What’s happening to our college kids today? Have you been keeping up with current stats on how tough it is for high school graduates to make the transition to college life? What’s the current first/second semester dropout rate? How does the typical campus atmosphere play into the success/failure of a student? What is the cost to that freedom your child’s just gained?

Although there are exceptions, most students begin college with every intention of graduating, but the percent of first year college dropouts is alarmingly high. In fact, approximately 35% of students who enter college will drop out during the first year.

What needs to happen for youth to be less likely to get caught up in the vicious cycle of destruction that crime-related behavior causes? What else needs to happen to break this vicious cycle? We feel that teaching youth to manage and lead themselves is a VERY critical component some other youth programs miss. Let’s focus on not just working with and treating a problem AFTER it manifests into destructive behavior.

More recently Mary Beth Marklein, writing for USA Today, reports that nationally, four-year colleges graduated an average of only 53% of entering students within six years, and graduation rates of less than 30% are often the case, according to a report by the American Enterprise Institute, “a conservative think tank” (2011).

Why is the percentage of first year college dropout students so high? Then again, why is the overall number of dropouts so high?