College Dropout

College Dropout

Dropping out means leaving a school or group for practical reasons, necessities, or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves.

Most commonly, dropping out refers to a student quitting school before he or she graduates or avoiding entering a University. It cannot always be ascertained that a student has dropped out, as he or she may stop attending without terminating enrollment. It is estimated 1.2 million students annually drop out of high school in the United States, where high school graduation rates rank 19th in the world. Reasons are varied and may include: to find employment, avoid bullying, family emergency, poor grades, depression and other mental illnesses, unexpected pregnancy, bad environment, lack of freedom, and boredom from lack of lessons relevant to their desired occupations. The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts by Civic Enterprises explores reasons students leave school without graduating. The consequences of dropping out of school can have long-term economic and social repercussions. Students who drop out of school in the United States are more likely to be unemployed, homeless, receiving welfare and incarcerated. A four-year study in San Francisco found that 94 percent of young murder victims were high school dropouts.

In the 1960s, "dropping out" was used to mean withdrawing from established society, especially because of disillusionment with conventional values. It is a term commonly associated with the 1960s counterculture and with hippies and communes. See Turn on, tune in, drop out.

In clinical trials, participants may withdraw from the study, for example, due to adverse effects. This is also referred to as dropping out.