Two Hudson Valley Colleges Have Nation’s ‘Happiest’ Freshmen

In a nationwide survey, two local colleges rank as having the happiest freshman students in the country.  Collegechoice.net looked at retention rates, or the amount of freshman that decide to come back for a second year.  They also factor in graduation rates to come up with a list of the top 50 schools with satisfied freshman who have the least chance of second guessing their decision and transferring out of school.

West Point Military Academy ranked 49 on the list.  College Choice points to may factors for such happy students; including tons of extracurricular activities, 24 varsity sports at the NCAA Division I level and the fact that tuition is free with cadets earning a monthly stipend.  At the end of the day, the Black Knights have a 95% retention rate from Freshman to Sophomore year.

At #32, Vassar College is the highest ranking local college on the list.  A whopping 96 percent of first-year students return to Vassar again the next Fall.  Access to the scenic Hudson Valley, and quirky clubs like the Harry Potter inspired Vassar Quiddich team are attributed to keeping them coming back for more.  Plus the fact that 98% of students live on-campus.  Perhaps this helps give Vassar a true feeling of community.  We're not really sure what impact Vassar's other honor; a #1 ranking of schools with the "least religious students", has on this list so we'll just leave that up to you to ponder.