Historically Black Colleges Where Freshmen Come Back
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While freshman year can be a great experience for many college students -- as they make new friends, join new clubs and get new academic challenges -- some first-year students don't come back for a second.
Lack of money or a poor fit with the campus culture push some students to transfer or take a break from college altogether. At public institutions, only 72.3 percent of students on average return for sophomore year; an average 74.4 percent of students come back at private institutions, according to a report from ACT, which creates the college entrance exam of the same name. The percentages have remained in the low- to mid 70s for several school years.
At some historically black schools, freshman retention is noticeably higher. Between fall 2009 and fall 2012, the average retention rate for first-year students at Spelman College in Atlanta was 89 percent. It had the highest average freshman retention rate during that time period among historically black colleges and universities, according to data submitted to U.S. News by 43 ranked schools.
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Spelman also had the highest rate between fall 2008 and fall 2011. It is once again followed by Morehouse College in Atlanta (82 percent), Howard University in D.C. (82 percent) and Florida A&M University (81 percent).
Several schools were new to this year's list, including Hampton University in Virginia with an average retention rate of 77 percent and Bowie State University in Maryland with a 72 percent average. Among the 12 schools with the highest retention rate for first-year students, the average was 77 percent.
[Find a college that offers support for minorities in STEM.]
The historically black school with the lowest average retention rate between fall 2009 and fall 2012 is Allen University. The rate at the South Carolina school was 46 percent.
Below is a list of the 12 historically black colleges and universities that had the highest average freshman retention rates for first-year students starting in fall 2009 through 2012. Schools that were designated by U.S. News as Unranked were not considered for this report. These schools did not meet certain criteria that U.S. News requires to be numerically ranked. Schools that did not report four years of retention rate data to U.S. News were not considered for this report.
School name (state) | Average freshman retention rate (2009-2012) | U.S. News Historically Black Colleges and Universities rank |
|---|---|---|
89 | 1 | |
82 | 2 | |
82 | 3 | |
81 | 8 | |
77 | 4 | |
76 | 5 | |
75 | 20 | |
74 | 12 | |
73 | 9 | |
72 | 25 (tie) | |
72 | 28 (tie) | |
72 | 15 (tie) |
* RNP denotes an institution that is ranked in the bottom one-fourth of its ranking category. U.S. News calculates a rank for the school but has decided not to publish it.
Don't see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News College Compass to find retention rate data, complete rankings and much more. School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights.
U.S. News surveyed nearly 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2014 survey of undergraduate programs. Schools self-reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News' data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Colleges rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News' rankings of Best Colleges or Best Graduate Schools. The retention rate data above are correct as of Jan. 6, 2015.
Delece Smith-Barrow is an education reporter at U.S. News, covering graduate schools. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at dsmithbarrow@usnews.com.
