The National Center for Education Statistics estimates that last year, 20.2 million students attended colleges and universities in the United States. College Atlas would also estimates that 6.06 million of those same students will drop out after their first year. I was one of those 6.06 million.

There are a number of reasons why students drop out of college. The most common is money concerns. College costs are at an all-time high. Only 20 years ago in 1995, private school’s tuition and fees were an average of $14,000.00 per semester, public out-of-state tuition and fees were an average of $7,000.00 per semester, and public in-state tuition was a mere $2,500.00 per semester. Since then, costs have risen by an average of 30 percent putting current private colleges at $39,000.00 per semester, public out-of-state colleges at $24,000.00 per semester, and in-state colleges at about $10,000 per semester. Considering the average minor could only make about $27,144.00 from the age of the 14 (the lowest age of employment) to 18 years old (the average age a student graduates from high school) making minimum wage and working the maximum hours the United States Department of Labor allows, it’s very unrealistic to assume that a typical student can afford these costs on their own.

At the age of 18, I had only been working for 2 years and was expected by many to start college right out of high school. I have always been someone who thoroughly enjoyed learning, I wasn’t always good at it or able to stay focused but none the less, I loved it. I had a specific subject that I loved the most, but what I had been told all through high school was, “with a major like yours, you’ll have to study it for quite some time.” They weren’t wrong, but that would mean I’d have to be in school for at least 8 years in order to make any kind of use out of my major, Psychology. Financially, it was smarter for me to attend a community college for my prerequisites since it was much cheaper; so I did just that. A full-time semester costed about $3,500.00. I set up a typical 5 month payment plan and started working full time right away in order to afford it. Every month was harder than the last, and I began cutting it so close that eventually I started missing payments. An outstanding balance on a payment meant I was not able to register for classes the following semester. I had no other choice but to pay off my balance and take a semester off to save money for the next semester. It goes down as one of my biggest mistakes I’ve ever made.

What they don’t tell you is that, yes, college is very stressful and sometimes a semester off seems like just the thing to help you get your sanity, money, and sleep schedule back, but it after a certain point, it will actually hurt you more than it will help you. As much as taking a semester off and working might seem like a really good idea for your bank account, you’ll end up spending a bulk of that money somewhere else. For me, it all went to living expenses. I was working so much that I took on a car payment, car insurance, and other monthly bills that I now know I wasn't ready for.

You also end up having too much time. I know that sounds super condescending, but too much time can actually be a bad thing. If I wasn’t at home, I was at work, and if I wasn’t at either of those, I was going out with my friends to compensate for the all the free time I had. Lastly, one of the most accurate statements I was told as a high schooler really showed through, but it is really hard to go back once you stop. You get into the groove of things when you don’t go to school. Just like when you first start college, at first it’s really hard to get into the swing of things but eventually once it becomes routine, you start to become accustomed to the late night studying and lack of sleep. I got used to having one priority and one only.

Believe me when I say, that taking a semester off for any reason other than legitimately dropping out and not wanting to go to college anymore, is a bad idea. I would stress to anyone to make their education work, even if that means spending a little extra time with FASFA or looking for scholarships and grants. There was nothing more satisfying than knowing I was in school trying to achieve an education I felt so passionate about. Now that it’s not that easy of an option anymore, I wish I would have done something differently.