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Highest first-year retention in North Carolina
111 colleges in North Carolina with this figure reported (500+ students).
1University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · NC · Public97%2Duke University · NC · Private (nonprofit)96%3Davidson College · NC · Private (nonprofit)95%4Wake Forest University · NC · Private (nonprofit)95%5North Carolina State University at Raleigh · NC · Public93%6Elon University · NC · Private (nonprofit)90%7University of North Carolina School of the Arts · NC · Public88%8Appalachian State University · NC · Public85%9University of North Carolina at Charlotte · NC · Public85%10University of North Carolina Wilmington · NC · Public85%11Edgecombe Community College · NC · Public84%12High Point University · NC · Private (nonprofit)84%13East Carolina University · NC · Public82%14Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary · NC · Private (nonprofit)82%15Beaufort County Community College · NC · Public81%16Meredith College · NC · Private (nonprofit)81%17North Carolina A & T State University · NC · Public80%18Fayetteville State University · NC · Public78%19Livingstone College · NC · Private (nonprofit)78%20Randolph Community College · NC · Public78%21Carteret Community College · NC · Public77%22Richmond Community College · NC · Public77%23University of Mount Olive · NC · Private (nonprofit)77%24Queens University of Charlotte · NC · Private (nonprofit)76%25University of North Carolina at Greensboro · NC · Public76%26Western Carolina University · NC · Public76%27Western Piedmont Community College · NC · Public76%28Campbell University · NC · Private (nonprofit)75%29North Carolina Central University · NC · Public75%30Surry Community College · NC · Public75%31Wilkes Community College · NC · Public75%32Winston-Salem State University · NC · Public75%33College of the Albemarle · NC · Public74%34Elizabeth City State University · NC · Public74%35Forsyth Technical Community College · NC · Public74%36Halifax Community College · NC · Public74%37Blue Ridge Community College · NC · Public73%38Catawba College · NC · Private (nonprofit)73%39University of North Carolina Asheville · NC · Public73%40Stanly Community College · NC · Public72%
Source: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS (latest survey year). Sorted only by highest first-year retention — this is not an overall quality ranking. Open-admission colleges do not report an admit rate and are not listed here.