The dropout dilemma: One in four college freshmen drop out. What is going on here? What does it take to stay in?

Careers and Colleges, March, 2002 by Jonathan Whitbourne

Michael VanAdams was a model student in high school--president of his senior class, captain of the varsity tennis team, and a straight-A student. So when he received an academic scholarship to the University of Maine in Orono, nobody was surprised--especially not VanAdams. Having excelled both academically and socially at his small high school in rural New Hampshire, VanAdams expected more of the same in college. He was wrong.

VanAdams did poorly on his first couple of exams and even received a failing grade on his first term paper. Instead of asking his professors or classmates for help, VanAdams began to isolate himself, spending hours alone in his dorm room where he would play video games or send e-mails to friends back home. To make matters worse, he became homesick during his first weeks of college, longing for his high school friends and sweetheart, who was attending a community college in New Hampshire.

"I did all the wrong things," says VanAdams. "Instead of seeing my first couple of failures as wake-up calls, I became depressed and immediately started passing the blame onto others. I told my parents that the professors were awful and didn't like me; I told my girlfriend that the kids who went there were snobs and no fun at all. Basically, I blamed everyone but myself."

VanAdams also told himself that the University of Maine wasn't for him. He dropped out a couple of weeks before completing his first semester. "Frankly, I wasn't properly prepared for college," he says. "I didn't go into my freshman year with the right attitude. At age 18, I thought I had the world figured out; I thought I could ace my college classes like in high school. I couldn't have been more off. I was failing three classes, and I didn't see the point of sticking around."

GIVING UP AFTER JUST GETTING STARTED

VANADAMS'S STORY is hardly unique. According to American College Testing (ACT), one in every four students leaves college before completing sophomore year. What's more, nearly half of all freshmen will either drop out before getting their degree or complete their college education elsewhere.

It's strange when you think about it. High school students spend so much time stressing over getting into college--studying countless hours for standardized tests, traveling to visit campuses, laboring over every word in their admission essay. So why is it that when many finally get in, they don't want to be there?

"A large number of students are ill-equipped for the challenges of college," says Vincent Tinto, chair of the Higher Education Program at Syracuse University in New York, and author of Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition (University of Chicago Press). Tinto says students devote so much time to the admissions process, they forget to focus on what lies ahead: challenging academics, living away from home, maintaining their finances, learning time management skills, and taking responsibility for their own lives.

SURVIVAL COURSES

TO SLOW THE FRESHMAN exodus, colleges have been studying why freshmen become disenchanted and are creating programs that prepare students for what lies ahead. Dubbed by many colleges as "freshman survival courses," these programs train newcomers in time management, study techniques, and even how to meet and make new friends.

"Basically we're teaching students how to learn at the collegiate level and how to enjoy their new environment," says Raymond A. Brown, dean of admission at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.

One of the most successful (and oldest) of these programs is "University 101," which has been taught at the University of South Carolina in Columbia since 1972. Through this three-credit course, students master how to write a term paper, take effective notes, and manage both time and finances. "We're teaching them life skills, building a solid foundation that will, hopefully, help them throughout life," says Dan Berman, director of University 101. Thanks to this course, South Carolina has a high retention rate--less than 13 percent of its first-year students did not return last year.

6 REASONS FOR LEAVING

BEFORE DIVING INTO COLLEGE, review these six common reasons why freshmen leave, suggests Tinto. And for each scenario, check out the survival strategy that may help you from becoming a dropout statistic.

1. TOO MUCH FUN

LET'S FACE IT: Many college freshmen are away from home for the first time--and not everyone is homesick. "I remember going to parties every night for the first couple of weeks," recalls Sara Stanton of her early days at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. "There aren't any major exams or papers for the first couple of weeks, so you're almost lulled into a false sense of security. But you snap out of it pretty quick. I remember feeling like the grasshopper that played all summer; now it was my turn to pay.

And pay she did. Stanton spent several all-nighters frantically trying to catch up on the schoolwork that she'd neglected for so many weeks. Fortunately, she caught up and learned a valuable lesson. "Some of my friends weren't so lucky," she says. "My dorm had a lot more room come the end of the semester."