Why We Provide Scholarships to Students

Investing in scholarships is a powerful strategy to address the alarming college dropout rates in the United States, which have significant economic and social consequences. Below is an analysis of dropout rate data.

(Statistics from Education Data Initiative as of August 23, 2026 by Melanie Hanson https://educationdata.org/college-dropout-rates.)

College First-year Students Dropout Rates

Report Highlights. College enrollment records indicate that 38.2% of first-time, full-time bachelor’s degree seekers do not complete their degree program within eight (8) years.

• 14.2% of college freshmen who enrolled in Fall 2024 did not return for the spring semester.

• First-time, full-time undergraduate freshmen have a 12-month dropout rate of 22.3%.

• 43.1 million Americans had some college but no degree as of July 2023.

• In Fall 2024, 1.009 million former college students (i.e. dropouts) returned to school.

Related reports include College Graduation Statistics | College Enrollment Statistics | Financial Aid Statistics

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Dropout figures exclude students who died, who were totally and permanently disabled, or who left school to serve in the armed forces, foreign aid service, or church missions. Some dropout students may have transferred without notifying the reporting institution.

First-Year Student Dropout Rates

Most college students who drop out of school do so in the first academic year.

• 22.9% of all students who entered college as freshmen in Fall 2024 did not return in Fall 2025.

• Among those Fall 2024 college freshmen who did not return for Fall 2025, 62.0% dropped out before Spring 2025.

• At 4-year institutions, 18.3% of first-time, full-time college freshmen dropped out between 2022 and 2023.

• 4-year, public schools have the lowest dropout rate among all first-time freshmen, with 17.9% of students dropping out between the fall semesters of 2022 and 2023.

• 4-year private for-profit schools have the highest dropout rate of 38.7% for full-time students.

Nationwide College Dropout Rates

Adults who are both out of school and have some college with no credential (SCNC) account for approximately 16.1% of the national population.

• 43.099 million college dropouts (SCNC) live in the United States as of July 2023.

• 2.720 million SNCN adults in the U.S. are considered potential completers, having finished four semesters within the last decade*.

• Potential completers represent 6.31% of all SCNC adults in the U.S.

• 40.379 million SCNC Americans are not considered potential completers, representing 93.7% of all SCNC adults.

*Many postsecondary institutions will not accept old credits, and some course credits functionally expire after 10 years.

College Dropout Re-Enrollment Rates

In general, students who drop out of college and re-enroll later are less likely to drop out a second time. Full-time students are always more likely than part-time students to complete an award.

• In 2023, 1.009 million SCNC adults enrolled in postsecondary degree-granting institutions.

• Roughly 2-3% of all SCNC adults re-enroll, regardless of their original degree-granting institution.

• Among those re-enrolled students in 2023, men make up 40.4%, while women contribute to 56.6% of the re-enrolled population.

College Dropout Employment Rates

While college dropouts earn lower wages than college graduates, SCNCs earn more than high school graduates.

• Workers with some college but no degree have a 3.8% unemployment rate, which is 15.2% higher than the national average.

• Workers aged 25 and over with some college but no degree make a median of $1,020 weekly, which is 16.5% less than the average worker.

• Workers aged 25 and older with some college but no degree make 7.2% less than associate’s degree holders on average.

• Workers aged 25 and older with some college but no degree make 9.7% more than high school diploma only.

• Workers with bachelor’s degrees make a 51.3% higher income than SCNC workers.

College Dropout Rate Demographics

There is a direct correlation between lower income and an increased risk of dropout among all postsecondary students. Older students are also more likely to drop out than students who first enrolled as teenagers.

• There is a lower percentage of college students who drop out between the ages of 35 and 64 than under 35. 

• Until 24 years old, women exhibit lower rates of dropout, whereas, after the age of 25, the dropout rate among women increases. 

• Among college dropouts, 67.2% were under 35 years old when they were last enrolled.

• 30.7% of college dropouts are under 35 years old. 

• 2.7% of college dropouts are Asian while 1.0% are Native American.

• Black students make up 14.1% of all dropouts.

• White students make up the largest group of all dropouts, at 33.4% compared to all other college dropouts.

Online College Dropout Rates

While students who attend college primarily online drop out at higher rates, they are also more likely to re-enroll than those who dropped out of traditional institutions.

• College freshmen at primarily online schools have a 12-month dropout rate of 44.8%.

• The 12-month dropout rate among online freshmen declined 8.01% from AY2015-16 to AY2024-25.

• 28.1% of freshmen who started at online colleges in Fall 2024 did not return for the spring semester.

• Online freshmen aged 25 and older are the most likely to leave school with a 55.4% 12-month dropout rate.

• 1.931 million former students who attended college primarily online at some point did not graduate.

• 25,430 students enrolled in online colleges in AY2023-24.

We can make an impact!

Providing scholarships is not just an investment in education—it’s an investment in the future of individuals, families, and entire communities. The evidence is clear: financial support keeps students in school, helps them achieve their goals, and fosters economic and social well-being. Addressing dropout rates through scholarships is not merely a charitable act; it’s a strategic imperative for building a stronger, more equitable society.