Louis Division III · University Athletic Association · St. Louis, MO | 96% | 94% | 7:1 | |
| 19 | Wellesley College Division III · New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference · Wellesley, MA | 96% | 91% | 7:1 | |
| 20 | Colorado College Division III · Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference · Colorado Springs, CO | 95% | 86% | 9:1 | |
| 21 | Macalester College Division III · Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference · St. Paul, MN | 95% | 90% | 10:1 | |
| 22 | Washington and Lee University Division III · Old Dominion Athletic Conf. · Lexington, VA | 95% | 95% | 8:1 | |
| 23 | Wesleyan University (Connecticut) Division III · New England Small College Athletic Conference · Middletown, CT | 95% | 92% | 7:1 | |
| 24 | Babson College Division III · New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference · Babson Park, MA | 94% | 92% | 16:1 | |
| 25 | Bates College Division III · New England Small College Athletic Conference · Lewiston, ME | 94% | 91% | 10:1 | |
| 26 | Haverford College Division III · Centennial Conference · Haverford, PA | 94% | 89% | 8:1 | |
| 27 | Stevens Institute of Technology Division III · Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom · Hoboken, NJ | 94% | 90% | 10:1 | |
| 28 | Vassar College Division III · Liberty League · Poughkeepsie, NY | 94% | 89% | 8:1 | |
| 29 | Wheaton College (Illinois) Division III · College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin · Wheaton, IL | 94% | 87% | 10:1 | |
| 30 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute Division III · New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference · Worcester, MA | 94% | 88% | 13:1 | |
| 31 | Grinnell College Division III · Midwest Conference · Grinnell, IA | 93% | 87% | 9:1 | |
| 32 | Smith College Division III · New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference · Northampton, MA | 93% | 90% | 8:1 | |
| 33 | University of Rochester Division III · University Athletic Association · Rochester, NY | 93% | 84% | 9:1 | |
| 34 | Yeshiva University Division III · Skyline Conference · New York, NY | 93% | 85% | 7:1 | |
| 35 | Case Western Reserve University Division III · University Athletic Association · Cleveland, OH | 92% | 87% | 9:1 | |
| 36 | Trinity University (Texas) Division III · Southern Athletic Association · San Antonio, TX | 92% | 82% | 9:1 | |
| 37 | Colby College Division III · New England Small College Athletic Conference · Waterville, ME | 91% | 90% | 9:1 | |
| 38 | Kenyon College Division III · North Coast Athletic Conference · Gambier, OH | 91% | 87% | 9:1 | |
| 39 | Rhodes College Division III · Southern Athletic Association · Memphis, TN | 91% | 82% | 11:1 | |
| 40 | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Division III · Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference · Terre Haute, IN | 91% | 82% | 11:1 | |
| 41 | St. Olaf College Division III · Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference · Northfield, MN | 91% | 84% | 12:1 | |
| 42 | Trinity College (Connecticut) Division III · New England Small College Athletic Conference · Hartford, CT | 91% | 83% | 9:1 | |
| 43 | Brandeis University Division III · University Athletic Association · Waltham, MA | 90% | 86% | 11:1 | |
| 44 | Bryn Mawr College Division III · Centennial Conference · Bryn Mawr, PA | 90% | 86% | 8:1 | |
| 45 | Chapman University Division III · Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conf. · Orange, CA | 90% | 80% | 12:1 | |
| 46 | Gettysburg College Division III · Centennial Conference · Gettysburg, PA | 90% | 83% | 10:1 | |
| 47 | Hope College Division III · Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association · Holland, MI | 90% | 82% | 11:1 | |
| 48 | Mount Holyoke College Division III · New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference · South Hadley, MA | 90% | 85% | 9:1 | |
| 49 | The College of New Jersey Division III · New Jersey Athletic Conference · Ewing, NJ | 90% | 85% | 13:1 | |
| 50 | University of California, Santa Cruz Division III · Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference · Santa Cruz, CA | 90% | 74% | 22:1 | |
| 51 | U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Division III · Skyline Conference · Kings Point, NY | 90% | 81% | 13:1 | |
| 52 | Denison University Division III · North Coast Athletic Conference · Granville, OH | 89% | 80% | 9:1 | |
| 53 | DePauw University Division III · North Coast Athletic Conference · Greencastle, IN | 89% | 80% | 10:1 | |
| 54 | Dickinson College Division III · Centennial Conference · Carlisle, PA | 89% | 83% | 9:1 | |
| 55 | Hobart and William Smith Colleges Division III · Liberty League · Geneva, NY | 89% | 73% | 10:1 | |
| 56 | Muhlenberg College Division III · Centennial Conference · Allentown, PA | 89% | 80% | 8:1 | |
| 57 | Oberlin College Division III · North Coast Athletic Conference · Oberlin, OH | 89% | 79% | 9:1 | |
| 58 | Pratt Institute Division III · Atlantic East Conference · Brooklyn, NY | 89% | 73% | 9:1 | |
| 59 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Division III · Liberty League · Troy, NY | 89% | 83% | 14:1 | |
