The college dropout rates have increased rapidly over the past years.
Obtaining a college degree is often seen as an important step towards career and financial success.
However, many students who begin college end up leaving before completing their degree.
In fact, college dropout rates in the United States average around 30-40%. This means that for every 100 students who start college, only 60-70 go on to finish within 6 years.
This article will explore recent trends in college dropout rates.
It aims to provide a comprehensive overview of why so many college students fail to graduate and how this complex issue might be addressed.
So, let’s quickly get into it.
Table of Contents
- College Dropout Rates: At A Glance
- How Many People Drop Out Of College?
- College Dropout Rates In The United States
- College Dropout Rate Demographics
- Freshmen College Dropout Rates
- College Dropout Retention Rates
- College Dropout Employment Rates
- College Dropout Economic Impact
- College Dropout Rates Of Foster Care Students
- Disabled Students’ College Dropout Rates
- College Dropout Rates By State
- College Dropout Rates By Major
- Why Do Students Drop Out Of College?
- What Percentage Of College Dropout Students Become Successful?
- College Dropout Rates Due To Covid-19 Pandemic.
- Wrapping Up
College Dropout Rates: At A Glance
College dropout rates impact students and institutions, leading to financial hardship and reduced opportunities. It’s a significant issue.
- 40% of students drop out from college on average. On the other hand, 30% of students tend to drop out from the first year of their college.
- Approximately 38% of students drop out of college due to financial issues. Besides, financial instability is one of the major reasons students drop out of the university.
- The dropout rates of public university students are reported to be greater than 50%.
- Male students tend to have 20% higher dropout rates than female students in college.
- The highest dropout rate recorded by students over the past years is 41%.
- 56% of the students in the United States tend to drop out of their college.
- In the United States, the average retention rate is 71%.
- College dropout students earn 35% less than college graduate students.
- Massachusetts has the lowest dropout rates for college students. The dropout rate in the state is 56%. On the contrary, the lowest dropout rate of college students is recorded in the state of West Virginia, which is 79%.
- The United States is ranked 11th on the list of countries with the highest dropout rates of college students. At the same time, South Korea stands in the first position.
- Computer Science students have the highest dropout rates of 10.37% as compared to the other major fields of study.
- The 6-year graduation rate was 74% for White students, 62% for Hispanic students, 54% for Black students, and 69% for Asian students (NCES, 2021)
- The 6-year graduation rate at public colleges was 62%, compared to 81% at private nonprofit colleges and 52% at private for-profit colleges (NCES, 2021)
- Graduation rates vary significantly by selectivity – the 6-year rate was 88% at very selective institutions, compared to 62% at open admission institutions (NCES, 2021).
- Community colleges had much lower graduation rates, with 25% of full-time students completing an associate’s degree in 3 years or less (NCES, 2021).
- About 44% of nontraditional college students (over age 24) drop out annually, compared to just 31% of younger students (EducationData, 2022).
- Financial struggles are a top reason students drop out, with 33% citing this factor (US News & World Report, 2021).
How Many People Drop Out Of College?
18. Every year, 4 out of 10 students drop out of college in the United States. Moreover, 30% of the dropout students were found to drop out in the first year of their college.
19. Public universities have a dropout rate of more than 50%. The number of students receiving federal grants to graduate is reported to be 10 to 20% less in public colleges as compared to private institutions. Hence, the dropout rates in Public schools are greater than in Private schools.
What Is The Highest Dropout Rate In Colleges?
20. The highest dropout rate based on the data collected over the past years is reported to be 41%. These dropout rates are of American Indians/Alaska Natives.
It is roughly higher by some percentage than the average dropout rates of college students.
College Dropout Rates In The United States
21. According to the data collected over the past years, 56% of students drop out of college in the United States.
22. One of the major reasons for students dropping out of college in the United States is reported to be the high costs of education in the nation.
23. 43% of the students in the United Nations who enroll in college drop out of the institute even before receiving a diploma. At the same time, some students drop out of college before completing six years of their college.
College Dropout Rate Demographics
24. Male students are 20% more likely to drop out compared to female students.
25. 19.1% of Asian students drop out of college overall.
On the contrary, 45.1% of American Indian or Alaska Native students drop out of college.
