Abandoned Dreams On Campus
The statistics are staggering: six in 10 students at two-year colleges don't complete their degree in six years. Four in 10 of all students at four-year colleges don't complete, either.
Why? If getting an education is the most important step a young person can take to get ahead, why are so many young people failing to follow through?
On Dec. 9th, Public Agenda will release new research asking young Americans who dropped out about their experiences. This study, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is designed to test the assumptions many of us make about college students today and why so many of them fail to graduate. It is also helps to identify solutions that young people themselves say would help most.
Public Agenda surveyed more than 600 young adults, ages 22 to 30, who had at least some higher education coursework. We asked those who started college but did not complete a degree why they left, and we compared their views, experiences, and responses to those of students who had successfully completed a two- or four-year college program.
The question of college completion has become a critical part of our education debate. But it's a dilemma we can't solve without understanding how students themselves see the problem.
To be notified right away when the report is available and join the debate about its implications, sign up for our e-mail alerts or our RSS feed, follow us on Twitter (@PublicAgenda), or become our fan on Facebook. And for more on this challenge, check out GetSchooled.com.
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Did this research examine the true net cost the students surveyed were expected to pay and the amount of student aid they received?
Students until now have had no visibility into which colleges would give them the best deal before applying. Learning your aid awad just before high school graduation is years too late to do thoughtful planning about how to pay for college. It seems when the reality of the true cost sinks in, students are already committed to a college and go. Only later too many unfortunately dropout unable to pay.
Thankfully, a shift is happening that should help students find affordable colleges - ones that fit their bank account and career aspirations. The government mandates that by October 2011 colleges provide on their Web sites net price calculators so prospective students can learn how much financial help they are eligible to receive. So far, only a handful of colleges have net price calculators but that will change rapidly next year. One breakthrough service by StudentAid.com - the College Cost & Planning Report - determines a student's aid eligibility and net cost for colleges under consideration years before they apply and compares colleges to make research and selection easier.
Knowing in advance which colleges they could afford might encourage more students to apply to college and graduate without suffocating debt.
Just like we plan for retirement, we need to help families think about better ways to plan and pay for college earlier than the senior year of high school if we as a nation reach the goal to ensure more people pursue college opportunities.
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