The 12 Colleges With The Happiest Freshmen

Being a freshman is hard, so it's good to attend a school that makes its youngest members fell happy and fulfilled.

The Center for College Affordability and Productivity recently rated the colleges with the highest freshman retention rate. Yale University topped the list with Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania coming in second.

Check out our slide show of the 12 schools with the happiest freshmen. Then tell us, were you happy as a freshman? Weigh in below!

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Comments

[Jake Neuthaler]

10:53 PM on 10/25/2011

I go to Uchicago. I was not happy. I'm still not happy. But I will be in 20 years.

[Katchalater]

08:44 PM on 10/22/2011

First the title says happiest Freshmen and then the article is about retention rate. Maybe they are staying because they don't want to face mom and dad and say they just blew $60,000. for a year of tuition, books, supplies, housing, beer and food at these colleges.

[Katchalater]

08:38 PM on 10/22/2011

Apparently the more tuition you pay the happier you are.

[guitarguy22]

12:54 AM on 10/21/2011

I had a buddy who was extremely happy as a freshman at the state university. He, however, only passed two of his classes. Happiness does not equate to a good education.

[splenetic]

04:40 PM on 10/17/2011

I guess that I'd be happy if I was an elite brainiac. (I'm very unhappy.) I'd assume that the students at bible colleges would be the happiest now that Obama is stirring up war fever with Iran. The end times are near!

[holycinnamon]

02:54 PM on 10/17/2011

Whoo, Swarthmore! To support the HuffPost on this one, I think the fact that Swarthmore has a pass-fail fall semester for freshmen really helps with the freshmen retention rate. It allows first-years to get adjusted to the workload and vibe of being in college.

[JustAWiseCrackingGuy]

03:10 AM on 10/16/2011

Okay, happiness does not equal retention. I'm sure there are plenty of students that are miserable come the end of their freshman years, but when you're already a year in debt in one of these schools (all very highly regarded), chances are you're going to stick it out, even if the first thing you want to do every morning is cry.

[Grant Trenton Gardner]

10:27 AM on 10/14/2011

When releasing this survey or these kinds of surveys’ the HUFF Post needs to also make clear of the survey questions and/or methodology; how they conducted it, who conducted it, what campuses were eligible, what campuses were included/excluded, etc… Even though the survey results may be legitimate and professional conducted, it is hard to believe that only the top ranked private institutions have the happiest freshman. It's a little too perfect in an imperfect world. Needless to say, if the HUFF Post in the future should offer more transparency, it would build much more credibility in their survey findings. Instead of it seeming like a paid advertisement or they hired a bunch of interns to conduct the survey.

[palindrom]

11:48 AM on 10/16/2011

They seem to have conflated retention with "happiness", which is, basically, nonsense.

[Geoprof]

01:59 PM on 10/13/2011

This is yet another bogus list. My experience as a graduate student serving as a teaching assistant at Caltech is completely counter to its place in this ranking. Most Caltech freshmen are pretty miserable because they are struggling to adapt to the rigor of the Institute's academic programs. I suppose the same would be true for another university on this list, the University of Chicago.

[MMII]

04:42 PM on 10/17/2011

I went to the University of Chicago. I stayed all four grueling years. I guess you can say I was successfully 'retained'. However, I was miserable every one of those four years. According to the implied criteria of this list, I--like so many others who suffered through those years--must be an aberration, a statistically insignificant outlier.

[GlennWatson]

10:43 AM on 10/12/2011

If you are freshman at any good four years college and you are not happy then give it up. You never will be.

[Tony Sclafani]

03:19 PM on 10/12/2011

Eh, I don't think that's an accurate statement to be generally applied.

[ackezzy]

10:11 AM on 10/12/2011

duhh... because they know they have a job waiting for them if they manage to graduate

[Megandale]

08:23 PM on 10/21/2011

As they should - they worked their butts off to get into these colleges, and they're obviously achievers.

[Katchalater]

08:41 PM on 10/22/2011

Unless of course they are legacy trust fund babies like George Bush was.

[ptrgamb]

08:09 PM on 10/11/2011

This is worse than silly and misleading. A retention rate is no way to measure the "happiness" of freshmen. People at the schools you've picked are high-pressured high achievers so sold on the idea they need a degree from schools of this caliber that they wouldn't dare drop out. I think even you must know that, HP.

[Randy B2]

12:57 AM on 10/12/2011

As a student at one of these schools, I believe that I am qualified to say that I and many of my peers are, in fact, happy. Yes, many of us are high achievers, which is why we applied, were accepted to, and attend such prestigious institutes of higher learning. However, these institutes work to create an educational environment which actively minimizes stress. I resent the fact that you believe these schools pressure their students into getting a degree. The students who attend these universities do so because they have a passion to learn and they love a challenge, something which many community colleges and state schools do not provide--trust me, I know from experience. Granted, retention rates might not be a guaranteed way of determining the collective happiness of a group of freshman, and for that the Huffington Post may be a bit off. However, statistics show that more freshman from these schools choose to return than freshman from other universities. Their is something to be said for that. I think even you must know that, ptrgamb.

Sincerely,
One of those "high pressured overachievers sold on the idea that they need a degree"

[ptrgamb]

02:43 AM on 10/12/2011

I went to an Ivy League school that probably came in at #12 or #13 so I think I know the drill. And I actually think that what you say can be (and is) true at the same time what I say is also true. However, I actually never at any time said the schools pressure their students into getting a degree. I didn't say that at all. I said that the students who attend these schools are inculcated with a sense that it's overwhelmingly important to get a degree from them ...that sense comes from their families and their hometowns or private schools.

[EStreetShuffler]

02:31 PM on 10/12/2011

I don't doubt that you're at an upper-tier school, but just to give you a tip before you write your next term paper: It should be "There is something to be said..." not "Their is something to be said."

[inmyhumbleopinion]

07:12 PM on 10/11/2011

What's not to like?

[longtimegone]

05:48 PM on 10/11/2011

The freshman retention rate is really not an accurate measure of happiness. It is just as likely that freshmen at these elite institutions see themselves as positioned near the front of the line for the gravy train and are therefore reluctant to abandon their place in line, happy or otherwise. I find it hard to believe that only the elite are happy and that only at an overrated elitist institution can one receive an excellent education.

[BurtonDesque]

05:11 PM on 10/11/2011

What's happiness got to do with being a freshman? Here I thought college was mainly about working hard to get a good education.