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Highest first-year retention
2,737 colleges in the U.S. with this figure reported (500+ students).
521University at Albany · NY · Public83%522University of California-Merced · CA · Public83%523University of Mary · ND · Private (nonprofit)83%524University of North Dakota · ND · Public83%525University of Portland · OR · Private (nonprofit)83%526West Coast University-Ontario · CA · Private (for-profit)83%527Western Technical College · TX · Private (for-profit)83%528Westminster College · PA · Private (nonprofit)83%529West Valley College · CA · Public83%530Xavier University · OH · Private (nonprofit)83%531Anderson University · SC · Private (nonprofit)82%532Art Center College of Design · CA · Private (nonprofit)82%533Carthage College · WI · Private (nonprofit)82%534Central Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitz · NY · Private (nonprofit)82%535College of Charleston · SC · Public82%536Corban University · OR · Private (nonprofit)82%537De Anza College · CA · Public82%538East Carolina University · NC · Public82%539Fort Myers Technical College · FL · Public82%540La Sierra University · CA · Private (nonprofit)82%541Lewis & Clark College · OR · Private (nonprofit)82%542Lycoming College · PA · Private (nonprofit)82%543Maine Maritime Academy · ME · Public82%544Milan Institute-Bakersfield · CA · Private (for-profit)82%545Minneapolis College of Art and Design · MN · Private (nonprofit)82%546North Central College · IL · Private (nonprofit)82%547North-West College-Riverside · CA · Private (for-profit)82%548Oconee Fall Line Technical College · GA · Public82%549Ohio University-Main Campus · OH · Public82%550Otterbein University · OH · Private (nonprofit)82%551Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College · PA · Public82%552Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg · PA · Public82%553Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Lehigh Valley · PA · Public82%554Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Schuylkill · PA · Public82%555Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo · PR · Private (nonprofit)82%556Rabbinical Seminary of America · NY · Private (nonprofit)82%557Rider University · NJ · Private (nonprofit)82%558Rowan University · NJ · Public82%559Rutgers University-Camden · NJ · Public82%560Saint Norbert College · WI · Private (nonprofit)82%
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.