Thursday, November 20, 2014
Dropping Out, Again: Why So Many College Students Never Graduate
NBC News.com: A decade ago, then-18-year-old Sophia Stoll resolved that she wanted to go away for college. The working-class New Yorker enrolled in a private Catholic university outside of Pittsburgh, but by her junior year, she’d realized that the media and technology program didn’t suit her goals. Stoll dropped out, worked odd jobs for a year back home, then transferred to SUNY-Fredonia. But she ended up suffering from extreme anxiety, she says, and withdrew after a semester.
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This an eye-opening article. I think another big issue here is that college is expensive. As generations go on, there are more and more parents who are sending their kids to college while still paying student loans. How crazy is that? Also, going to college is expensive for students. I know so many people that couldn't even afford a meal plan, so ramen was the only thing they ate throughout most of their college career. It's hard to keep that up for years, and continue prioritizing your education over your body withering away slowly over the span of four separate years. Aside from food, another problem is that going to college basically feels like a requirement these days and not everyone is in the situation to be approved for student loans. So what if you don't qualify for student loans, but your family has five kids and they can't pay for you to go? It's such a tricky thing, but colleges really haven't adjusted to make this system easier, and when people realize that instead of going to school they could be making money. No wonder they drop out.
This is definitely a complex issue that stems from many different factors. The sheer cost of attending college is of course the determining factor for many people; it is a long chunk of time where you spend much more money than you can earn. Beyond the money thing, the other issue that the article addresses is that the culture and programs currently in effect in colleges around the country do not cater to non-traditional students. They do not accommodate for people who have obligations outside of school, which means that the opportunity to attend and finish college becomes even more restricted to a small pool of potential students. The other option is then to enroll part-time, which means your education spreads out over a much larger period of time, making it harder to maintain active engagement and improve as much as is needed. As college loan debt increases, colleges need to make their programs more feasible for people who are working or supporting families. Or, you know, someone could finally do something about that pesky rising loan debt thing. That’d be cool.
This is a really interesting article to read in a time where going to college has basically become a societal requirement. It is a huge problem that every single kid feels like they need to go to college, disregarding what they want to do in life. I have friends from high school who already know they will be taking over, for example, their parents hardware business. Yet, these kids still are attending college. What stuck out the most to me in this article was the fact that so many people are attending college, even if they already know what field they want to go into, and even if that field of study is not offered at their college. If someone wants to be an electrician, do they really need to go to college? I guess the same can be said for people that want to go into theatre. Is it really necessary to get a college education, or is it more beneficial to just go out there and start working? Obviously, I feel it is important to get a college education, otherwise I wouldn't be here. But there are plenty of others who feel differently, and this is definitely something for all young people to consider before they waste precious time and money in their youth.
College presents a huge financial obstacle for some would-be graduates. Not everyone can afford education in the United states, or can afford moving around from school to school in search of an education that best suits them. With less opportunity for education, these untapped minds are left to wander without the aid of a degree. Our society is so focused on making a profit that we forget that access to education is really helping all of us as opposed to just helping one person.
I think that Europe has a better approach towards education because they recognize that education is a necessity for social, political, and economic advancement. Education should not be for the individual alone, it should be for the bettering of society and the world. The world needs educated people to make informed decisions and shape history.
This article really made me think about how our country deals with college. They make everyone think they really need to go to college then make them take out loans to afford it. I agree with Jess in this respect; high schoolers who know what they want to do with their life; take over the family business or something that is not offered at their college, should evaluate if they really need to go to college and take on all those loans.
On the other hand, it is good that colleges are trying to keep the students that come. I think it is better to do that than to let the students leave then feel pressured to go back to college multiple times, getting more and more loans but never actually completing. 11
I've been thinking about the themes of this article a lot for a couple of years now. I've taken time away from CMU, and during that time, considered not going back. I see my own family struggling with various parts of this dichotomy on a daily basis. In addition to simply being expensive, and assuming a lot of debt, being a college student all but requires an extensive support network that many young adults don't have. Having a place to go over breaks, a plan to make enough money to pay rent for the three months before student loans kick in, and even having someone outside of the college bubble to reassure you it's all worth it are huge contributors to people's academic success or failure. Colleges and legislators alike tend to attract the people who had a traditional four year experience, which tends to compound the problem. It's not simply a matter of giving people enough aid that they don't sell their souls to Sallie Mae, but trying to create an independent support network for kids who may not have one, which a much more complex task.
I wonder if we're sort of reaching the top of the bubble for college, where it is becoming so expensive to go that it's barely becoming worth it anymore because between the expense and the economy you can't get a job to pay off your loans even if you do go to college. One would hope that at some point the bubble would pop, which would result in less expensive college, but who knows. I think part of the problem is the older generations still have this idea in their heads that you can take out loans and get a part time job and work your way through college, but that's just not possible anymore, so people have to choose between having a part time job or being a part time student.
College is definitely something more complex than what it seems to be, especially for non-traditional students. This article is true is saying that part-time student classes are not accommodating. They leave students disengaged and often times barely understanding the class since tutoring and professor office hours are unavailable to students taking night classes. Right now in the United States, the fact is that the most convenient time to go to college is right after high school or soon after. It would be great if it was accommodating to all students but for now, if you are a non-traditional student going to school, there are many sacrifices you are going to have to make.
Yeah I can definitely see how if one is a non-committed student, the general collegiate education system at large doesn't pay you any favors. And how disheartening would it be to find out a lot of your credits don't transfer!? Obviously I do not disagree that everyone is "the arbiter of their own education", but how does one even find out if they should finish their degree or not. I feel that a more proactive support system inside colleges might alleviate this uncertainty, but the practicalities and logistics of that are mind boggling. Certainly, that are no great answers.
Not everybody needs a college degree to work in the industry of their choice, but everybody should have access to advice that helps them make that decision with some finality.
I am a firm believer that college isn't for everyone. For some people that best thing they can do for there lives is taking a year off to figure out what they want to do with their lives. For others they are already qualified to work in the field. I think that you are the one that knows you best, so you need to make the decision on what is right for you and your future. What I do like about our educational system (and especially at the schools I've been at) they have presented us with the tools that we would need to succeeded. It then was left up to us to determine what we do with it. At the end of the day, everyone learns and grows in their own special ways.
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