Gustavus, St. Olaf do well in national ranking for grads

Article by: Star Tribune
Updated: June 25, 2009 - 11:25 PM

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Two private colleges in Minnesota -- Gustavus Adolphus and St. Olaf -- have found spots in a national top 10 ranking for their lofty graduation rates.

The study comes from the 66-year-old American Enterprise Institute, based in Washington.

"Diplomas and Dropouts: Which Colleges Actually Graduate Their Students (And Which Don't)" took the nearly 1.2 million students who entered college at four-year institutions in the fall of 2001 and examined what percentage of those students graduated by the spring of 2007.

In the highest category for admission selectivity, "most competitive," Carleton College did the best among Minnesota schools, just missing the national top 10 with its 93 percent graduation rate.

Gustavus and St. Olaf tied for ninth nationally with an 86 percent graduation rate in the next-highest category, "highly competitive." The average six-year graduation rate in that category was 75.2 percent.

Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., topped the list at 89 percent.

As for other Minnesota schools, the College of St. Benedict was tied for third (82 percent) and St. John's was tied for eighth (80 percent) in the "very competitive" category, one below "highly competitive." Both schools are in Collegeville.

In the next category, "competitive," Bethel University in Arden Hills tied for fifth (76 percent).

PAUL WALSH