College Dropout Rates In America

College dropout rates are at an all time high in America. While in other countries this is not the case. So why is the college drop out rate so incredible high in America? Another question is how can this number decrease? Many students make it to college, but never get their degrees. I feel that every student that is willing to earn an education should get to learn. Especially when college is optional. The college dropout rate has gotten so tremendously high because of the high cost of tuition and lack of scholarship opportunities. However, there are things that can be done about the college drop out rate.

The American college drop out rate has skyrocketed recently. As stated by Chad Aldeman, Today is there are currently 29.1 million college

dropouts versus 24.5 million Americans with less than a high school diploma. Reported by the Community College Complementation Corporation, 65% of the students that dropout intend to return, but in reality only 35% of student actually return. In her article, Statistics of College Dropouts, Rachel Beckstead states that 60% of dropouts never had any financial help from their parents to help pay for their tuition. This one statistic reveals that there are students wanting to get a college degree, but they did not have the financial stability.
If the university offered more scholarships this could help reduce the amount of the money a student has to pay for their education. I am only an 8th grader, but I have heard that college is supposed to be one of the greatest experiences in your life. I heard college is where you are suppose to find yourself and find out what you want to with your life. So I think a college student should not have to worry about paying tuition and worrying that they do not have enough money. These students are the future of the business world. Some might say that a college student could get a student loan, but it is known that 30% of dropouts still have to pay off student loans (Community). Even if they graduate they still have to pay off those loans down the line.
One big question is why do other countries have higher graduation rates than the United States.

According to Tom Loveless from The Brookings Institution, in Shanghai China about 84% of high school graduates go to college. While in America only 63% of graduates go to college (Loveless). One reason China might have a greater graduation rate is the amount of time they spend in school. A child in China, grades 6-8 attend 220 days of school (Loveless). At the same time children in America only go to school for 180 days. This could mean that students in China learn more, so they are more likely to succeed in college.They also have more knowledge going into college, so they already have an understanding of more things. Which will help them in the long run. Ironically, children in Korea also go to school for 220 days a year. They also attend more school than American children.

All dropouts dropout for a different reason, but some are more serious than others. “40% of college dropouts have parents that have nothing beyond a college diploma” (Becksted). This might mean that when students fail or get knocked down, they think it is alright to quit because that is what their parents did. Furthermore, 30% of college and universities students drop out after their first year (Becksted). But

why?
One of the top reasons why students dropout is they are balancing school, work, and family.(Becksted). Some students have to work to pay the steep tuition costs. This then could cause the student to get overwhelmed and they would not be able to complete the their work. Another reason why students dropout is they are responsible for paying their education. Studies show that 50% of dropouts now have an income lower than 35,000 (Becksted). That is not enough money to support a family. Furthermore, “those without a college degree are twice as likely to be unemployed as those with one (Becksted).
This dropout rate can be changed. One way would be raising the academic bar. Robert Furger proposes this idea in his article How to End the Dropout Crisis. He says “ Higher expectations and more challenging curriculum, coupled with the support students need to be successful, have proven to be an effective strategy not only for increasing graduation rates, but also for preparing students to graduate from high school with options (Furger). Furger also proposes to make school more relevant. He says “47 percent of dropouts said a major reason for leaving school was that their classes were not interesting”. This means that students were bored. That needed something intriguing, something that made them yearn to go to class, but their universities could not provide that.
I think the other large problem is class size. College class size can range anywhere from 5 students from 600 students. I think that it would be more beneficial to a student to be in a smaller class. It would help them because they would get more one on one time with the teacher. They would also have more opportunities to ask questions when they are confused. They could also from a better relationship with their professor so they feel comfortable asking questions.
I also think that students are not prepared enough.

In high school teachers are continually reminding students when assignments are due. However, this is not the case in college. Students are responsible for managing their time. If during the four years students are in high school teachers start to give the students more responsibility than when they get to college they will not be overwhelmed by all the things they have to do on their own. In addition, this would also help because when you are a freshman you are just getting to know the school and you are basically throw into all new territory. On the other hand, I also think a student needs a support system during

college.
All in all I feel that the financial funding is an immense problem. I think that with all the research I have done I see that all the problems start with money. If students want more scholarships the universities need more money. If students want smaller classes universities need more teachers, but then they need more money to pay the new teachers. In today's world everything revolves around money. I just find it is sad when a person who is willing to go to school and willing to learn has to drop out because of financial reasons. Supplies are expensive too. With everything to pay for it amounts to be a great deal. This is a big issue that needs to be solved but it does not get solved overnight.
With time this problem can be resolved. Everyone needs to have a good attitude about this situation. These are the people of tomorrow and they need an education. There needs to be lower tuition costs to help out students and so they do not have to work while going to school. The next thing that needs to happen is a multitude of scholarships. All these things will help the students and will lower the college dropout rate. This nation can come together and fix the dropout rate.