College completion: Preventing fall falter

Posted by Michael and Susan Dell Foundation on September 28, 2015

Move over Summer Melt, Here Comes Fall Falter

For the past few years, “summer melt” has been a hot topic in college access and success. Thanks to a blog post from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation this month, many are now talking about “fall falter.” Ninfa Murillo, the author, points out that over 25% of low-income, first-generation students drop out at after their first year, a rate four times that of their higher income peers. This dropout rate is particularly concerning because students who drop out are more likely to default on their student loans. Murillo offers some reasons for why this may be the case as well as some helpful strategies that the Dell Foundation is using to help keep its scholars enrolled in college.

http://www.msdf.org/blog/2015/09/college-completion-fall-falter/