A couple million sets of U.S. parents just realized a dream: They sent sons and daughters off to colleges. Most immediately set their sights on a new dream: attending graduation ceremonies at those colleges.
But right about now, some are getting the first clues that might not happen. A few know it won’t — because their kids have already dropped out.
“I had a student leave the first week,” says Marcus Hotaling, a psychologist who directs the counseling center at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y.
“It does happen,” says Marjorie Savage, parent program director at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
In fact, surveys by ACT (the non-profit company behind the ACT test) show one-third of freshman do not become sophomores at the colleges where they started.
