In a time where the price of education is only getting higher, thousands on thousands of students are choosing to discontinue their education, which begs the question: why?
“A large number of students who enrol [in university] don’t graduate at the end,” said Andrew Cardozo, a professor at Carleton’s school of journalism and the executive director of the Pearson Centre for Progressive Policy, “I think there’s an assumption that a certain amount of students will drop off.”
Greg Snell, who spent a semester at Carleton University studying economics, said he pursued a post-secondary education because he was unsure of his future.
“You hear everywhere that you need a degree to get a job,” Snell said. “I would like to say that that is not always the case.”
Snell left university and immediately joined the workforce. Working in a trades job, he said he saved enough money to move out and afford a car.
Snell’s story is a common one, and many students have dropped out for similar reasons.
The statistics
The 2011 Youth in Transition Survey (YITS) from Statistics Canada revealed that about 14 per cent of first-year students drop out of their university program.
But when accounting for all undergraduate students, that number rises to 16 per cent.
Ross Finnie, a professor at the University of Ottawa’s faculty of social sciences, said first-generation students—people whose parents did not attend post-secondary institutions—are considered to be at risk for dropping out, but in reality aren’t any less likely to graduate from post-secondary schools.
“Part of the reason is that [for] those who make it into post-secondary education, there’s a huge barrier in terms of socioeconomic background, especially in terms of parental education,” he said. “But once they’re in, they’ve made it over that big hurdle, [and] like I said, they do okay.”
The YITS also recorded that race and ethnicity had no effect in determining dropout rates.
14% of first-year students drop out of their university program, according to the 2013 Youth in Transition Study by Statistics Canada.
“Visible minority youth were more likely to participate [in] postsecondary education, especially in university,” the YITS study stated. “There were no differences however, in terms of their likelihood of dropping out.”
But the study revealed some demographics did, in fact, have higher dropout rates than others.
According to the study, men were more likely to drop out than women, students from rural communities were more likely to drop out than students from urban areas, and students whose parents attended post-secondary were more likely to finish their degrees.
Why do some students drop out?
Snell said he could tell from the first week of university that post-secondary studies might not be for him.
“The degree seemed vague and I didn’t really have a direction to go in,” Snell said. “It seemed like there were a lot more opportunities in the trades, so I left.”
According to the YITS, there are factors that can be seen from the start that correlate to higher dropout rates.
“In the first year, dropouts were already struggling in terms of meeting deadlines, academic performance and studying patterns,” according to the YITS study. “Compared to graduates and graduate continuers, more dropouts felt they had not found the right program.”
There are also students who seem to be pursuing post-secondary studies just because they don’t know what else to do after high school.
“It gets drilled into your head that after high school, you need to go to university, get a degree, [and] find a job,” said Skyler Alexander, a former Bachelor of Arts student at Carleton.
“It gets drilled into your head that after high school, you need to go to university, get a degree, [and] find a job.”—Skyler Alexander, a former Bachelor of Arts student at Carleton
Alexander, who took a break from his studies after completing his first year, said he attended university because it was what everyone else was doing.
“I might go back and finish, but right now I need to mature and explore other options, just see what other paths I can take,” Alexander said. “I wish someone told me about other options, even to take a gap year.”
Many university students also dropped out for financial reasons, according to the 2013 University Experience Survey (UES).
“The reasons noted more commonly by . . . students revolve around finance, family obligations and core issues relating to ‘getting by,’ ” the UES study reported.
But Finnie said financial aid is not the only reason students drop out of school.
“There’s no single set of reasons and it certainly isn’t financial,” he said. “There’s a lot of different things in students’ lives.”
Along with financial reasons and uncertainty toward their programs, students say another reason for dropping out is the university learning style.
Phil Hyde, a former history student at Carleton, said he felt the degree he signed up for was not what he thought it was and he found it difficult to adjust to university classes.
“[I felt] like a number rather than a student,” he said.
Health can be also be a factor
Maureen Murdock, the director of Carleton’s Health and Counselling Services, said health reasons may be a factor
for students who drop out of school.
