Seventy-percent of high school graduates will go on to college, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Most won’t get a degree.
Even though the number of students who enter American colleges and universities has been on a consistent rise, so has the number who don’t come back for a sophomore year. In a 44% increase from 2013, 55% of college freshman are gone within a year. Jean Burk who home-schooled her son and helped him navigate college admissions before becoming an expert in education, says there are two reasons for their downfall.
“Finances and the workload,” she tells NewsRadio 740 KTRH. “People are getting bogged down by debt so it’s very difficult to try to work and go to college at the same time.” Burke says kids who breeze through college without cracking open a book or spending much time studying find the course-load as a full time student daunting, and adding a job on top crippling.
The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reports that more than a third of students who started college, even after six years, still haven’t earned their degree, while their student loan debt piles up.
Burke suggests parents keep a close eye on warning signs of trouble. “It’s going to be a good indicator if their grades are slipping the first year, or they are either partying too much or not showing up for class, or just not being able to handle the whole experience.”