More Than 86% of College Freshmen Return for Their Second Semester
HERNDON, VA / ACCESS Newswire / June 26, 2025 / The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reported today that over 86 percent of the college freshman class of 2023 returned for their second semester. This represents the second-highest persistence rate in the past nine years.
The 2025 Persistence and Retention report is the latest in a series that tracks the percentage of students that stay in college after their freshman year, and now, for the first time, includes data on the percentage of students that remain in college after their first semester.
The report also finds that 83.7 percent of students returned to their same institution for their second semester. The results indicate that 13.6 percent of 2023 freshmen were no longer enrolled by the spring term and 2.6 percent of students had transferred institutions by the spring.
'We've been focused on second fall persistence for years, but that's too long to wait for many institutions, who seek earlier indicators of student success,' said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. 'Today's report helps schools focus on supporting students who are at risk sooner. This is especially important for part-time students, older students and those who start at community colleges, where first spring persistence rates are lower.'
Persistence refers to continued enrollment in college, whether at the same or a different institution. The report now tracks this measure at two key points: first spring persistence (enrollment in the spring term immediately following the first fall) and second fall persistence (enrollment in the second fall term). Retention refers to the same milestones, but specifically captures continued enrollment at the student's starting institution.
More college freshmen returning for a second year: The percentage of 2023 freshmen who returned for a second year of college - the second fall persistence rate for the 2023 cohort - is 77.6 percent, and the percentage of 2023 freshmen who returned to their same institution for the second year - the second fall retention rate - is 69.5 percent. These rates represent increases of 0.3 percentage points and 0.4 percentage points, respectively, from the previous year's freshman class. Both metrics have now risen for four consecutive years, marking their highest levels in the past nine years.
Part-time students face substantial disadvantage: Among fall 2023 starters, first spring persistence was 67.4 percent for part-time students, compared to 92.1 percent for their full-time peers. Similarly, second fall persistence was 53.2 percent for part-time starters, versus 84.4 percent for full-time starters.
The magnitude of this gap varies significantly by institutional sector. The private for-profit 4-year sector reported the smallest differences in persistence rates between part-time and full-time students (7.8 percentage points in first spring persistence and 11.6 percentage points in second fall persistence). In contrast, the private nonprofit 4-year sector exhibited the largest disparities, with gaps of 24.9 percentage points for first spring and 38.2 percentage points for second fall persistence.
Younger students continued to persist and be retained at higher rates: Among full-time starters in the Fall 2023 cohort, those aged 20 or younger had a spring persistence rate of 93.2 percent, compared to 79.0 percent for those aged 21-24 and 72.6 percent for those 25 or older. First spring retention rates followed a similar pattern: 90.6 percent for students 20 or younger, 77.6 percent for those 21-24, and 71.4 percent for those 25 or older.
Computer science persistence and retention decline an outlier: Second fall persistence and retention rates increased for students pursuing bachelor's degrees in 9 of the top 10 most popular major fields, with Visual and Performing Arts showing notable gains (persistence: 88.1%, +1.0 percentage points; retention: 80.9%, +1.1 percentage points). Computer Science was the only top 10 major field to experience a decline in both second fall persistence and retention rates (persistence: 86.1%, -0.8 percentage points; retention: 78.1%, -0.8 percentage points). This pattern also held for first spring persistence and retention rates, where all top 10 major fields saw stability or growth-except for Computer Science, which saw small declines.
The Persistence and Retention report series examines early college enrollment outcomes for beginning postsecondary students, tracking both first spring and second year persistence and retention rates. Students are considered persisted if they remain enrolled at any institution and retained if they remain at their starting institution-either in the spring term following initial enrollment (first spring) or in the fall of their second academic year (second fall). In both timeframes, students who complete a credential before the applicable term are also included in the corresponding rates. The report is designed to help institutions understand trends and patterns in this important early success indicator, and identify disparities by institutional type, state, degree level, starting enrollment intensity, major field, and student demographic characteristics such as age, gender, and race and ethnicity. All data prior to the 2023-24 academic year reflect any newer and additional data that participating institutions have reported to the National Student Clearinghouse since last year's publication.
About the National Student Clearinghouse® Research Center™
The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center is the research arm of the National Student Clearinghouse. The Research Center collaborates with higher education institutions, states, school districts, high schools, and educational organizations as part of a national effort to better inform education leaders and policymakers. Through accurate longitudinal data outcomes reporting, the Research Center enables better educational policy decisions leading to improved student outcomes. To learn more, visit nscresearchcenter.org.
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National Student Clearinghouse
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SOURCE: National Student Clearinghouse
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