With nearly 3,000 four-year colleges in the United States, it’s hard to know where to start your search. Some colleges deserve 5 stars in my book. Below is a list of 250+ schools that have 80% or higher retention rates. This means that at least 8 out of 10 first-year students choose to continue their education at these colleges, highlighting a positive and engaging academic experience. Prioritizing retention rates is crucial when searching for a great-fit college.

A

Adelphi University

American University

Amherst College

Arizona State University

Auburn University

B

Babson College

Bard College

Barnard College

Bates College

Baylor University

Belmont University

Bentley University

Berklee College of Music

Binghamton University

Biola University

Boston College

Boston University

Bowdoin College

Brandeis University

Brigham Young University

Brown University

Bryn Mawr College

Bucknell University

Butler University

C

California Institute of Technology

California Institute of the Arts

California Lutheran University

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

California State Polytechnic University-Pomona

California State University-Chico

California State University-Fullerton

California State University-Long Beach

California State University-Sacramento

Carleton College

Carnegie Mellon University

Case Western Reserve University

Chapman University

Claremont McKenna College

Clark University

Clemson University

Colby College

Colgate University

College of Charleston

College of the Holy Cross

Colorado College

Colorado School of Mines

Columbia University

Connecticut College

Cornell University

Creighton University

D

Dartmouth College

Davidson College

Denison University

DePaul University

DePauw University

Drew University

Drexel University

Duke University

E

Elon University

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Emerson College

Emory University

F

Fairfield University

Florida State University

Fordham University

Franklin and Marshall College

Franklin W Olin College of Engineering

Furman University

G

George Washington University

Georgetown University

Georgia Institute of Technology

Gettysburg College

Gonzaga University

Grinnell College

H

Hamilton College

Harvard University

Harvey Mudd College

Haverford College

High Point University

Hillsdale College

Hobart William Smith Colleges

Hofstra University

Howard University

I

Indiana University-Bloomington

Iowa State University

J

James Madison University

Johns Hopkins University

K

Kalamazoo College

Kansas State University

Kenyon College

L

Lafayette College

Lake Forest College

Lehigh University

Lewis & Clark College

Loyola Marymount University

Loyola University Chicago

Loyola University Maryland

M

Macalester College

Marist College

Marquette University

Maryland Institute College of Art

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Merrimack College

Miami University-Oxford

Michigan State University

Middlebury College

Mount Holyoke College

Muhlenberg College

N

New York University

North Carolina State University at Raleigh

Northeastern University

Northwestern University

O

Oberlin College

Occidental College

Ohio State University

Oregon State

P

Pennsylvania State University

Pepperdine University

Pitzer College

Point Loma Nazarene University

Pomona College

Pratt Institute

Princeton University

Providence College

Purdue University

Q

Quinnipiac University

R

Reed College

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rhode Island School of Design

Rhodes College

Rice University

Rochester Institute of Technology

Rollins College

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Rutgers University

S

Sacred Heart University

Saint Edward's University

Saint Joseph's University

Saint Louis University

Saint Mary's College

Saint Mary's College of California

San Diego State University

San Francisco State University

San Jose State University

Santa Clara University

Savannah College of Art and Design

Scripps College

Seattle University

Seton Hall University

Skidmore College

Smith College

Southern Methodist University

Spelman College

St. John's University-New York

St. Joseph's University-New York

Stanford University

Stonehill College

Stony Brook University

Swarthmore College

Syracuse University

T

Temple University

Texas A & M University-College Station

Texas Christian University

Texas Tech University

The Catholic University of America

The College of Wooster

The Juilliard School

The New School

Trinity College

Trinity University

Tufts University

Tulane University

U

United States Air Force Academy

United States Coast Guard Academy

United States Military Academy

United States Naval Academy

University at Buffalo

University of Alabama

University of Arizona

University of Arkansas

University of California-Berkeley

University of California-Davis

University of California-Irvine

University of California-Los Angeles

University of California-Riverside

University of California-San Diego

University of California-Santa Barbara

University of California-Santa Cruz

University of Chicago

University of Cincinnati

University of Colorado Boulder

University of Connecticut

University of Dayton

University of Delaware

University of Denver

University of Florida

University of Georgia

University of Houston

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

University of Iowa

University of Kansas

University of Kentucky

University of Maryland-College Park

University of Massachusetts-Amherst

University of Miami

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

University of Mississippi

University of Missouri

University of New Hampshire

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

University of Notre Dame

University of Oregon

University of Pennsylvania

University of Pittsburgh

University of Portland

University of Rhode Island

University of Richmond

University of Rochester

University of San Diego

University of San Francisco

University of South Carolina-Columbia

University of South Florida

University of Southern California

University of Tennessee-Knoxville

University of Texas at Austin

University of the Pacific

University of Utah

University of Vermont

University of Virginia

University of Washington-Seattle

University of Wisconsin-Madison

V

Vanderbilt University

Vassar College

Villanova University

Virginia Polytechnic Institute

W

Wake Forest University

Washington and Lee University

Washington State

UniversityWashington University in St Louis

Wellesley College

Wesleyan University

Westmont College

Wheaton College

Wheaton College (Massachusetts)

Whitman College

Willamette University

William & Mary

Williams College

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Y

Yale University