The following table displays the percentage of overall college dropouts from different ethnicities. (2021)
| Ethnicity | Percentage of College Dropouts |
| White or Caucasian | 59.11% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 13.06% |
| Black or African-American | 11.1% |
| Non-resident | 6.68% |
| Asian-resident | 6.59% |
| Multiracial | 2.85% |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 0.61% |
26. In public universities, 35% of women drop out of college, while 41% of men tend to drop out of public universities.
The following table displays the dropout rates of men and women in different institutions.
| Institution Type | Female Dropout Rates | Male Dropout Rates |
| Public universities | 35% | 41% |
| Private non-profit colleges | 29% | 36% |
| Private for-profit college | 72% | 75% |
27. 10% of the Asian students drop out of the two colleges. In comparison, 18% of white students tend to drop out of college.
The following table displays the percentage of dropout rates of students from different races in two-year colleges.
| Ethnicity | Percentage Of Dropout Students. |
| Asian | 11.2% |
| Black | 33% |
| White | 19% |
| Hispanic | 21.6% |
| Native American | 35.6% |
28. 35% of Asian students drop out of four-year colleges, while 52% of black students tend to drop out of four-year colleges.
The following table displays the number of students from different ethnicities who drop out of four-year colleges.
| Ethnicity | Percentage Of Dropout Students. |
| Asian | 35% |
| Black | 52% |
| White | 42% |
| Hispanic | 40% |
| Native American | 53% |
29. Students who are under the age of 20 have 13% to 22% higher chances of graduating as compared to the students who have enrolled in colleges after the age of 20.
30. Furthermore, 5% of the students who are 19 years or younger drop out from two-year colleges. In comparison, students between the age of 24 and 29 years have a dropout rate of 52% from two-year colleges.
The following table displays the dropout rates of students who attend two-year colleges from different age groups.
| Age Group | Percentage Of Student Dropouts From Two-Year Colleges. |
| 19 years or younger | 5% |
| 20 to 23 years | 51% |
| 24 to 29 years | 52% |
| 30 years or older | 52% |
31. 15% of the students that are aged 19 years or younger drop out from four-year colleges. On the other hand, students who are aged between 24 to 29 years have a dropout rate of 52%.
The following table displays the dropout rates of students from different age groups in four-year institutes.
| Age Group | Percentage Of Student Dropouts From Four-Year Colleges. |
| 19 years or younger | 15% |
| 20 to 23 years | 51% |
| 24 to 29 years | 52% |
| 30 years or older | 54% |
Freshmen College Dropout Rates
32. 3 out of 10 students drop out in the first year of their college.
33. The dropout rate tends to be highest in the first year. Estimates vary, but roughly 20-30% of freshmen do not return for their sophomore year.
34. 24.1% of first-time, full-time freshmen dropped out of college between the fall semesters of 2019 and 2020.
35. In the year 2006, the dropout rate of first-year students was recorded to be 29%. However, in the year 2019, the dropout rate of first-year students dropped to 24.1%.
The following table displays the dropout rates of first-year students over the past years.
| Year | Percentage Of College Dropouts |
| 2006 | 29% |
| 2009 | 28.1% |
| 2015 | 24.7% |
| 2016 | 24.5% |
| 2017 | 24.4% |
| 2018 | 23.8% |
| 2019 | 24.1% |
Source: NCES.
36. At 4-year year institutions, 18.4% of the students dropped out from the first years of full-time college in the year 2019-2020.
37. 39.0% of the freshmen students dropped out from 2-year institutions.
38. The highest dropout rate of first-time freshmen students is observed in for-profit schools. It is recorded to be 34.2% between the fall semester 0f 2019-2020.
39. First-time freshmen at selective public schools are 51.9% less likely to drop out of college.
The following table displays the percentage of dropout rates of full-time freshmen students over the past years in two-year institutes as well as four-year institutes.
| Academic Year | Two-Year Institutes | Four-Year Institutes. |
| 2015- 2016 | 37.7% | 19.2% |
| 2016- 2017 | 37.6% | 19.0% |
| 2017- 2018 | 37.7% | 19.0% |
| 2018-2019 | 37.0% | 18.7% |
| 2019- 2020 | 39.0% | 18.4% |
Source: NCES.
College Dropout Retention Rates
40. The average retention rate for first-time, full-time college students is 60%. This means that about 40% of students drop out of college within their first year.
41. The average retention rate in America is reported to be 71%.
42. 33% of the students drop out of college because of not being able to complete four-year college in six years.
