It was said that these are the main contributing factors why most dropouts
leave college:
1. Homesickness and feeling that you don’t fit in. It’s a whole new
world out there, and you may not be ready to embrace it.
2. Educational burnout. While college gives you control and flexibility
over your schedule, the hard demanding schedule, challenging courses, and
boatload of homework certainly has turned a lot of students away from the
desire to continue.
3. Academic unpreparedness. Sometimes, high school didn’t really prepare
students for college. Other times, students slacked off in high school and
paid the price during their post-secondary years. The high school goal was to
pass (so that students could get into college); in college, it is to succeed.
4. Personal or family issues. You may have had an unfortunate illness in
the family or you yourself just got totally get stressed out from the
workload.
5. Financial constraints. Tuition costs continue to soar, and scholarships
or grants are not always available. Additionally, financial situations can
change from year to year.
6. Too much fun — but not enough education. Some students take advantage
of their friendships, which could put them on academic probation due to
suffering grades or absence in classes.
7. The school isn’t a good academic fit for the student. You’ve
selected a great school that is very arts-centric. However, you realize that
you like the sciences better. Similarly, you may hate the average class size
of 100 and prefer much smaller classes for more individualized attention.
8. Setting sights on the wrong major. You may have wanted to be a doctor
but after taking several science classes, you decided that you’re rather go
into marketing. Does your school have a marketing major? If not, you’re
likely to go elsewhere.
9. No guidance or mentors. In high school, teachers and counselors were
there to guide you, as high school classes are typically smaller than the
entering freshman class. It’s a lot harder to get the personalized
attention that you’ve been used to and that could turn people off quickly.
10. External demands, particularly within part time or full time
employment. Can we say Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook? When the job puts too
many demands on you, you may have to choose, and money usually wins out.
11. Time to move out. If the cold winter just doesn’t suit you, you may
decide to go elsewhere. You may want to go closer to home or to be closer to
a significant other.
There has been a lot of talk recently about whether young people should
bother going to college with a bad economy and few jobs accessible. It seems
like a good idea, sort of. That said, the evidence suggests that most young
individuals are still better off going to college. Dropping out of college
more pricey than staying. It is not the case that no one who doesn’t go to
college can’t have a good career. Dropouts can do brilliantly well, like
Peter Thiel, Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg all have. However, getting a
Bachelor’s degree increases the likelihood of getting a job with better pay
than not having one.