“It could be because they have a diagnosis of something pretty serious, like cancer, and have to leave to pursue treatments or surgery,” she said. “For mental health, if it’s serious enough that they can’t continue, that’s a possibility.”
According to Daniel Eisenberg, a professor at the University of Michigan’s department of health management and policy, students with depression are twice as likely to drop out of university.
“The most harmful effects of depression on academic performance occur when people report a lack of interest in their usual activities,” he said.
“It seems likely that depressive and anxiety symptoms could interact in a cycle, where low energy and engagement leads to poor performance,” Eisenberg added. “Which produces anxiety and even worse performance, which then reduces energy and engagement further.”
But Murdock said most students find support to cope with their health issues and remain in school.
“They might be suffering from anxiety or depression, but they don’t intend to drop out. Most of them want support, and do stay in,” Murdock said. “They want the support from counselling, from a physician, from other services on campus to be able to stay here,” she said.
Murdock added, though, that some students find it helpful to take time off and focus on their health, rather than dropping out for good.
The aftermath
“The biggest thing about dropping out for me was the money,” Snell said. “I had to make a choice, as every moment still in school would cost me more.”
Snell said he had to start paying back his student loans as soon as he left university.
He said that while students from more affluent backgrounds who drop out may be able to walk away free of debt, many students who apply for Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) grants and loans may have to pay thousands of dollars back if they drop out of post-secondary.
Thinking of dropping out?
“Of course, there’s the stigma of dropping out as well,” Snell said. “A lot of it is because you don’t want other people to label you as a failure, that you gave up. What they don’t understand is that university is not for everyone, and those who stay in may be even more behind than those who figure it out and make their move sooner.”
Many university students dropped out in favour of college’s shorter study periods and more hands-on learning, while others have gone right into the workforce.
“My advice would be to figure yourself out first.“ Hyde said. “Many students aren’t ready for university but decide to go anyway.”
Dropping out may not be the decision for everyone, and there are services out there to help students gain a clearer image of their goals and future.
“Some of the students who are facing problems don’t know about the resources that are available or don’t want to talk to somebody, or wait until it’s too late, or . . . hope they can get over it on their own,” Cardozo said.
Finnie also said support programs for at-risk students are all about helping students succeed in post-secondary education.
“This is the stuff that . . . can change a person’s life,” he said. “Because if you drop out, and lose that opportunity to post-secondary education, that’s a life-changing shift, and we want those people who have the ability to get through [to] succeed.”
According to Murdock, services like the Paul Menton Centre, FIT Action, Health and Counselling Services, and the Student Academic Success Centre are all available to support students at Carleton through their academic struggles.
Murdock said students at risk for dropping out are reached out to by support services, like the campus student support manager.
“I think there’s quite a number of departments on campus that are reaching out to students, identifying when they might be vulnerable or at risk,” she said. “They might be on academic warning, academic probation, and they do reach out to them to see if they’re into the right services.”
“If you drop out, and lose that opportunity to post-secondary education, that’s a life-changing shift, and we want those people who have the ability to get through [to] succeed.”—Ross Finnie, professor at the University of Ottawa
Back to school, eventually
Cardozo said his main concern about students who drop out of university is whether they will continue their post-secondary education.
“I think a lot of students do feel alone at university, and it’s not right for them, and they’d rather be doing something else,” he said. “My preference is that they would go on to do some other kind of post-secondary education or training, whether it’s apprenticeship or at colleges.”
Snell said he does plan on going back to school, but to a college for a shorter study period and more applicable knowledge.
“I wish I had taken a year off to work or travel, to figure out what my end goal was,” Snell said. “I do wish I went to college right after high school, as opposed to going to university, but hindsight is 20/20.”
While not on their immediate radar, both Alexander and Hyde said the prospect of returning to school is definitely on their minds—albeit years in the future.
“Higher education is definitely useful,” Hyde said. “It just isn’t the right decision for me right now.”
—With files from Madison Ranta and Julia Anderson