43. The retention rate of students in two-year colleges is reported to be 81%, while the retention rate of students in colleges with open admission is 62%. On the other hand, institutions with acceptance rates of less than 25% have retention rates of 97%.
44. Moreover, institutions with acceptance rates of more than 25% have retention rates of 63%. Further, a 97% retention rate was recorded at private non-profit organizations without an open admission policy.
45. Above all, the overall retention rate for a private for-profit institution is recorded to be 60%.
The following table displays the retention rates of the students in different four-year organizations.
| Type Of Institute | Retention Rate |
| General retention rate | 81% |
| Colleges with open admissions | 62% |
| Institutions with acceptance rates lower than 25% | 97% |
| public institutions with an acceptance rate of higher than 25% | 63% |
| Public institutions that did not have an open admissions policy | 97% |
| private non-profit institutions that donot have open admissions policy | 97% |
| Private non-profit institutions with an open admissions policy | 65% |
| private for-profit institutions | 60% |
| private for-profit institutions with open admissions | 55% |
46. The overall retention rate for a two-year institution is reported to be 62%. Besides, the retention rate of a two-year public institution rate is recorded to be 65%.
47. At the same time, a 66% retention rate was recorded for private for-private two-year institutions.
The following table displays the retention rates of various two-year institutions.
| Institute-Type | Retention Rate. |
| Two-year institutions | 62% |
| Public two-year institutions | 62% |
| private for-profit two-year institutions | 66% |
| private non-profit two-year institutions | 72% |
College Dropout Employment Rates
48. Workers who have attended some college but have no degree have an unemployment rate of 5.5%, which is reported to be 17% higher than the national average.
49. Workers who have attended some college but have no college degree earn an average of $899 weekly, which is 14.9% less than the average worker.
50. In 2021, the employment rate for 20-24-year-olds with some college but no degree was 67%, compared to 75% for those with an associate’s degree and 84% for those with a bachelor’s degree (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
51. A 2019 Gallup survey found that 34% of college dropouts strongly agreed they had the ideal job for them, compared to 45% of graduates from the same cohort.
52. Workers who are aged 25 and older with some college but do not have any degree are reported to make 7.1% less than the students who own associate degree holders on average.
53. Compared to workers who have no high school diploma, SCNDs usually make 43.6% more income annually.
54. Workers who have bachelor’s degrees reportedly make a higher income by 48.4% as compared to other workers.
The following table displays the percentage of dropout rates of the students who attend college part-time and tend to work part-time for 2-year institutes as well as for four-year institutes.
| Academic Year | Two-Year Institutes | Four-Year institutes |
| 2015-2016 | 55.7% | 51.1% |
| 2016-2017 | 55.0% | 51.3% |
| 2017-2018 | 55.3% | 50.8% |
| 2018-2019 | 55.6% | 50.9% |
| 2019-2020 | 59.6% | 50.2% |
Source: NCES.
55. Dropouts from public 4-year institutions have an unemployment rate of 5.2%.
56. Dropouts from private nonprofit 4-year institutions have an unemployment rate of 5.3%.
57. Dropouts from private for-profit 4-year institutions have an unemployment rate of 7.2%.
58. Dropouts from public 2-year institutions have an unemployment rate of 7.1%
College Dropout Economic Impact
59. College dropout students were found to earn 35% less than college graduate students.
60. Due to college dropout students, $3.8 billion is lost each year.
61. 55% of college students reported that they struggle financially to pay for their education. Hence, 51% of students drop out of college due to a lack of money.
62. 79% of the students have to delay their education due to a lack of finances.
63. College dropouts with student loans are observed to be four times more likely to default on their loans than indebted college graduates.
64. 40% of college dropouts have a 3.0 GPA or even higher than it.
65. 39% of college dropout students reported that the education that they were pursuing wasn’t worthy of their money.
66. 57% of the students who take on student loans do not prefer to graduate.
67. Due to the dropout, student institutions suffered a loss of approximately $16.5 billion in tuition revenue.
68. The average lifetime earnings for someone with some college but no degree are estimated to be $780,000 less compared to someone who graduated from the same institution (Brookings 2019).
College Dropout Rates Of Foster Care Students
69. Foster kids have the least chance of graduating through college. Only 8 to 10% of the foster kids graduate from college, while the rest, 90%, drop out of them drop out from college.
70. The dropout rates of foster kids decrease to 64% when provided with financial support and assistance. Hence the graduation rate increased to 44%.
