Is Your Child a Futue College Dropout?

I recently read an article in a magazine title, “Is College Still a Good Investment?” The article got me thinking about the concept. Does the lifetime earning a college degree provides still make up for the money spent on the rising cost of college attendance? I personally think it does and the article agrees claiming that college graduates earn an average of $900,000 more over their lifetime than people who only have a high school diploma.

However, the article didn’t fully address a segment of the population that I want to discuss; college dropouts. Students who begin college, but do not finish get the worst of both worlds. They spend a lot of money on college, they probably accrue debt in the process, and they don’t leave with a diploma that can lead to a better job and more earnings. That’s a double whammy.

In my job, it’s not hard to spot the potential future college dropouts. They have poor high school attendance, their grades lag, they have discipline issues at school and at home. Yet, Mom is in my office every week asking me about how to get into their dream school and where to look for scholarships (Insert eye roll emoji here).

From the parent perspective, I do understand. Parents envision their children going to college and to great things beyond from the moment they’re born. It’s hard to pump the breaks on that. Plus, some parents believe that if they can just get their high school student out of town and away from the high school friends that drag them down, maybe they’ll mature and get it together and start to realize their potential. I think there are circumstances in which that happens. It’s not the most common outcome, but it happens.

I’m usually a big fan of starting college right after high school and carrying forward the academic momentum, but there are circumstances where that just doesn’t make sense. Parents need to consider whether starting college right away is a good financial decision as well as a good decision for the social and emotional dynamics of their family.

There are plenty of students who I might have thought would have struggled in college who have done very well. I’ve seen outstanding high school students who have floundered in college and didn’t make it too. More than those though, are the students who are really struck with the bad “school habits” listed above and who are pushed into college before they are ready. They burn through thousands of dollars and end up right back at home and their high school job in a few months’ time.

Is your student really ready? Make them prove that they are. Hold them accountable and say, “No more absences, As and Bs, home by curfew every night. If you can do that, you can go. If you can’t, why should we spend the money?” Then ask yourself, why should you spend the money today? You can still spend it tomorrow when your child is ready.