MSU Study Identifies Factors That Can Lead To Dropping Out Of College

According to a new report, certain critical factors -- like becoming depressed and losing financial aid -- strongly influence whether or not students complete college. The Michigan State University study, titled "A Detection Model of College Withdrawal," (PDF) also found that other events, including death in the family and losing a job needed to pay tuition, were not significant factors in students' decisions of whether or not to drop out.

The study, which was funded by the College Board, used longitudinal data from thousands of students at ten colleges and universities throughout the U.S. Responses from 1,158 freshmen -- who were asked to rate their likelihood of remaining enrolled at their current school in six months, whether or not they hoped to transfer this year and whether or not they planned on leaving school to get a job before the end of the academic year -- were evaluated in relation to the critical events experienced by students.

Below, the six critical events that influenced students to cut their education short. For more information check out the full report (PDF).

Have you experienced one of these situations? Share your story in the comments section.

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Comments

[methodman]

09:56 AM on 03/10/2011

Students drop out because they haven't learned how to add vocabulary for backing up to a general frame and the opposite they don't learn enough technical technique vocabulary that runs across or porus.vocuablary to extract and extrude and don't know enough shaping words. Choices for production require a good vocabulary. Setup is not so hard. Most people can do assistant types of positions. The problem is it used to be the high school students who did those and now they have been taken over by the 30 40 year old market. So more young students have to try to tackle the hard jobs where before they could get a glimpse now they have to be smart or make deals to get trained in quite a few different types of professions. where School to start with is expensive in certain places in the country. The republicans are damn trying to make California that way. Students please fight these B**s**rds

[cosmiCataclysm]

02:46 PM on 03/09/2011

You forgot to include Lazy and/or Not that intelligent.

[Jetwash]

02:09 PM on 03/09/2011

All colleges should impose a pass/fail system for all incoming freshmen. This would allow students to shake out the social aspects of college life and being on their own for the first time without having to worry about grades or a GPA. Some schools do this but most if not all should as well.

[MamaBird62]

09:47 AM on 03/12/2011

MIT did this in hopes of reducing suicide risk at that school.

[bradyd]

10:05 AM on 03/05/2011

College life has taught me more that college itself....

[kaw5234]

07:58 PM on 02/28/2011

I think its also important to note how difficult the transition from high school to college can be especially if have little to no support or if your a first generation student to go to college. Navigating a large university can be quite challenging: the large classes, small teacher to student ratio, apathetic advisors etc. I can understand why some people would unfortunately drop out.

[Rachael Crawley]

01:54 AM on 02/28/2011

There are days when it's tempting, for sure. I've had a few bad grades, am constantly tired, living with insomnia and anxiety problems, and have lost interest in my degree- and am not sure what I want to do at the end of it all.

[KDMac]

08:03 PM on 02/27/2011

Oddly, 'knocked up' wasn't one of them. That was a big reason in the 80s when I was there.

[JosephTX]

06:51 PM on 02/26/2011

They're forgetting another big one: Many students just go to college straight out of high school and either have goals that it turns out don't require college, or have no specific goals at all. Our ridiculously expensive college system gives it the wrong kind of prestige. Middle class and rich kids are almost obligated to go to college regardless of their aspirations, and the poor who actually know of a reason to get a degree generally don't have the time and money to do so.

[yoozum]

10:36 AM on 02/24/2011

I have a hard time believing that a reputable company would offer someone a job that would cause someone to drop out of undergrad with the support of the company.

[Ferrante Photo]

04:52 PM on 03/05/2011

The governor of Wisconsin dropped out of Marquette because he said he found a job and that's what he was going to college for in the first place. Maybe it was on a farm milking cows.

[Uncle Bill]

05:33 PM on 03/11/2011

Similar motion- but Walker's milking lessons became "handy" when it came to cultivating billionaire campaign donors.

[TicTucTo]

06:59 PM on 02/20/2011

I go to a hardcore pharmacy/science-based school (I'm pre-med, go figure), and it's glaringly apparent that there are people that just don't belong here. A lot of people I know at my school 1) hate science, 2) are in pharmacy for the money, and 3) don't think they have any other option. All of this adds up, and it just makes people miserable to no end. What's more tragic is that these same people are filling up spots at the school and preventing people that actually want to be pharmacists from being accepted into the program. If you hate what you're learning, hate the school you're going to, and are bound to hate your future job, then get out, and let the rest of us actually enjoy our educational experience.

