The Significance of Freshman Retention Rates
Freshman retention rates are becoming a popular item to research when applying for college. If the school can’t keep their students, then it’s normal to ponder the question, why? There’s more than the institution itself that contributes to this statistic – one being the level of college preparedness of the students.
A November 2015 blog entry in “Peterson’s Blog: The Real Guide to Colleges and Universities”, titled: “Top 11 Reasons Why College Students Dropout; Don’t Let it Happen to You” lists the following:
- School costs too much
- Needed to get a full time job
- Family Issues
- Too much stress
- Not sure of major
- No need to complete a full degree
- Unprepared for the work load
- Personal emergency
- The college atmosphere wasn’t the right fit
- Too much fun outside of class
- Lack of advising
Some of these reasons simply can’t be helped and for many of these items, the college itself can address as freshman retention rates are indicative of how well an institution of higher learning serves its students. The high school, however, holds some accountability. Academic preparation, physical well-being, and learning time management skills in high school are crucial for controlling stress and managing the future college workload. Proper high school college counseling is also key to finding the college that provides the right fit for the student.
The data below involves 2011 high school graduates who enrolled in a UNC institution. The data is provided by the University of North Carolina as a “High School Feedback Report” and is shared with North Carolina public and independent high schools. It shows freshmen who entered college in the fall of 2011 and the percentage of those who returned for their 3rd year with a GPA greater than or equal to a 2.0.
The following universities are UNC Institutions: Appalachian State University, East Carolina University, Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, NC A&T, NC Central University, NC State University, UNC Asheville, UNC Chapel Hill, UNC Greensboro, UNC Pembroke, UNC Wilmington, Western Carolina University, and Winston Salem State University.
Not every high school graduate enrolls into one of these schools, in fact, only half of O’Neal’s Class of 2011 attended a UNC institution with the others enrolling in out of state and private universities and colleges. Though this doesn’t distinguish between drop outs and transfers, the data provided gives a glimpse of how college-bound students are succeeding after high school.
Public school data comes from the latest report provided on freshman retention and is located at http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/
O'Neal's data comes from the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools (NCAIS)
To learn more about O'Neal's College Counseling Program, click HERE.
To learn more about enrollment process, click HERE.
| High School | Class of 2011 | # Enrolled in UNC Institution | % Retention |
| North Carolina | 91,726 | 29949 | 71.8% |
| O'Neal | 40 | 20 | 90% |
| Hoke County High | 381 | 68 | 58.8% |
| SandHoke Early College | 43 | 14 | 71.4% |
| Lee County High | 331 | 66 | 69.7% |
| Lee Early College | 44 | 7 | 85.7% |
| Southern Lee High | 258 | 39 | 74.4% |
| East Montgomery High | 121 | 13 | 61.5% |
| West Montgomery High | 125 | 17 | 70.6% |
| North Moore High | 125 | 18 | 83.3% |
| Pinecrest High | 432 | 123 | 75.6% |
| Union Pines High | 266 | 36 | 69.4% |
| Richmond Senior High | 413 | 63 | 65.1% |
| Scotland High Health Sciences | 89 | 19 | 52.6% |
| SHS-Visual & Performing Arts | 73 | 11 | 27.3% |
| Scotland School of Leadership | 90 | 13 | 46.2% |
| SHS-Math Science & Technology | 69 | 17 | 58.8% |
Public school data comes from the latest report provided on freshman retention and is located at http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/
O'Neal's data comes from the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools (NCAIS)
To learn more about O'Neal's College Counseling Program, click HERE.
To learn more about enrollment process, click HERE.
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