The question is not just about getting into college. It’s also staying there long enough to graduate.
Top Reasons Why Students Drop Out
Here are a few startling facts:
- Among undergraduate first-year students, 24.1% (nearly one in five) drop out before their sophomore year.[1]
- The top two reasons given by students who drop out are finances (42%) and family issues (32%) – 74% of all reasons provided by the students.
While there can be many reasons for dropping out of school, a few reasons stand out. There is a direct correlation between lower income and an increased risk of dropout among all college students.[2] Students with fewer family resources are more likely to drop out. That increases the dependence on financial aid. Unfortunately, current and future students face bigger financial hurdles than prior generations. Note the following:
- In the 1963–1964 academic year, tuition, room and board at four-year public institutions was $8,491. By 2021–2022 that figure was $21,878—almost three times as high. [3]
- 32 states spent less on public colleges and universities in 2020 than in 2008, with an average decline of nearly $1,500 per student. As a result, students need to pay (and borrow) more.”[4]
Financial Strategies
Here are a few strategies to avoid being financially overburdened.
- School Cost vs Awards: As you investigate schools of choice, compare the cost for tuition, fees, room and board to available school scholarships and financial aid packages.
- The lower the college costs and the higher the financial aid packages, the more desirable the economic circumstance, and the lesser the financial burden on you.
- Prioritize schools that provide merit-based scholarships and grants over loans.
- These are prioritized because scholarships and grants do not have to be paid back.
- Loans require you to pay two things: the amount you borrow, PLUS interest, (which is the amount the lender charges you while you have their money).
- You pay interest for each month of the loan, which typically extends for decades into the future (even if you drop out).
- Attend an in-state school. Notice the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition for a public four-year college (2022). As the chart below illustrates, the out-of-state tuition averages a whopping 186% more than the in-state tuition. [5]
| Out-of-State | In-State | Amount and Percentage Increase from In-State to Out-State |
| $26,382, | 9,212 | 17,170 (186% increase) |
- Living at home and going to a nearby college, thereby eliminating the room and board cost and overall cost of living on campus.
- Nonprofit Organizational Awards:
- Find EAIs (education-minded angel investors). Family and friends who will give you money even without a fraternity, sorority or other entity.
- Commence the above strategies as soon as possible, prior to enrolling into your college of choice.
Academic and Emotional Preparedness
A comprehensive survey of reasons for student dropouts was graphed below:
Notice that the lack of academic preparedness was not listed by students in this survey. However other surveys found that twenty-two percent (22%) of surveyed respondents stated that a lack of emotional and academic preparedness was a leading source of dropping out of college.[6]
Emotional Preparedness: This is perhaps the most intangible but most important part of college matriculation. We suggest you consider two of the factors noted for financial strategies – attending a nearby college and living at home. Home can be a stabilizing force for your emotional wellbeing and financial wellbeing. Talk to your parents. They have known you longer with more insight in most cases than anyone else on earth. Their insight may not mirror your perspective, but it is nonetheless an important lens from which to view the totality of you.
Consider asking yourself questions like those below. Then share your answers with your parents, and as a starter conversation, ask them to respond with their perspective on those same points.
- Are you a “home-body” or do you perform well away from home?
- How comfortable are you among large classes?
- Do you prefer to learn and participate in small group settings?
- Do you prefer to live around a large group of people or smaller communities?
- Do you often seek out those who can help you or are you less aggressive in that area?
Academic Preparedness: Admissions officers at your pool of potential schools are valuable resources to see where you stack up against other students seeking admission. So too are nonprofit companies dedicated to providing objective comparative data among schools. The combination of those sources should provide you with a baseline for whether your academic record compares favorably to other students seeking admission to the same school.
And of course, the more tutoring you can gain at any level prior to college application, even if you are a sophomore in high school, the more prepared you are likely to be – especially in STEM courses that increase critical thinking skills.
In summary, students who employ strategies to minimize financial stressors, while maximizing emotional and academic preparedness are on a pathway to long-term success in college and beyond.
[1] MELANY HANSEN, College Dropout Rates, https://educationdata.org/college-dropout-rates#:~:text=College%20dropout%20rates%20indicate%20that,up%20to%2040%25%20drop%20out. Education Data Initiative; (last updated) October 29, 2023Id.
[2] Id.
[3]NAOMI ORESKES (Harvard University science history professor), Scientific American; https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-ivy-league-gets-attention-but-public-universities-are-far-more-important/ December 1, 2023.
[4] Id.
[5] MELANIE HANSON, Average In-State vs. Out-of-State Tuition, Education Data Initiative, https://educationdata.org/average-in-state-vs-out-of-state-tuition#:~:text=Florida%20has%20the%20lowest%20average,the%20same%20degree%20in%2Dstate. ;April 28, 2022.
[6] EMMA HALL, Prospective College Students Increasingly Say They Feel Unprepared for Higher Education, The Chronicle of Higher Education; June 12, 2023.