In recent post, we revealed Dr. Shumsky’s secret formula for college and career planning. The recipe gives you the exact steps in planning for college admission. Yet, there are other crucial pieces of information to pay very close attention to.  We are asked all the time about the validity of U.S. News Rankings, acceptance rates, and other data available in guidebooks and online.  As a family, you should take most of that information with a grain of salt as the data is usually self-reported or just the opinion of the author. The 4-year and 6-year graduation rates of the prospective university, however, are absolutely worthy of your attention.

In completing your college research, your priority is to find colleges that fit you and will serve your needs with good academic programs and engaging social and extra-curricular outlets. Successfully matriculating in a timely fashion is a must, for both financial and personal reasons.  If the prospective university does not have a respectable rate of graduation, then that university is very likely not a university that is worthy of attending. In your research, you want to try and find prospective colleges that graduate at least 70% in 4 years.  These colleges are moving the vast majority of their students through without any major hiccups.  

You should eliminate from your college list any school that does not graduate at least 70% of students in 6 years. These universities have at least two of the following traits: low-quality faculty, students who are not serious about their future and career, and a failure to commit appropriate resources to student support.

The goal is graduation within a maximum of 5 years and a path to fruitful employment or graduate school placement.  Employers and graduate school admission personnel know the quality of your university’s programs, you must know also.