Ugrd:RtnRt

<p><strong>USN&WR</strong> <strong>First-year student retention rate average:</strong> The percentage of first-year students who returned to the same college or university the following fall. The average first-year student retention rate indicates the average proportion of the first-year classes entering in the three most recent years who returned the following fall.</p>

<p>If a school submits fewer than four years of first-year retention rate data, then the average is based on the number of years that a school submits to U.S. News. A higher average first-year retention rate scores better than a lower average retention rate in the ranking model because students staying enrolled demonstrates a school's continued appeal.</p>

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