Last week, we posted College without Completion -- Post #1, which discussed National Center for Educational Statistics's published statistics on cohort graduation rates. We continue the College without Completion thread with this post.
(image by flickr user ben.chaney)
In the last College without Completion post, we shared that, according to NCES, 42.7% of students did not get a bachelor's degree from the college at which they began within 6 years (Source). In this post, we look at the effects of leaving college without a degree.
There are multiple ways in which a student and his or her immediate family might be affected by a student's decision to leave college.
A student's potential earnings, as well as a student's quality of life, can be greatly diminished by the lack of a degree.
- Students who have some college but no degree face a higher unemployment rate and sub-median weekly pay check (Source).
- Students with a bachelor's degree or a higher degree report a lower level of poverty, a slightly higher job satisfaction rate, a lower obesity rate and children that are better prepared for school (Source).
When you want something in life, it's best to have a plan for how you will get it. Everyone wants a life of financial security—the ability to save and invest so that your money is working for you in a way that enables you to fulfill your life's goals. To achieve financial security, you need to create a financial plan.
Congratulations! Your college student has worked hard, you’ve stood by and supported him, and he’s almost made it to the finish line. Commencement is around the corner. But what if he’s almost there, but not quite? Does that mean that participating in graduation ceremonies is out of the question? Or that he’ll need to wait another year? The answer is – that depends. 
