Why Do Students Drop Out Of Their Classes

The college drop-out and failure rate in North America is unacceptably high and it’s becoming a huge problem. In fact, US News reports that “30% of college freshmen drop out after their first year of college” (Bowler 2). There are quite a few reasons students drop out of College. Whether it’s having a child or working two jobs, it’s hard for most students to balance college and life. Some of the main causes of dropping out include nontraditional situations, mental issues such as stress or anxiety, and lack of self-knowledge.

In the reading “The College Dropout Boom,” the author, David Leonhardt, describes the college admissions system as being ruthlessly meritocratic. When looking at the word meritocratic, one can visualize it as the construction of two parts: the word merit and the suffix “-ocracy”. The word merit can be defined as the deserving of reward for past actions and the suffix “-ocracy” is understood as a form of governing body. Therefore, meritocracy without context means a form of governing body which rewards deserving individuals based upon their past actions. From this definition, it is quite obvious why David Leonhardt used the word meritocracy to describe the college admissions system. According to Leonhardt, students are admitted into college

Firstly, there are many individual factors that correspond with college students dropping out. Pregnancy plays a role in college dropouts because taking care of a child is a lot of responsibility. School is already stressful in itself having to take all the necessary classes for the student's major. When a student becomes pregnant, it makes going to school even

There are many reasons why over the years the United States has experienced a high college dropout rate among college students. The dropout rate results in unqualified and poorly skilled workers who eventually apply for low paying jobs and then realize the importance of a college degree. College dropout rates throughout the U.S. are caused by several reasons, including, lack of finance, lack of academic readiness, and stress.

The web page "College Dropout Statistics" lists many reasons for drop outs and how many including that, "30% of college and university students drop out after their first year" (Beckstead). Expectations are set for students including; having great attendance in their classes, finishing their assignments on time, being a part of an organization, or going out with other students. Keeping up with all that goes in school, and having maintaining a social life can be difficult. Another statistic states, "Being unable to balance school, jobs and family is one of the top reasons for dropping out" (Beckstead). Everyone is trying their best to enjoy college, but also get the degree they are striving for. All of this causes many students to drop out because they can not handle all of

Many wealthy people didn’t graduate from college. For example, the creator of Facebook Mark Zuckerburg, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Media mogul Oprah Winfrey, and Twenty-one time Grammy winner Kanye West. All these individuals make a life of college dropout. They make their life sound enticing, we must remember that they are exceptions rather than the norm. A college degree is a common goal for families and a baseline requirement for jobs In the United States. A recent Pew Research study found that 94 percent of parents expected their children to go to college. The college attendance has not always been the case. During the 1940s, college was mostly a privilege of the wealthy. The most college students were white males; women and people of color were often barred from entry. The change began during WW2 ended, however, that began to change. The first major change involved the G.1 Bill in 1944. Students and their families make tough decisions when they think about attending college.

Students who drop out of school usually do it over the frustration of not understanding what is going on in class or

Why Are Students Dropping Out of School? Everyone will think in their lives who they will be in the future. Some people are successful because they have the ambition and then gave from their parents’ resources to support them. Others not lucky, because they are lack of these attributes and opportunities. The students dropping out of college are hardly a personal one. There is no single reason why the dropout rate is so high, and here are some factors. At the two articles “Why College Students Drop Out and What We Do About It” and “Dropping Out, Again: Why So Many College Student Never Graduate” these researches is illustrating about the college student dropout determinants. The purposes of these articles are to improve the common understanding

Many high school students succeed with a little leniency through their four years. The transfer from high school to college becomes overwhelming and a struggle for some. For students do not comprehend the importance of changing more than their location during the transition. A student must be psychologically, physically, and emotionally mature to pursue college and not venture into a point of no return. Dropping out of college makes the outlook of the conversion difficult to acquire. Individuals should take their time on deciding which college and/or university is the best match for them. There are various reasons that cause persons not to prosper. Issues that individuals may come upon might leave a lifelong scar. Matters such as these

Robert Kessler: We refer to most of these reasons as “life happens”. Something happens in their life that the student just cannot overcome. We are pleased to say that a very small percentage of students withdraw for academic reasons.

Wooden (qtd. in Baer) states that "success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming". Many students end up taking classes that they do not necessarily need or classes that are hard for them to succeed in. The result in not being able to drop a class within the certain time period results in students receiving an W (withdrawal) on their transcript, which not only affects their overall GPA, but may even eventually lead the student to end up on academic probation. As a junior at Cosumnes River College I think it is very important that the drop date for classes to be extended to a 3-week time period because students end up taking the wrong courses, there would be no negative affect on mental health, and most importantly students would have a higher chance of success.

Another reason why a lot of students drop out of school is simply because they don't like it. High school, through its control over many decisions that are made for students, still seems to be restrictive. Many aspects of a student's life are pre-set and cannot be changed by the student to fit his needs. For example, a student's time schedule is set every year. Every student must go the same amount of hours every year. In most cases, school is from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. every day, whether he or she actually needs all the time or not. Students have to spend more time in some filler classes that they think they probably did not need to take but still had

Another personal related problem is jobs. Most students are working part-time in order to support themselves and their family which at times will lead to intrusion with school hours, home works, no time for studying especially to major exams and various school activities which otherwise leads to failing grade. Peer pressure is also another factor wherein these students are being led to bad influences such as drinking, drug which causes a major side effect to students (Schwartz, 1995). Schools do this in order to handle their problem. Students from broken homes are also likely to drop out of school due to the stressful situation that they have to go through and thus affect their concentration in school. Furthermore, most students who dropped out of school don't like school to begin with. These students will rebel and do anything against the school rules in order to be kicked out (Schwartz, 1995). They are likely to fail on their subjects, doesn't get along with other students, and have disciplinary problems. Oftentimes, disciplinary actions are taken before they are dropped out.

Life is believed to be easier for people with higher degrees than for those without higher degrees. Hence, it is the joy of parents to see their children admitted into a higher institution. With the high cost attached to attending a four year university, most students prefer to attend community colleges. Community colleges provide the same quality of education offered by universities for the first two years at a lower cost which help students reduce debts toward getting their higher degree. However, compared to the number of students who started their first year in community colleges, a large percentage dropped out. This is common to both freshly graduated high school students and adults who came back to college to obtain a degree. Students drop out of colleges because of financial issues and the need to take remedial courses. As a result, they have self esteem issues and may remain poor.

Many people drop out because they struggle to pay for their education. Erin Shankie wrote in her article, “At the forefront of reasons for college dropout is the cost—and not just the cost of tuition, but the costs of books, materials, transportation, and housing” (Shankie). Students drop out because it’s tough try to focus on school and pass classes when you have to worry about how to get to school, what are they going to eat for dinner, and trying to find a way to pay for living