[lovbug]

03:02 AM on 02/22/2011

You do what's necessary these days to secure a job when you leave college. Just going to college and spending thousands of dollars in student loans to just get a Liberal Arts degree is not cutting the mustard in 2011. You now have to major in coursework that can spurn a decent job and wages. Stop complaining and do you, those students are also spending their money just as you are for that education...they can take what they want.

[TicTucTo]

07:22 AM on 02/22/2011

... and end up being horrible pharmacists? Health care is not something you should just go into for job security. I see the point you're making, but I cringe when I think about the kind of people at my school that are going to be working in healthcare; some of them clearly don't care.

[3neuticals]

06:20 PM on 02/23/2011

"Med", pharmaceuticals and biotech in general are saturated fields. Worse yet, there is a financial crunch as our government has become essentially insolvent with an impending lower credit rating in the cards. Good luck making decent money, whether you love it or not. Science is great, but there is no shortage of intellect out there practically begging for funding now that the paper is getting more scarce. Outfits forego PhD for Masters, and undergrad for specialized certification sans the increased pay....AND they want experience.

[Black Guy at Cornell]

05:57 PM on 02/20/2011

Here's the thing - unless you're pursuing a career-oriented four-year degree or have an eye towards higher education (grad school/professional school/PhD) then it doesn't really make a ton of sense to blow a ton of money on an expensive college.

[Michael Morrison]

06:46 PM on 02/20/2011

Yup...

Engineers of my acquaintance who have graduated from Berkeley make no more than those who have graduated from Cal State Northridge.

[EliSpark]

05:21 PM on 02/22/2011

It doesn't make a lot of sense even if you are in engineering. Both my cousin and my ex boyfriend graduated last year with engineering degrees. One had to move back in with his parents for a year because he could not find a job and the other had to continue working his school job plus he picked up an extra construction gig to make ends meet until he finally found work a year and a half later.

[Michael Morrison]

04:16 PM on 02/20/2011

The notion that every American needs a 4 year college degree is nonsense. Likewise, the notion that folks should have a college degree in order to be respected is nothing more than snobbery.

The nation needs trash collectors, factory workers, machinists, carpenters, electricians, and plumbers every bit as much as it needs scientists, engineers, dentists, MD's, and social workers, and we should ensure that people choosing the former trades are afforded the mobility and social respect of the latter.

Over the past few decades, it seems that we have invented a wide array of meaningless degree programs, and watered-down existing programs in an attempt to ensure that every high school student, regardless of aptitude or talent, has the opportunity to earn a degree that offers them no chance of employment.

[TaylerWoods]

02:59 PM on 03/06/2011

And it's more than pitiful that employers seem to be requiring even food servers or grocery baggers to hold at least a BA.....but that's just me.

[jaguar6cy]

03:00 PM on 02/20/2011

Higher education today is not economically viable. In fact it is supported only by imposing crushing student debt loads on young people who will get very little in return. The only winners are tenured professors and the well paid administrators and staff. Their hubris and greed have caused student debt loads to exceed the total of all credit card debt in the country. It is obvious that this not viable or fair, and it will not be allowed to continue.
The real answer was announced by Bill Gates last year when he proposed that within five years a world class college education, with world class instructors, will be available on the internet at a cost of $2,000.
The current system is about to fall and the problem we have is that we allowed so many young people to assume such massive debt to perpetuate the greed of “higher education” elites. It is already too late for too many of those students. In fact, last year “higher education” supported a bill that made student loans non dischargable in bankruptcy. Why was it necessary to do that if their educational product was valuable and their intentions were good. It is time to end the financial fraud and abuse that “higher education” has become.

[Qjersey]

09:15 AM on 02/20/2011

When I was in college, FedEx and UPS used to recruit in the student center...and yep, people dropped out. "Why work part time and go to school when the pay and benefits are better for full time?"

[BradJJ]

02:30 AM on 02/20/2011

I am suprised sleeping disorders and high levels of stress were not in that category. I am sure they mix in with those six reasons though.

[degenerate1991]

08:06 PM on 02/22/2011

I suppose that goes with "becoming clinically depressed".

[BradJJ]

07:41 PM on 02/23/2011

There have studies leading to many college students develope sleaping disorders, which could lead to stress and potentially depressions. There are many ways these things can tie in together.