Why We Quit?

Khoi Vo

Professor Flores

Psychology 2301

5 November 2018

Why We Quit?

As Winston Churchill once said “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts;” it is true that life will drag people down, it will use anything to make people surrender. Everybody will make some absolute worst decision in their life. In “Why We Quit” by Yvonne Raley, there are more students who drop out of college than the one who graduate. There are so much opportunities for college student to choose, such as: better career opportunities or make more money. Besides, most jobs require a college degree in order for people to be employed. Nevertheless, many students did not achieve their dream and have given up their hopes. There are some obstacles that why students drop out of college: Financial problems, career confusion, unprepared for college or emotional discouragement. Failing from graduating can lead to negative effect on a person’s future.

No one can expect themselves to drop out of college in their first year. Everyone wants a better job, better living condition, and better income. Yet, unforeseen individual’s difficult situations are college student’s worst nightmare. The story of Diana is an example of an average college who was given many great opportunities to change her life but when she felt lonely and confused, she has given up her dream. According to the article: “six out of every 10 jobs require a postsecondary education; adults younger than 25 are more than twice as likely to be unemployed if they lack a bachelor's degree; for those 18 and older, having a bachelor's raises average annual income by roughly 80 percent as compared with having only a high school diploma.” One problem of college attenders is they are not prepared themselves when entering college. There is a big jump between high school and college. Going to college means a person will have more responsibility, because it is the place that can define a person who they want to be in society. People understand that leaving college can lead to variety of undesirable consequences, like: they will struggle to find a qualified job; they will have more percentage of living in poverty and unemployment rate than the one who graduate. Thus, getting a bachelor’s degree will help a lot for a person to improve his future. Then, it takes too much time and money to invest. Also, college students will suffer from student loan and other debt crisis that discourage them from graduated. Anyone who doesn’t have patient would probably abandon his opportunities. Therefore, most students drop out of college in the end of their freshmen year.

To understand why so many people quit college, scholars have to calculate and analyze the college statistic. According to Vincent Tinto, going to college is problematic for those people who are not used to live separately from their families, communities and friends. They have difficulties in finding new friends, dorms, trustful roommates or professors. Furthermore, Tinto claims that students also find trouble when surrounded with different culture and values. For example, a minority will struggle to fit it with the majority of people. College is also a place of parties. Spending too much time on parties will subsequently lead a person into failing classes. A confident college student is the one who values cultural background and find interest in academic career. Tinto concludes that academic advisors is one of the main element that assist a person into institution success. Tinto’s idea is praised by many researchers because of his realistic study on student’s psychology.  In addition to Tinto’s study, John Braxton also adds some factors that effect a ‘student entry characteristic’ for instance: family factors; race, ethnicity, genders and high school record.

Besides those family circumstantial, academic background is also important for selective college student. “Why we quit” article includes a statistic from 2004 ACT result. Students with high ACT or SAT score will likely graduate from college greater than those who do not have taken ACT/SAT or just having a High School diploma. About 76% students graduated college are the one who has decent Scholastic Assessment Test; compare to those 34% people who did not take placement tests. Getting high score is always the advantages for smart students, However, a study points out that smart students are subjective about their study management. Smart students do not try hard and do not organize time well because they always think they can get away without study properly. Those people will less likely to pass. In contrast, less gifted students who not always get high score in their work, but they can manage their time for study very efficiently. In order to success in college, a student should take study seriously and focus on the major they are following.