71. Students who are diagnosed with schizophrenia have a 47% chance of dropping out.
72. A student diagnosed with depression has a 33% chance of dropping out of college.
Disabled Students’ College Dropout Rates
73. 49% of students suffering from ADHD are more likely to drop out.
74. 47% of the students diagnosed with schizophrenia drop out of their college.
75. 76% of students with disabilities tend to drop out of college.
76. Roughly 1 out of every three disabled students drop out of college before graduation within four years.
College Dropout Rates By State
77. The state with the lowest college dropout rates is Massachusetts, with 56% of the dropout rates. In comparison, the state with the highest college dropout rates is West Virginia, with a dropout rate of 79%.
The following table displays the top 10 states with the lowest dropout rates.
| State | Percentage Of College Dropout Rates |
| Massachusetts | 44% |
| Colorado | 41% |
| New Jersey | 41% |
| Maryland | 40% |
| Virginia | 39% |
| Connecticut | 39% |
| New York | 37% |
| New Hampshire | 37% |
| Washington | 36% |
The following table displays the top 10 states with the highest dropout rates.
| State | Percentage Of College Dropout Rates |
| West Virginia | 21% |
| Mississippi | 22% |
| Arkansas | 23% |
| Louisiana | 24% |
| Kentucky | 24% |
| Nevada | 24% |
| Oklahoma | 26% |
| Alabama | 26% |
| Wyoming | 27% |
| Tenesse | 27% |
College Dropout Rates By Major
78. Computer science is reported to be the major with the highest dropout rate of 10.7%. On the contrary, Mediccal is reported to have the lowest dropout rate of 5.9%.
The following table displays the dropout rates of the students with different majors in their University.
| Rank | Major | Percentage Of College Dropout Students. |
| 1 | Computer Science | 10.37% |
| 2 | Advertising | 7.7% |
| 3 | Agriculture | 7.4% |
| 4 | Art | 7.3% |
| 5 | Architecture | 7.2% |
| 6 | Business | 7% |
| 7 | Engineering | 6.9% |
| 8 | Biology | 6.7% |
| 9 | Education | 6.1% |
| 10 | Medical | 5.9% |
Why Do Students Drop Out Of College?
79. 38% of the students drop out of college due to financial issues or due to lack of financial support.
80. While 13% of the students drop out of college as they are not able to adapt to the college environment.
81. Students who dropped out of college due to health problems were recorded to be the 5% of the dropout students.
The following table displays the reasons for students dropping out of college.
| Reason For Dropout | Percentage Of Students |
| Financial issues | 38% |
| Not able to fit into social life at college | 13% |
| Lack of support from family | 9% |
| academic disqualification | 28% |
| Mental, emotional, or psychological issues | 3% |
| Greater distance from their college | 4% |
| Health problems | 5% |
| Family | 32% |
| Not the right fit | 30% |
| Lack of time | 24% |
| Change in program venue | 9% |
| Responsibility as the first generation in low-earning families | 89% |
What Percentage Of College Dropout Students Become Successful?
82. The success rate of college dropout students is reported to be only 6%.
However, there is no guarantee that the students who drop out of college to pursue their interests or careers will succeed in their lives.
On the other hand, some of the most successful people are college dropouts, as they have planned their goals and worked on their strengths with a clear sense of direction.
College Dropout Rates Due To Covid-19 Pandemic.
83. Covid-19 affected the college dropout rates intensively. The dropout rates skyrocketed in the year 2020.
84. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, of the 2.6 million students who started college in the fall of 2019, 26.1%, or approximately 679,000 students, didn’t come back the next year to college.
85. Students said that they were feeling lost and depressed during the pandemic. While some students reported that they even felt anxious, and the situation was weighing too much on them.
86. There was a 3.5% increase in the dropout rates of students in community colleges.
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- Community College Statistics
Wrapping Up
College dropout rates in the U.S. remain high, with over a third of students leaving school without a degree.
This trend has complex causes rooted in academic struggles, financial pressures, and lack of motivation.
Dropping out can severely hurt students’ career prospects and earnings potential. It also represents wasted resources for colleges and taxpayers supporting higher education.
Addressing issues of college affordability and preparedness at the K-12 level is also key. With coordinated efforts, it may be possible to improve completion rates and degree attainment significantly.
I hope this article helped you to know the facts on college dropout rates. What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comment section below.
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