Students attending college in Maryland and Virginia are more likely to graduate within six years than their peers nationwide, according to a report released Wednesday.
About 59 percent of Maryland college students graduate within six years, as do about 57 percent of Virginia students, according to the American Enterprise Institute’s “Diplomas and Dropouts,” which looked at more than 1,300 public and private schools nationwide beginning in 2001.
Nationally, the average college graduation rate was about 56 percent.
Authors of the report cautioned against using state averages to determine which state is the best for colleges, and instead pointed to individual findings.
When looked at individually, colleges that share similar admissions standards and tuition often vary in how well they get students to the finish line, co-author Andrew Kelly said.
“If you’re a student, or your child is choosing between two institutions with similar admissions criteria, it’s important to have this information at your fingertips,” Kelly said.
As an example, Bowie State, Frostburg State and Morgan State universities in Maryland all have similar enrollment numbers and cost between $6,000 and $7,000. But while Frostburg graduated more than half of its students, Bowie and Morgan State graduated 37 percent and 38 percent, respectively.
In Virginia, James Madison, Virginia Commonwealth and George Mason each offer tuition under $7,000 and large student bodies.
But while James Madison graduated 81 percent of its students, George Mason saw 58 percent meet the benchmark and VCU saw only 47 percent.
Andrew Flagel, George Mason’s dean of admissions, said critics need to take into account the student body each school is serving. At his school, for example, about one-third of entering freshmen are the first in their families to go to college.
“The best predictors of academic success are past academic success and socioeconomic status,” Flagel said. “Mason has been cited as a model among schools for vastly outperforming the predictors of graduation rates.”
Graduation rates at regional public universities:
University of Virginia 93%
College of William and Mary 91%
Pennsylvania State University-main campus 84%
St. Mary’s College of Maryland 83%
James Madison University 81%
University of Maryland, College Park 80%
University of Delaware 78%
Virginia Polytechnic Institute 77%
University of the District of Columbia 19%
