The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center recently released new data on the six-year completion rates for students who entered postsecondary education in the fall 2019 semester.
Overall, 61.1 percent of college students who began their postsecondary education in fall 2019 graduated within six years. Women had a notably higher six-year completion rate than men, at 64.3 percent and 58.1 percent, respectively. This pattern held across all major racial and ethnic groups.
Women’s six-year completion rate has improved slightly in recent years. Among women who entered college in fall 2011, 60.1 percent completed their degree by 2017. Six-year completion rates for women peaked at 65 percent for both the 2016 and 2018 cohorts.
Although the 2018 cohort has a slightly higher six-year completion rate than the 2019 cohort, this is attributed to more women in the 2019 cohort staying enrolled after six years, rather than dropping out. As of 2025, 9.2 percent of women who enrolled in college in 2019 are still pursuing their education, while 26.5 percent are no longer enrolled. For the 2018 cohort, the same share of women were no longer enrolled, but only 8.6 percent were still enrolled in 2024.