"Freshmen Drop-outs" by Megan McCue

Josh was an honor student graduating at the top of his class. Once arriving to the University of Georgia’s campus he planned on getting involved in as much as possible. After a couple weeks into classes he began to feel overwhelmed trying balance fraternity events and hanging out with friends on top of his ridiculous workload. He needed some down time to relax. He figured it would not make a difference if he missed a couple classes and borrowed the notes from a buddy. However, those couple days turned into a couple weeks and his attendance record was not the only thing that began to plummet.
According to College Board, over 98% of UGA’s incoming freshmen received at least a 3.0 high school GPA. Clearly, the student body has the intelligence and ability to achieve satisfactory grades. At the same time stories like the one above are far too common. Why then is there such a discrepancy between grades in college and those of secondary educational facilities?
The transition to college proves to be a difficult one, as adolescents are freed from their parents’ reigns and now call all the shots. Many freshmen lose focus once arriving, being distracted by the social scene. As Dr. Monahan explains during an interview, in a college town with 32,000 fellow students and a downtown area with 75 bars the temptation to do anything but study is great (Games Drinkers Play). Not to mention the luring Greek Roe with fraternity parties every night of the week, it is no wonder how first years get sidetracked from doing homework.
Rolling out of bed hung-over following a night out to attend an 8a.m. class is not too appealing. In a study regarding adolescents, substance abuse was directly related to poor academic performance (Relationship Lifestyle). Most freshmen courses are lectures filled with hundreds of students which makes keeping track of attendance next to impossible. Therefore, it is easy to sleep in and skip class when no penalty is enforced for missing a day. The feeling of guilt one experiences the first time skipping lessens each following time as a habit is also built. In a study conducted by the American Educational Research Association, 72% of the sample group’s final course grade could be predicted by attendance, with each day of absence dropping a student’s grade by an average of two points.
By routinely going out late and strolling back to the dorms at the crack of dawn, a lack of quality sleep becomes another issue. It is not news that being deprived of sleep affects one’s memory thus affecting one’s classroom performance. As explained during a psychology lecture by Dr. Achee, during sleep the thoughts and information previously on the awakened mind continue to circulate in the brain. This is why studying in the evening and then getting a full night’s worth of sleep is more beneficial than pulling an all-nighter prior to an exam. Freshmen are playing the catch up game by putting off assignments until the last possible moment and then cramming the entirety in one night. However, these irregular sleeping patterns indirectly affect grades in a negative way.
The HOPE scholarship has both increased the number of Georgia residents staying in-state for college and raised the bar on qualifications into these schools. According to a UGA’s Research Magazine article, the brightest students are encouraged and even rewarded financially to stay local for college. Each year acceptance into UGA is becoming increasingly competitive as the admissions process becomes more selective. Between 1992 and 1998 the SAT scores of freshmen at Georgia colleges increased three times faster than the scores of freshmen nationwide (Research Magazine). Despite the impressive credentials of the incoming class most experience a dramatic drop once enrolling at UGA. An ACT report found that over a fourth of university students wind up dropping out before their sophomore year (The Chronicle).
Although the HOPE was intended to make college an option to all in-state students, being able to afford an education without this aid is a dilemma many families face. Nearly the entire student body enters meeting the requirements to obtain HOPE. However less than a third graduate with the scholarship, failing to uphold a B average (Research Magazine). Rather than staying in school and building up loans, some opt to go straight into the work force. However, education definitely pays off as those with bachelor degrees earn twice as much as workers with only a high school diploma within a lifetime, shown by the U.S. Census Bureau (Career Wizard).
The transition to college is a difficult time for many adolescents. These eighteen year olds are thrown into the real world finally being able to make their own choices. Yet, finding the perfect balance between work and play is oftentimes the most challenging part of college life. This is apparent by the alarmingly high drop out rates of first year students. Universities must react by offering guidance to how these freshmen can prioritize in order to have a chance at reversing the record high statistics of college students dropping out.

Works Cited
Achee, Dr. John. Lecture. Psychology Lecture. University of Georgia. Student Learning Center, Athens, GA.
Cook, Kelly A. “The Relationship Between a Healthy Lifestyle and College Students' Grade Point Average.” Clearing House. 2006. Missouri Western State University. 22 Oct. 2007 .
“Does Education Pay off.” Education and Your Career. (2007). Career-Wizard. 22 Oct. 2007 .
Gianaro, Catherine. “The Merits of Hope.” University of Georgia Research Magazine (2001) 18 Oct. 2007 .
Monahan, Jennifer. “The Games Drinkers Play.” University of Georgia Research Magazine (2007) 20 Oct. 2007 .
Reisberg, Leo. “Freshmen-Dropout Rate Falls, as Does Student-Graduation Rate, ACT Reports.” The Chronicle of Higher Education 2007 22 Oct. 2007 .
“University of Georgia.” College Search. 2007. College Board Inc. 22 Oct. 2007 .
Urban-Luran, Mark. “Attendance and outcomes in a large, collaborative learning, performance assessment course.” Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Apr. 2000. American Educational Research Association. 22 Oct. 2007 .