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.
Ranked by first-year retention rate · 1,524 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.
#13
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
#14
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
#15
Yale University
New Haven, CT
- 1Santa Ana CollegeSanta Ana, CA · Public100.0%Compare nearby
- 2Red Rocks Community CollegeLakewood, CO · Public100.0%Compare nearby
- 3Charter Oak State CollegeNew Britain, CT · Public100.0%Compare nearby
- 4Rasmussen University-MinnesotaSt. Cloud, MN · For-profit100.0%Compare nearby
- 5Helene Fuld College of NursingNew York, NY · Private100.0%Compare nearby
- 6Turtle Mountain Community CollegeBelcourt, ND · Private100.0%Compare nearby
- 7Sinclair Community CollegeDayton, OH · Public100.0%Compare nearby
- 8Lackawanna CollegeScranton, PA · Private100.0%Compare nearby
- 9Sinte Gleska UniversityMission, SD · Public100.0%Compare nearby
- 10Brazosport CollegeLake Jackson, TX · Public100.0%Compare nearby
- 11Southeastern College-West Palm BeachWest Palm Beach, FL · For-profit100.0%Compare nearby
- 12West Coast University-Los AngelesNorth Hollywood, CA · For-profit100.0%Compare nearby
- 13University of ChicagoChicago, IL · Private99.4%Compare nearby
Also on 10 other lists
- 14Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridge, MA · Private99.0%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
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#8
- Computer Science#10
- Engineering#11
- Mathematics & Statistics#12
- 15Yale UniversityNew Haven, CT · Private99.0%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
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#7
- Computer Science#9
- Social Sciences#9
- Multidisciplinary Studies#10
- the Highest ACT Scores#11
- the Highest SAT Averages#15
- Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios#16
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#17
- Psychology#24
- 16Brown UniversityProvidence, RI · Private98.7%Compare nearby
- 17United States Coast Guard AcademyNew London, CT · Public98.6%Compare nearby
- 18Harvard UniversityCambridge, MA · Private98.6%Compare nearby
Also on 13 other lists
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#2
- 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
- Social Sciences#21
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#24
- 19University of Notre DameNotre Dame, IN · Private98.2%Compare nearby
- 20University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PA · Private98.1%Compare nearby
Also on 15 other lists
- Philosophy & Religious Studies#2
- Most Expensive Colleges by Sticker Price#4
- Communications#4
- Mathematics & Statistics#4
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#5
- 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
- Social Sciences#22
- 21University of Puerto Rico-AguadillaAguadilla, PR · Public97.9%Compare nearby
- 22Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimore, MD · Private97.9%Compare nearby
- 23Cornell UniversityIthaca, NY · Private97.8%Compare nearby
Also on 15 other lists
- Public Administration#1
- Mathematics & Statistics#11
- Psychology#11
- Communications#13
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#17
- 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
- the Highest SAT Averages#23
- Most Selective Colleges in America#23
- Area & Ethnic Studies#25
- 24Stanford UniversityStanford, CA · Private97.8%Compare nearby
Also on 15 other lists
- Computer Science#2
- Biological Sciences#3
- Engineering Technology#3
- Most Selective Colleges in America#3
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#4
- Psychology#6
- the Highest SAT Averages#6
- the Highest ACT Scores#7
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#7
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#7
- Area & Ethnic Studies#8
- Social Sciences#8
- Engineering#10
- English Language & Literature#18
- Multidisciplinary Studies#22
- 25Dartmouth CollegeHanover, NH · Private97.8%Compare nearby
Also on 11 other lists
- Philosophy & Religious Studies#1
- Physical Sciences#1
- Mathematics & Statistics#3
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#9
- History#11
- Most Selective Colleges in America#12
- Computer Science#14
- English Language & Literature#14
- the Highest SAT Averages#16
- Most Expensive Colleges by Sticker Price#17
- the Highest ACT Scores#19
How this list was built
- Measure
- First-year retention rate — sorted highest to lowest
- Source variable
RET_FT4- 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.
- 1,524 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
- Re-rank with your weightsTune affordability, earnings, and fit yourself
- Showdown: Santa Ana College vs Red Rocks Community CollegeHigher-or-lower on Scorecard metrics — round 1 is these two
- Live leaderboardReshuffle Top 10–50 on one Scorecard measure
- Explore games & mapsShowdown, Name That College, sports, and more lists
- Sports at Santa Ana CollegeEADA programs for the #1 school on this list
Keep going
Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates
Share of first-time, full-time students who finish a bachelor's degree within four years.
Colleges Serving the Most Pell Grant Students
Share of undergraduates receiving a federal Pell Grant, the standard proxy for how many low-income students a college enrolls.
Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios
Undergraduate students per instructional faculty member. A staffing ratio, not an average class size.