Preventing College Dropouts

According to the American College Testing study nearly one in four students drop out of colleges before completing sophomore year, this staggering amount is an incredible statistic than many college campuses are trying to fix. At my own University there are many programs and tutors available for all students in need of academic help, there are even events set up to help freshmen make new friends. It can be extremely difficult to adjust to college life, especially if you come from out of state or a rural area. Many college kids just get overwhelmed and are not able to cope with the stress that university’s enact upon their students. There are numerous reasons why college kids drop out or fail their classes, here are some of the top reasons:

Partying Too Much:

Many kids are away from home for the first time, sometimes it can be difficult to know when to stop partying and buckle down.  There are tons of parties around college campuses and many students can get lulled into partying way too much and letting their academic performance down.  In the first few weeks of school there are not many tests or homework so students think that they can party every night.  If you party every night for the first few weeks be prepared to play a lot of catch up during the rest of the semester, and sometimes it can be too overwhelming.  One tip to avoid this is to try and mainly party on the weekends, save the fun for the weekends.  If you feel the need to socialize every day or night, than put your social skills to good use and organize some study groups to better understand the material.

Too Much Isolation

Another driving force to failure is too much isolation, sometimes it can be hard for people to have to make a completely new set of friends.  For those people that are not the social butterfly’s it is difficult to make friends and can take a while to find their core group of friends.  Often times students can be trapped by feelings of despair and loneliness, which can be extremely overwhelming and cause serious depression.  People often compare the new people they meet to their old high school friends, always finding flaws in the friends that they meet.  A solution to this problem can be to join in on in campus activities, these are specifically designed to be great ice breakers for people to make new friends.  People often think that they are lame or uncool, but that is just a high school way of thinking, get out of the dorm room and join in on some fun.

Academic Failure

Although you may have gotten great grades in high school, college is a lot different.  College will be the most challenging part of your academic career.  Final exams will be a killer and can make or break a student, study hard or you might not be returning next semester.  Plan on studying long hours, spending more time reading books, and even more time researching the content.  In order to pass those tough college courses you need to tone your skills, especially time management.  Find your weak points and your strengths, and get help for those things that are dragging you behind.  Don’t let one lousy grade get you down, if you made a bad grade than it should just motivate you to study harder.  A solution to this problem is to simply ask for help, many studies find that students of higher learning facilities often drop out due to the fact that they are simply not asking for help.

Low Funds

A big issue for many students in the expense of college, many argue that college graduates will earn on average a million within their lifetime more than a non college student.  Many students do not plan out their full college career and only plan for a year or two, this can prove to be fatal.  Although student loans are easy to pay off and you can often get financial aid, it can still be difficult to pay for college if you come from an underprivileged family.    A solution to this can be to take up a part time job, although this can often cut in on study hours it will definitely help out with the money issue.

Wrong Major Choice

It can be difficult to choose your’e life direction at the young age of 18, often times students feel incredibly overwhelmed thinking of all the different career choices.  I myself have written about the difficult in choosing a major, it can often be hard to choose between personal passions or a lucrative career choice.  Maybe all of your family have been doctors and you feel pressured to do the same, but I suggest just to follow your passion.  Follow what makes you happy because you are likely going to be doing it for the rest of your life.  Another good suggestion is to take up an internship, many people are not sure that they want to actually work with their major until they have tried it out in an internship.  I would also suggest to become an undecided major if you are not completely sure, there is nothing wrong with it and can often be a good choice.  Get the core classes out of the way and find your muse!

First Generation College Student

Studies show that if you are the first generation student going to college than you are more likely to drop out, often times first year students are minorities which can be extremely daunting when attending an almost all white campus.  It can be difficult if you are the first in your family to attend college, not knowing what to expect and without your parents or siblings to help this can add more to the difficulty.  A suggestion would be to ask for help if you are in trouble, there will always be guidance counselors as well as academic tutors to help you in every class – often times free of charge.  Don’t let anything bring you down, especially if you are a first generation student.

While most college dropouts are permanent drop outs, often times returning to another college to give it another shot, it can still be worth it to make it the first time around.  Keep on your toes, and most importantly of all get the help that you need.  Do not wallow in despair if you are not making the grades than ask for assistance, it is more than likely that there will be someone to help you out.