OCAIR Best Presentation Award Topic– Which Factors Contribute to Students’ Graduation Rate Yangzi Mao, Minghui Wang and Faxian Yang Abstract: This study seeks to identify which factors impact students’ graduation rates using the 2012 freshmen cohort at a university. The results of this study not only emphasize the importance of choices made in the students’ first two years of college, specifically their academic performances and the number of Math and English courses taken, but also college preparedness and students’ socioeconomic statuses, which are represented by variables like whether they are first-generation students or/and are Pell Grant recipients. Since the data analysis section includes a confusion matrix based on the fitted model to predict students’ expected graduation success, the results from this presentation may help professionals from institutional research, assessment, or student counseling services to find and aid these at-risk students.