The Nationwide Gender Gap in College Graduation Rates

Data submitted to the U.S. Department of Education and compiled by the National Collegiate Athletic Association shows graduation rates for all students who entered college in 2013 and earned their degrees within six years at the same institution they enrolled at in 2013. For all students who enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs at these four-year institutions in 2013, 67 percent earned their degrees by 2019.

When we break the figures down by gender, we see that 70 percent of women earned their degrees within six years compared to 64 percent of men. The gender graduation rate gap varied by race but the graduation rate for women was higher than the graduation rate for men for all major racial and ethnic groups. For African American students there was a 10 percentage-point gap in favor of women. For Hispanics, there was an 8 percentage-point gender gap in favor of women.

If we look at students who received athletic scholarships at Division I institutions, we find a much larger gender gap. Three quarters of women students who entered college in 2013 with an athletic scholarship went on to earn their degree at the same educational institution within six years. Only 62 percent of men who entered college in 2013 with an athletic scholarship earned a bachelor’s degree by 2019 at the same institution.