Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates
Share of first-time, full-time students who finish a bachelor's degree within four years.
Ranked by four-year completion rate · 1,652 of 2,406 institutions report this measure · Compiled 2026-09-01
Chase these schools
Top schools on this list that also show up elsewhere — hop lists without leaving the trail.
#2
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
#3
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
#4
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN
- 1Cox CollegeSpringfield, MO · Private100.0%Compare nearby
- 2Harvard UniversityCambridge, MA · Private97.3%Compare nearby
Also on 13 other lists
- Most Selective Colleges in America#2
- the Highest ACT Scores#3
- Psychology#3
- the Highest SAT Averages#3
- Biological Sciences#4
- Computer Science#4
- Mathematics & Statistics#6
- English Language & Literature#8
- History#8
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#10
- Are Least Likely to Leave#18
- Social Sciences#21
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#24
- 3Princeton UniversityPrinceton, NJ · Private97.1%Compare nearby
Also on 11 other lists
- Engineering#1
- English Language & Literature#1
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#3
- Most Selective Colleges in America#6
- Public Administration#10
- Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios#11
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#14
- the Highest SAT Averages#14
- Psychology#15
- the Highest ACT Scores#20
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#24
- 4University of Notre DameNotre Dame, IN · Private96.8%Compare nearby
- 5University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PA · Private96.8%Compare nearby
Also on 15 other lists
- Philosophy & Religious Studies#2
- Most Expensive Colleges by Sticker Price#4
- Communications#4
- Mathematics & Statistics#4
- Multidisciplinary Studies#5
- Business#9
- History#10
- the Highest SAT Averages#11
- Most Selective Colleges in America#11
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#12
- Engineering#12
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#17
- Computer Science#18
- Are Least Likely to Leave#20
- Social Sciences#22
- 6Williams CollegeWilliamstown, MA · Private96.5%Compare nearby
- 7Yale UniversityNew Haven, CT · Private96.3%Compare nearby
Also on 13 other lists
- History#1
- English Language & Literature#5
- Most Selective Colleges in America#5
- Most Expensive Colleges by Sticker Price#7
- Computer Science#9
- Social Sciences#9
- Multidisciplinary Studies#10
- the Highest ACT Scores#11
- Are Least Likely to Leave#15
- the Highest SAT Averages#15
- Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios#16
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#17
- Psychology#24
- 8Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridge, MA · Private96.1%Compare nearby
Also on 15 other lists
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#1
- Biological Sciences#1
- Business#1
- Liberal Arts#1
- Multidisciplinary Studies#2
- Physical Sciences#2
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#3
- the Highest SAT Averages#4
- Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios#5
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#6
- Most Selective Colleges in America#7
- Computer Science#10
- Engineering#11
- Mathematics & Statistics#12
- Are Least Likely to Leave#14
- 9Dartmouth CollegeHanover, NH · Private96.0%Compare nearby
Also on 11 other lists
- 10Brown UniversityProvidence, RI · Private96.0%Compare nearby
- 11Northwestern UniversityEvanston, IL · Private95.9%Compare nearby
- 12Duke UniversityDurham, NC · Private95.8%Compare nearby
- 13Rice UniversityHouston, TX · Private95.7%Compare nearby
- 14Bowdoin CollegeBrunswick, ME · Private95.6%Compare nearby
- 15University of Virginia-Main CampusCharlottesville, VA · Public95.3%Compare nearby
- 16Claremont McKenna CollegeClaremont, CA · Private95.2%Compare nearby
- 17Cornell UniversityIthaca, NY · Private95.1%Compare nearby
Also on 15 other lists
- Public Administration#1
- Mathematics & Statistics#11
- Psychology#11
- Communications#13
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#19
- Philosophy & Religious Studies#19
- Computer Science#20
- the Highest ACT Scores#21
- Architecture#21
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#22
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#23
- Are Least Likely to Leave#23
- the Highest SAT Averages#23
- Most Selective Colleges in America#23
- Area & Ethnic Studies#25
- 18Columbia University in the City of New YorkNew York, NY · Private95.0%Compare nearby
Also on 14 other lists
- Most Expensive Colleges by Sticker Price#3
- the Highest ACT Scores#4
- Most Selective Colleges in America#4
- Foreign Languages#5
- the Highest SAT Averages#8
- Philosophy & Religious Studies#9
- History#16
- Mathematics & Statistics#16
- Area & Ethnic Studies#19
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#21
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#25
- Computer Science#25
- Social Sciences#25
- Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios#25
- 19University of ChicagoChicago, IL · Private94.9%Compare nearby
- 20Washington and Lee UniversityLexington, VA · Private94.9%Compare nearby
- 21Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimore, MD · Private94.6%Compare nearby
- 22Washington University in St LouisSaint Louis, MO · Private94.5%Compare nearby
- 23Georgetown UniversityWashington, DC · Private94.3%Compare nearby
- 24Swarthmore CollegeSwarthmore, PA · Private94.1%Compare nearby
- 25Harvey Mudd CollegeClaremont, CA · Private93.8%Compare nearby
How this list was built
- Measure
- Four-year completion rate — sorted highest to lowest
- Source variable
C150_4- Dataset
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most-Recent-Cohorts-Institution (05-19-2025 release)
- Four-year, main-campus institutions awarding bachelor's degrees or higher (2,406 schools).
- Institutions enrolling fewer than 500 undergraduates are excluded so that small-cohort medians do not distort the ranking.
- 1,652 of 2,406 institutions report this measure; the rest are omitted rather than estimated.
A single measure is a narrow way to judge a college. Read this alongside the others, and see the methodology for what these figures do and do not capture.
Keep exploring
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- Sports at Cox CollegeEADA programs for the #1 school on this list
Keep going
Colleges Students Are Least Likely to Leave
Share of full-time freshmen who return for a second year — the earliest signal of whether students are thriving.
The Most Selective Colleges in America
Lowest share of applicants admitted. Selectivity measures demand and class size, not teaching quality.
Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios
Undergraduate students per instructional faculty member. A staffing ratio, not an average class size.