The Dirty Little Secret of Most Colleges

Pre-College Issues High School Life
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<p>Public and private universities have a dirty little secret they don't want to share with parents and prospective students: The odds are fairly strong that you'll never graduate.</p>

<p>Only 54 percent of students who entered college in 1997 had a degree six years later. Broken down by race, the numbers are even more shocking. The federal government reports that 57 percent of white students graduate, but only 44 percent of Hispanics and 39 percent of blacks earn their college diplomas. It's also a double whammy. Many of these students drop out of college with big student loans that still need to be repaid, making some of them worse off than if they had never attended college at all, reports The Associated Press.</p>

<p>What can be done? William Bowen, the former president of Princeton University and the current president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, has a plan. He has proposed an ambitious research agenda to try to solve this vexing problem of low graduation rates. He will examine in detail 20 varied universities to find out who graduates and who doesn't and attempt to find out why. "The United States has always said it believes in opportunity and social mobility and fairness," Bowen told AP. "If you find that the odds of getting through are very different for different groups of people, that's something you ought to be concerned about."</p>

<p>He points to two large and excellent state universities as an example. The main campuses of Penn State and the University of Minnesota have much in common, including similar tuition fees, SAT scores and the percentage of students from poor households. But 80 percent of Penn State students graduate, compared with barely half at Minnesota. Why the disparity? If that question can be answered, the bigger puzzle may be solved.</p>

<p>Who is at fault? Of course, students themselves bear a great deal of the responsibility, but it's more than that. Rising college costs and insufficient academic support are two major factors that lead to drop-outs. Colleges need to get students more involved in campus life and offer expert academic advising to help them choose a major early and stay focused on it until graduation. </p>

<p>-It scares me to think that when I go to college that theres a possibility I won't graduate. Any thoughts?</p>

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<p>It happens, and it's not the end of the world if people end up dropping out of college. This time last year, I dropped out of college myself (and due to other things, I was almost forced out a year before that) . I came back in September, because I'd sorted out a lot of things for myself in that time. Bear in mind too that sometimes when a student doesn't graduate from the college they enter, it's because they transfer, be it to somewhere cheaper or closer to home.</p>

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<p>Yes, it's true. My college has stopped requiring an advisor's permission for a student to drop a class from his schedule, making it easier for a student to get behind. The logic is simple: the longer a student is in school, the more money the college can get from him. This definitely hurts the graduation rates, because a lot of students decide to quit college and earn money to pay off those staggering debts.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
The logic is simple: the longer a student is in school, the more money the college can get from him.

[/quote]

wow.. i never really thought about it that way..</p>

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<p>I don't think that's necessarily true, as most (competitive) colleges have no problems filling the slots, and if you drop out or graduate there are plenty of students who would be more than willing to fill the space. </p>

<p>It probably comes down to budget cuts and poor advising, but I don't think they're purposely keeping you there, if anything they want you to graduate so they can keep their graduation rates up as a bragging point.</p>

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<p>Graduation Rates -</p>

<p><a href="http://graduationwatch.org/select.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://graduationwatch.org/select.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>I don't see myself not graduating. Just like I don't see myself dropping out of high school- I just wouldn't be allowed. My parents are paying too much money to let that happen. </p>

<p>But at some universities I guess I can see it being a problem- just as in high schools. I think it depends on the school, the student and the quality of the program.</p>

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<p>Psh yall I'm graduating in three years. :P</p>

<p>Tour guides say that not being able to graduate in 4 years is most often because there are one or two classes required for a student's major that they aren't able to get on time.</p>

<p>That's why it's good to satisfy all requirements as soon as possible</p>