He had every intention of returning the next fall to continue his chemistry studies, but lack of money and direction changed his mind. He still hasn't returned. Neither have about 700 of his 4,458 freshmen cohorts.
Most students enter their first year of college expecting to graduate within four or five years.
Some students, however, never make it beyond their first year. A university's rate of freshmen retention is a determining factor in how that college is ranked by nationwide yearly reports, such as one published in September's U.S. News and World Report. The report ranked the University 18th out of 147 surveyed public national universities in overall quality. The University's average retention rate throughout the last four years is 84 percent, according to the report. That means about one of every six students did not return for their sophomore year.