College Graduation Rates Drop While Tuitions Rise December 22, 2009
Paul Partridge on disappointing news for NJ parents of college bound high school students
There are many reasons why college students drop out of college, including academic struggles, family illness or life changes such as joining the military. But by far the most common reason is money problems.
Public Agenda just released survey information on over 600 women and men ranging from ages 22 to 30 who have completed some college coursework vs. others who finished and earned their degree. Some interesting trends emerge. Six out of 10 students who dropped out were not receiving any financial help from their families vs. more than six in 10 who received degrees also received financial help from their families. Seven out of 10 drop-outs were not receiving any scholarship or loan aid help vs. six out of 10 students who received their diploma also received financial aid.
So what is the answer? One proposed solution is offering financial aid to parttime students. Extra scholarship opportunities, online classes and even on campus daycare have also been suggested. All of those suggestions have merit, but what happens when tuitions keep rising? Will those suggestions help out enough when tuition is raised by an astounding 32% like at the University of California?
Only 50% of college students graduate from the college in which they enrolled as a freshman. Some transfer; others drop out. But one thing is certain: as long as tuitions keep rising, so will the dropout rate. There is only one thing you can do as an individual during these tough times and that is to find every possible way to help yourself pay for college. This process can be overwhelming, especially if you don’t know where to look for financial help. You may want to consider hiring a college funding advisor to help you navigate through the process, and save money—which may mean the difference between staying in college or suffer the embarrassment of having to drop out of college.
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