College Students Dropout

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

The college dropout rate has risen since the late 1960's from one in five students, to one in three according to David Leonhardt, in "The College Dropout Boom" (88). I am a college dropout, as a freshman, I entered Florida Atlantic University, with great aspiration to be first person in my family to graduate college, but after one year of as full time student, working two jobs to pay rent, utilities and hoping that whatever was left over from my meager paycheck, would cover my mounting college debt. I decided not to return

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

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

There are many different factors in our world today that can have a major impact on why some students finish college and attain their degree and why others either drop out or do not pursue it at all. One is disparities in debt, which is the biggest factor in why college students drop out and do not attain their degree. There are two theories that predict which students have a greater chance of obtaining the most debt. The other is racial/ethnic disparities; there are many socioeconomic factors that limit minority groups from attaining their degrees compared to the white population. Inequalities in college degree attainment are a big problem in our world today, this can be caused by a variety of reasons and we must be able to come up with

Everybody knows that after high school you attend college, right? College is expected from society that has been placed for decades; it’s what you do is what society expects with these expectations comes pressure. Pressure from peers, choosing the right college, group mind, and deciding whether or not if you would like to attend college. College is not for everyone, so when a student is pressured to attend college, they often drop out before the first semester ends. The pressure doesn’t end with the initial decision, it continues with course selection or declaring you’re major. So they attend college to find themselves, and to see what they’re interested in. In the 21st century, the pressure to attend college causes students to fall under the pressure and attend college even when it not the best fit for the student.

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

Many colleges and universities throughout the United States and several other countries face a common problem. Student retention is a growing problem across the nation for all ethnic groups and all ages. Each individual who chooses to drop out of school has their own personal reasons as to why they do. However, many drops out can be completely avoided. When students drop out they are not clearly thinking about how it’s going to affect their future, the future of their children and even grandchildren. Although there are several reasons as to why students drop out of school, we will be exploring a few as it relates to why student retention is a growing problem.

Television and movies portray college to be one big party with lots of kegs and girls who go crazy. While there is that, the main reason for college is to academically evolve and get a higher education. Without the necessary grades, one cannot stay in college. High school graduates tend to forget about this requirement and focus on the partying more than the studying. For example, at the University of Tampa it is required for most majors that students maintain a 2.0 grade point average (GPA) if they wish to stay in the institution. There has been the case where students cannot keep up with this lifestyle, juggling between schoolwork and excessive partying; forcing them to drop out during their first two semesters. According to Reuters: “The United States has the highest dropout rate in the

In America, there is a growing problem of college dropouts, which if left untreated for even a generation, will be detrimental to not only educational standards, but also the country’s ability to maintain its competitive edge in the financial markets, technological advancements, and fields of academia. This problem with dropout rates seem to lie in a large percentage of students who do not know what they want to do or have the motivation and direction to achieve higher educational goals. Therefore, In order to curb this rising decline, undecided students will need more commitment from the school’s administration.

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

Will negatively affect a student's future. Bob Keeshan once said,”Children don't drop out of High School when they are 16 they do so in the first grade and wait 10 years to make it official.” Throughout the years studies have shown that in a year 1.2 million students drop out. Which leads that only 25% of High School students during their freshman year fail to graduate. Dropouts in the United States have became a very trending thing we must get to the bottom of this problem. Young adults should not be making these decisions it's time to step in.