Even if Illinois' politicians don't have much they can boast about, Illinois' college students have plenty of reason to be proud about their college completion rates.
A new study says 73 percent of the state's four-year public college students complete their coursework within six years, compared to about 63 percent nationally, says a new study. That's the sixth-highest rate in the country-Iowa had the highest rate with nearly 80 percent of its students in four-year public institutions graduating in six years.
The study, released Feb. 24 and created by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, looked at the class of students that began their college careers in 2008, whether they finished at their starting institution or at another school. There were approximately 100,000 students who started college (at public schools, private schools and two-year schools) that year in Illinois. Students from that cohort, if they had graduated within four years, would have been part of the class of 2012. This study allowed for two extra years in study completion-it looked at graduation rates after six years.
Here are five states with some of the highest college completion rates in the country.
10. Pennsylvania-71.25%
9. Connecticut-71.57%
8. Minnesota-71.67%
7. South Carolina-71.86%
6. Illinois-73.20%
Check out the five states with the highest six-year college completion rates in the country at Reboot Illinois, including one state in which nearly 80 percent of all college students finish within six years.
Sign up for our daily email to stay up to date with Illinois politics.
NEXT ARTICLE: How much did Illinois colleges make in 2014?
- Illinois' college completion rate is higher than the U.S. average-in almost every category
- Top 10 Illinois colleges whose graduates have the highest earning potential
- How much do Illinois college presidents make?
- Here are the most diverse colleges in Illinois
- Want to tell your elected officials what you think of the state of government in Illinois? Use our Sound Off tool.