| 60 | Skidmore College Division III · Liberty League · Saratoga Springs, NY | 89% | 82% | 8:1 | |
| 61 | Union College (New York) Division III · Liberty League · Schenectady, NY | 89% | 85% | 10:1 | |
| 62 | Whitman College Division III · Northwest Conference · Walla Walla, WA | 89% | 81% | 10:1 | |
| 63 | Baruch College Division III · City University of New York Athletic Conference · New York, NY | 88% | 72% | 19:1 | |
| 64 | Berea College Division III · Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference · Berea, KY | 88% | 62% | 9:1 | |
| 65 | Calvin University Division III · Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association · Grand Rapids, MI | 88% | 77% | 14:1 | |
| 66 | Centre College Division III · Southern Athletic Association · Danville, KY | 88% | 85% | 10:1 | |
| 67 | Clark University (Massachusetts) Division III · New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference · Worcester, MA | 88% | 77% | 9:1 | |
| 68 | College of Saint Benedict Division III · Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference · St. Joseph, MN | 88% | 83% | 11:1 | |
| 69 | Emerson College Division III · New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference · Boston, MA | 88% | 79% | 14:1 | |
| 70 | Endicott College Division III · Conference of New England · Beverly, MA | 88% | 75% | 13:1 | |
| 71 | Franciscan University of Steubenville Division III · Presidents' Athletic Conference · Steubenville, OH | 88% | 75% | 19:1 | |
| 72 | Grove City College Division III · Presidents' Athletic Conference · Grove City, PA | 88% | 80% | 13:1 | |
| 73 | Ohio Northern University Division III · Ohio Athletic Conference · Ada, OH | 88% | 70% | 13:1 | |
| 74 | Rochester Institute of Technology Division III · Liberty League · Rochester, NY | 88% | 73% | 13:1 | |
| 75 | Saint John's University (Minnesota) Division III · Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference · Collegeville, MN | 88% | 83% | 11:1 | |
| 76 | University of the South Division III · Southern Athletic Association · Sewanee, TN | 88% | 82% | 9:1 | |
| 77 | Bethel University (Minnesota) Division III · Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference · St. Paul, MN | 87% | 75% | 12:1 | |
| 78 | Connecticut College Division III · New England Small College Athletic Conference · New London, CT | 87% | 84% | 9:1 | |
| 79 | Covenant College Division III · Collegiate Conference of the South · Lookout Mountain, GA | 87% | 71% | 12:1 | |
| 80 | Illinois Institute of Technology Division III · Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference · Chicago, IL | 87% | 72% | 17:1 | |
| 81 | Lawrence University Division III · Midwest Conference · Appleton, WI | 87% | 76% | 7:1 | |
| 82 | Occidental College Division III · Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conf. · Los Angeles, CA | 87% | 85% | 9:1 | |
| 83 | Ramapo College Division III · New Jersey Athletic Conference · Mahwah, NJ | 87% | 72% | 16:1 | |
| 84 | State University of New York at New Paltz Division III · New Jersey Athletic Conference · New Paltz, NY | 87% | 69% | 16:1 | |
| 85 | University of Scranton Division III · Landmark Conference · Scranton, PA | 87% | 81% | 13:1 | |
| 86 | Washington College (Maryland) Division III · Centennial Conference · Chestertown, MD | 87% | 74% | 9:1 | |
| 87 | Beloit College Division III · Midwest Conference · Beloit, WI | 86% | 67% | 11:1 | |
| 88 | Lake Forest College Division III · Midwest Conference · Lake Forest, IL | 86% | 70% | 12:1 | |
| 89 | St. Lawrence University Division III · Liberty League · Canton, NY | 86% | 80% | 11:1 | |
| 90 | University of Saint Joseph (Connecticut) Division III · Great Northeast Athletic Conference · West Hartford, CT | 86% | 70% | 9:1 | |
| 91 | University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Division III · Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference · La Crosse, WI | 86% | 71% | 19:1 | |
| 92 | Wabash College Division III · North Coast Athletic Conference · Crawfordsville, IN | 86% | 77% | 9:1 | |
| 93 | Wentworth Institute of Technology Division III · Conference of New England · Boston, MA | 86% | 69% | 16:1 | |
| 94 | Wheaton College (Massachusetts) Division III · New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference · Norton, MA | 86% | 76% | 12:1 | |
| 95 | Baldwin Wallace University Division III · Ohio Athletic Conference · Berea, OH | 85% | 69% | 9:1 | |
| 96 | Bard College Division III · Liberty League · Annandale-On-Hudson, NY | 85% | 73% | 9:1 | |
| 97 | Clarkson University Division III · Liberty League · Potsdam, NY | 85% | 74% | 12:1 | |
| 98 | Franklin & Marshall College Division III · Centennial Conference · Lancaster, PA | 85% | 86% | 9:1 | |
| 99 | Hampden-Sydney College Division III · Old Dominion Athletic Conf. · Hampden-Sydney, VA | 85% | 65% | 9:1 | |
| 100 | Illinois Wesleyan University Division III · College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin · Bloomington, IL | 85% | 83% | 11:1 |
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