Beyond any other signal, this is perhaps the primary predictor of student attrition. These financial problems are mainly due to a caregiver (either the student or a guardian) losing their jobs, which adds a psychological stress to a financial predicament.
For instance, according to Times Higher Education, 1 out of 4 college students in Germany broke off their studies early due to either financial problems, poor student professor relationships or lack of motivation.
Margerite McNeal. writer and editor, explains how this issue has turned more complicated in the United States due to student loans, as over 40% of student borrowers are not making payments on their loans, which adds to a vicious student debt cycle that pushes them out of school. She quotes former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan saying “The most expensive degree is the one you do not complete.”
According to Collegeview.com, some students “underestimate college costs and realize too late that they lack the funds to cover it all. Others decide they would rather be making money working full time than pursuing a costly degree.”
2. Poor secondary school preparation
Even though colleges and universities are addressing student’s lack of readiness they inherit from high school in areas such as language and mathematics, there is a point where students cannot cope or handle the workload anymore and leave school.
Margerite McNeal is very harsh at saying that, in the United States: “Higher-ed institutions point fingers at high schools for sending them underprepared students who drop out because they cannot keep up with coursework, but colleges and universities are not innocent victims. They can be doing more to help students succeed even before matriculation.”
It is not just the level of the degrees, but the mental attitude. In Spain, for instance, Times Higher Education points out that some people that enter university from vocational training “can have problems getting to groups with the theoretical side of their degree. Others are disoriented by the change from the structured school environment to the more autonomous university world.”
3. The student is not sure or convinced with the major
Any college teacher sees two trends here: either the major failed to meet the student’s expectations, or the major wasn’t the student’s first choice.
When asked about their major, a common phrase that freshmen and sophomore students in the United States tell teachers when they introduce themselves at the beginning of the year is:
“I am undecided.”
In Latin America, this is completely different. In countries such as Chile, 17 and 18-year-olds are virtually forced to pick a 4 to 7-year major, with almost no room to find themselves first.
Students in programs and universities with a low entry requirements threshol – such as social sciences – tend to have a higher dropout rate than majors that have higher requirements to enroll in the first place, such as medical degrees (which in Latin America begins at an undergraduate level).
This is gradually changing, as universities are slowly adopting college-mode baccalaureates and common core education to provide orientation.
4. Conflict with work and family commitments
This happens both in undergraduate degrees and postgraduate education. According to a study by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the main reason why of students dropping out of college in 2009 was this conflict of interest between school, the job and the family.
“Many students who drop out of college have to work while enrolled in college. They often find it very difficult to support themselves and their families and go to college at the same time. Many have dependent children and enroll part-time. Many lack adequate support from parents and student aid.”
While this is also a financial issue, this work-study balance has many other underlying problems. 3 out of 4 respondents said that work contributed to the decision to drop out, and 1 out of 3 said that balancing work and school was “too stressful.”
