Are you a dropout risk? 3 tips to stay in school

Are you going to be the one student in four who drops out of college after your freshman year?

Unfortunately, the odds are high; 28 percent of first-year students in four-year colleges and 44 percent of students enrolled in two-year colleges drop out following their freshman year, according to a 2010 report by ACT.org, the non-profit research organization behind the college placement test of the same name.

Dropouts don't just hurt their own career prospects. The cost of educating those students is astronomical -- $9.1 billion between 2003 and 2008 in government grants and state funds to four-year colleges and universities, according to a 2010 report from the American Institutes for Research, a social science research organization.

With the costs of educating students who fail to graduate so high, a number of public and private organizations are shifting from a focus on expanding access to higher education to retaining the students who are already enrolled.

What causes students to drop out?

Both academic and non-academic factors can contribute to the high dropout rate. The Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California Los Angeles surveys freshman each year about their first year of college. The 2010 survey found that freshmen struggled with some common problems:

• 36 percent had trouble adjusting to how different college is from high school
• 39 percent had trouble developing effective study skills and habits
• 48 percent struggled with poor time management
• 51 percent felt overwhelmed by how much they had to do

Non-academic adjustment problems may also contribute significantly to why students drop out, according to the survey:

• 37 percent felt isolated from campus life
• 61 percent were homesick

If you're feeling overwhelmed or isolated, you're not alone. There are strategies you can use to make sure you're one of the three out of four students who do graduate with a degree.

Don't be a dropout: 3 solutions

Colleges and universities are stepping up efforts to help students stay on track to a degree. In addition to taking advantage of resources offered by your university, here are three things you can do to stay in school for your sophomore year and beyond.

1. Attend orientations

Classes such as College 101, Freshman Year Experience, or Freshman Survival orient you to the campus and the resources available to you -- academically, socially, and culturally. According to the ACT survey, 85 percent of the schools surveyed offer College 101-type courses, and 92 percent offer them for credit, At least 50 percent of the schools who offer these courses have made them mandatory.

"Students who participate in [these] programs have higher grade point averages, are more satisfied with their college experience and institution, and have a stronger sense of community than those who do not," wrote the authors of Engendering College Student Success, a white paper from the McGraw Hill Research Foundation.

2. Get organized and get help

Record the dates for all papers and exams on a calendar, find a quiet place to study, attend all classes and stay awake. Take advantage of library and career planning services. When you need help, get it. Find a tutor or study group and meet with your adviser.

Interaction with faculty is noted in several retention studies as a key factor to staying in school. Look for a course that offers techniques and skills used by successful college students -- note taking, test taking, and time and stress management. More campuses are turning high tech with podcasts, Wikis, and blogs to make information access easier for students.

3. Be social

Find the balance between academics and fun. Actively get to know other freshmen -- they're going through the same stressful metamorphosis from high school to college that you are. Whether you choose to attend cultural activities, join a student organization, volunteer in the community or attend dorm function, getting involved helps you meet faculty, staff, and upperclassmen on a social level.

Those social connections con also become an academic lifeline if you need to borrow the notes for a missed class, get some peer feedback on a paper draft or just join forces with classmates to tackle difficult assignments.

Remember, you don't have to go it alone. Many freshmen are facing the same challenges you are, which is why colleges and universities have put resources in place to help you stay in school and get your degree. It's a win-win for everyone.

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