Families, Struggling Students, and Workloads

Apparently, students everywhere are struggling.

I began doing a little research on this topic because I wanted to know if I was the only one being overwhelmed by work, family, and college. Glad to say that I wasn’t – but what does that mean for potential graduates?

“Working 30-plus hours a week is the norm for 42 percent of community college part-time students and 18 percent of those attending full-time. About half also are caring for children.” – Caralee Adams

With these kinds of statistics and a reported decrease in support from the state, it’s no wonder students are beginning to drop school in pursuit of their careers or just to be more available for their families.

This is similar to what’s happening to me – I would have to pay out-of-pocket for tuition and books, and with the way things are right now, I can’t imagine doing that. It’s more money than I can bring in every month.

When college students first start out, most rely on financial aid to get them through most of the classes. Whether it’s a grant, scholarships, or student loans, the majority of students won’t be able to pay for everything out of pocket.

So why the struggle? Is it only because of the financial aid and money matters? Or is there more to it than that?

“About 15 percent of the community colleges surveyed require students to take success courses that teach study skills and time management and have been linked to course completion and better grades, the report notes.”

Time management and a successful mindset are definitely two factors that have to be taken into consideration for anyone who is expecting to succeed in college or business. So why aren’t more colleges requiring success courses? How much do they cost? And what impact will they ultimately have on students who wind up struggling anyway?

Then there’s the matter of pride. How many students will actually come forward when they have an issue or find themselves struggling?

Personally, I feel that colleges all across the country should stop raising their tuition costs. This would solve several problems:

1. Colleges would be more likely to continue receiving more support from their respective states.
2. Students would be more likely to be able and/or willing to pay for their tuition costs out of pocket and/or in combination with a private student loan.
3. The tuition cost would still be a factor, but students wouldn’t be quite so intimidated by it.

Mind you, this is just my opinion. But how else can we fix this problem? The government is already essentially broke. Why would they be able to continue to pay for everything without getting anything in return? Maybe it’s time for the colleges to reconsider – and reconfigure – their budget as opposed to asking for more money?

It seems to me that this is really becoming a problem. When students are dropping out on a regular basis, there’s something wrong.

How will we solve these problems?