Hat tip to Beth Tallman for suggesting this question. Thanks!

Answer: 58% overall

Questions:

• Which school type has the lowest graduation rates? Which school type has the highest graduation rates?
  • What might explain these large differences in graduation rates?
• What has been the trend in graduation rates over the last 3-4 years for the public and private non-profit colleges?
• What do you think are the leading reasons that students do not finish college?
• What personal traits do you think it takes to earn a college degree?
  

Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (NPR):

Go to college, we tell students. It's a ticket out of poverty; a place to grow and expand; a gateway to a good job. Or perhaps a better job. But just going to college doesn't mean you'll finish. To unlock those benefits – you'll need a degree.

And yet for millions of Americans, that's not happening. On average, just 58 percent of students who started college in the fall of 2012, had earned any degree six years later, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

While the numbers are up overall, experts say they're far too low, and can vary widely depending on what type of school you attend. On average, four-year private schools graduate more students than their public counterparts. Two-year community colleges and for-profit four-year schools have average completion rates below 40 percent.

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Looking for more "paying for college" resources for your students? Check out the NGPF Paying for College unit page for more or play our award-winning PAYBACK game. 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.