Historical USNA Graduation Rates

Classof83

10-Year Member
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Does anyone know of a website that lists graduation rates for USNA for the timeframe 1980-2010?

Thanks.
 
I don't know if USNA publishes consoldiated figures, but they do publish how many start Plebe year on their website. Perhaps you could piece it together by comparing graduation figures compared to the number of plebes who start.

This site, which I believe is for the current year, shows 88%. http://collegeapps.about.com/od/collegerankings/tp/Best-Four-Year-Graduation-Rates.htm

Are you trying to draw conclusions or how do you plan to use this information?
 
Are you trying to draw conclusions or how do you plan to use this information?


What conclusions should he/she draw? Because, you know, if there are statistics, the numbers mean something...if they didn't, there would be little reason to keep statistics.
 
I received the information from the USNA Institutional Research office.
 
Ahhh Statistics

How do we really define statistics?

Well... There are lies, absolute lies and there are statistics! Just having some fun here :thumb:. Former cal. teacher said that to our class.
 
Usually, when people ask such a question they are trying to compare one academy to another or have some specific purpose in mind. :)
 
As a GENERAL rule, attrition was 22-25% over the course of 4 years in the 1980s. For example, my class started with about 1350 and graduated about 1050. Current attrition over 4 years is about 12%.
 
Just this past weekend (PPW), in the Supe's brief to the parents, there was a graphic showing the trending attrition rates from about '85 forward. It might be available somewhere on the Naval Academy's site or maybe in the BGIS system. classof83 is correct that it peaked in 90/91 at around 30% and has been trending down significantly since then. My class ('90) started with 1363 and graduated around 950.
 
Did the Supe give an explanation for the trend?

Coincidentally, the day after I received the statistics from Institutional Research I ran into a member of the '91 class who had resigned after two years. He didn't offer an explanation as to why he resigned.
 
Did the Supe give an explanation for the trend?

Coincidentally, the day after I received the statistics from Institutional Research I ran into a member of the '91 class who had resigned after two years. He didn't offer an explanation as to why he resigned.

I'm sure old grads will probably say that things have gotten easier at the academy since they went through and that is why more stick it out through the 4 years to graduation. :wink:
 
I'm sure old grads will probably say that things have gotten easier at the academy since they went through and that is why more stick it out through the 4 years to graduation. :wink:

Actually, the reasons given are: (1) candidates are more informed about USNA via NASS, the Internet, etc. and thus have a better understanding of what they're getting into, and (2) USNA does more to keep folks in once they are in, especially with more organized and pervasive academic help.
 
Economics may play into it also. In 1980 it there was essentially zero tutition at my school (state uni in CA) - heck Harvard was only $5000. So the current difference between a SA ($0) and even Huge State U (~$20K) might make some think twice before causually dropping. Likewise, the assurance of gainful employment after graduation may also play into it.

But I'm looking at this from a 58 y/o's perspective not an 18 y/o's. So am I off base? Probably! :biggrin:
 
^^^ :smile:

One of the big differences is the number of candidates who quit during PS. These days, it's usually less than 25 and one recent year was something like 12. We probably had 12 quit the first day.:smile: And the number over the summer was close to 10% of the class.

I don't think it's b/c PS is easier -- I think this one is attributed to better knowledge and preparation. In my day, there were some folks who attended who hadn't even read the catalog and had never even seen USNA; they literally had no idea what they were getting into. And it was harder b/c you had to go to the library or order a catalog -- none of this on-line stuff or forums like this.:wink:

Also, there is now a huge Academic Center -- gift of one of the classes -- where there are organized remedial sessions every night in the core courses, organized tutoring, study skills, etc. Something like 800 mids per week use it (could be a bit off on those numbers but I'm close). In my day, there was definitely help, but it was all dependent on the struggling mid to set up time with his/her prof or find a fellow mid to "tutor." We made it work but it's now a more organized, structured approach that helps mids succeed in the tough academic environment.

And you also may be correct that the options for leaving aren't as good. However, I tend to agree with you that 18-yr-olds probably don't think that way as much as their parents do.
 
Did the Supe give an explanation for the trend?

They were using the slide to demonstrate that if you really want to make it through the Academy these days there are many, many resources available from professors to senior officers to chaplains that will help you. What I took away from this was that considering the taxpayer investment in every plebe, that the administration was going to trust the admissions vetting process and make an real effort to keep those that also make a real effort.
IMHO one of the other reasons for less attrition is that they are able to do a better job of selecting the correct and highest caliber kids. Plus they do a better job of attempting to make sure that everyone is informed and motivated about what they are getting into. The applicant pool keeps getting larger every year and the class sizes are getting smaller. This gives the academies an opportunity to be more selective and have higher admissions standards, from which a hypothesis could be drawn that less people will fail out, opt out, or be driven out. Seriously, I don’t think that they are lowering the standards to keep retention up. The class of 2017 was selected by pretty rigorous methodology. Just compare the class profiles (I found my class’s recently while digging through old photos).

Applicants (1990 -14,282) (2017-17,819)
Offers (1990 -1,692) (2017-1,408)
Admitted (1990 -1,363) (2017-1,200)
SAT (1990 avg M-659 V-582) (2017 2nd & 3rd quartiles M 620-700 V 580-670)
 
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