College Entrance Is Common--Completion Is Not

Betty Romero
ENC 1102


As soon as we finish high school, the first question that many of us had in mind was “Why should I go to college?” As I remember clearly not everybody had a clue what he or she wanted in life. Society would agree that attending and completing college grants better probabilities of a good employment and success in life for graduates than for those who do not enroll in post secondary education or tend to finish it. For instance, every time I have daydreamed about having a beautiful house or a nice car, my family and friends used to tell me that if I want to achieve my goals in life and make my dreams come true, I had better study and get a degree”; therefore, completing college is really important for me and my family who encourage me to get a degree in order to be successful in life. 

Although college entrance is a common thing in our country, college completion is not. Students enroll in college in order to pursue their aspirations in mind, but some of them will face obstacles on their way to achieve them. Dropping out may not only depend on the ability of the person to deal with the demands of college, impetus, intellectual aptitude, groundwork, and tuition costs, but also on social and financial support, the creation of bonds between students and teachers, and programs to offer academic assistance. As facts have shown, most of the male students are more likely to drop out and that 57% of graduates are women (O’ Conner). It seems that the high probabilities of graduation for women are due to three aspects: There are more women graduating from high school; nowadays, it is more common for women to attend college; and when they are finally enrolled in college, they are less likely than men to dropout ("Women More Likely To Enroll--And Stay--In College.").

While encountering with a range of new thoughts and viewpoints, students gain more flexibility. In other words, they are more able to recognize that their opinions on many issues are as valid as anyone else’s opinion. What is more, listening to the speeches of experts in their fields and reading books stimulates the students’ curiosity to learn and motivate them to be more engaged in their studies. For this reason, college may present a time of opportunities to increase moral reasoning, critical thinking, verbal and quantitative skills as well as personal growth. However, there are some facts that may repel students from completing college such as the appealing consideration of generating money in one of those jobs that do not require a degree qualification, the increasing price of tuition, or the overwhelming demands of college.

One thing that might keep students away from pursuing a college degree is the thought that throughout the years many people have been successful without the needs of education. In other words, “Is it really important for people to spend so much time in a room for our future life?” Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg are examples of people who dropped out of college and do not have a degree. However, they have made large amounts of money. Truth is there are many jobs out there that do not require a college degree and is tentative to quit studying just to make it easier to live. In reality, not all of us have the same fortune and these jobs will not be there forever. That is why those people who left college come back to get an education when they get older dealing with even more duties such as having to support a family ("Why college students stop short of a degree."). 

Another key point is that college tuition cost has become a challenge for those scholars trying to complete college. Not all the students have family support; therefore, there are some students who need to work in order to pay for college tuition. Many of full-time students are part-time workers due to the fact that they need time to study, but it is a reality that working twenty hours per week is not enough to get the necessary amount of money to afford the cost of classes and living expenses. In the last 25 years, the amount of money that full-time students pay yearly for education, room and board in a 2-year community institution has increased about 40%. In addition, federal financial aid has changed considerably transforming financial aid packages into loans, in other words, “aid” is considered “debt” making less affordable for poor and working class families to attend college (Patrick Sullivan). 

High tuition has not only affected American students in our nation. Osama Khalil, a native student from Iraq, is one of those cases of students who had to drop out from college. He said that as an international student he had to pay 4 times what Native American students have to because he was not eligible for financial aid. In addition, it is difficult for him to afford his expenses because he does not have a well-paid job. For these reasons, he had no option but to drop out, and now he is waiting to become a legal USA resident to try to pursue a degree. On the other hand, Zhengxuan Huang, an international student from China, explains that this is his second year at the University of Miami and he thinks that fees for attending Miami Dade College are much fairer when compared to the University of Miami. Despite the fact that he was well prepared for college, learning English was his main obstacle. Fortunately, he was able to learn the language in a fast pace and now the only concern is if he should still stay in the University of Miami. Huang’s family can afford the tuition fees, but he is not sure if paying $20,000 per term of school would be worth it ("Keeping up with College.").

It is not as if high school seems to be preparing students for the challenges they face in college either. When interviewing some of the people assisting college. Alfredo Troetsch, a student from Miami Dade College, shared his experience at college. When asking if he felt prepared for college, he said that high school prepared him only for entry level college mathematics. He states that some kinds of subjects he studied during high school did not help him for college either. In other words, it was a waste of time and kind pointless because he learned what is not related to his major ("Keeping up with College."). The lack of academic preparation is one of the reasons why students feel overwhelmed at college. They might be not used to the demand of college and only those who are adaptable, have high aptitude, and become engaged in their studies tend to adjust best in college and try to complete it.

It is important to realize that when students assist college, they have the opportunity to perfect skills and analyze new ways of looking at the world. This stimulation gives the students confidence and allows them additional cognitive growth and development with an edge in the job market over those who have not experienced a higher education. What is more, completing college and getting a degree also means more job openings, and more chances at promotions. Nowadays, the percentage of adults who have a college degree in the state of Florida is 36.5% and 38.3% for the whole nation. According to the Lumina Foundation, by 2018 almost 60% of jobs will require a college degree. Therefore, there is an urgent need to increase the rate of college graduates to help the economy and ensure a brilliant future of Florida (O’ Conner).

In order to benefit the students and job market needs, The president of the Miami Dade College (MDC),Dr. Eduardo J. Padron, has sent an email to the MDC staff in which he encourages the faculty to work together in order to increase the rate of students completing college. In the email, he refers to the MDC3 project as a successful intervention program which has helped overcome many challenges and that the up-to-date percentage of MDC graduates is beyond the National and the State average. Even though he does not explain which challenges he is talking about and the percentage given is not quite clear, Dr. Padron shows enthusiasm when inviting his staff to feel free to share ideas and contribute with mutual effort to make the plan possible in the near future (Padron, Email).

The majority of young adults are going to college, either to two-year or four-year institutions, public or private ones; nevertheless, the reality is that most of them will encounter obstacles on their way to completion that might cause them dropout. Some of these difficulties are the attractive thought of producing money in one of those employments that do not need a degree, the rising price of tuition, and the overwhelming requirements of college. As getting a degree is important to assure the students’ intellectual growth and brilliant future; we all need to work together. In other words, Institutions and teachers must enhance education and provide more academic assistance. In the same way, there must be more affordable fees for tuition while students take initiative and be proactive to adjust as best as they can and get the most out of college. For the welfare of the students and the future of the economy of our nation, the rate of graduates needs to rise.

Works Cited

Alfredo Troetsch. "Keeping up With College." Personal interview. 31 May 2012.

Khalil, Osama. "Keeping up With College." Personal interview. 31 May 2012.

O'Connor, John. "Florida Not Producing Enough College Graduates To Meet Job Market Demand." StateImpact. Local Public Media and NPR, 28 Mar. 2012. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://stateimpact.npr.org/florida/2012/03/28/florida-not-producing-enough-college- graduates-to-meet-job-market-demand/>.

Padron, Eduardo. "To Make a Difference." 7 May 2012. E-mail.

Sullivan, Patrick. "What Is Affordable Community College Tuition?: Part I." Community College Journal Of Research & Practice 34.8 (2010): 645-661. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 June 2012.

"Why college students stop short of a degree." Reuters. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 27 Mar. 2012. Web. 14 May 2012.

"Women More Likely To Enroll--And Stay--In College." Occupational Outlook Quarterly 53.2 (2009): 16. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 June 2012.

Zhengxuan Huang. "Keeping up With College." Personal interview. 31 May 2012.