The Lucky One Third

It has been said that less than one-third of students who start out at public colleges will graduate within 6 years.

As I read this, I feel a little overwhelmed. I am after all, one of those students that the fact is talking about.  I am a freshman this year in a public college. To make matters worse, I am a nontraditional freshman at the age of 40. 

Facts are very important in our lives because they help us shape out our reality. They also guide and motivate us towards the truth. Now, what I find most relevant about a fact is to know that is supported by evidence and good resources from which the data has been extracted from.

In this case, I can't help to wonder if they have an accurate account of these students they are talking about. Does it include Non-traditional freshmen students, how about students that have transferred to other schools? After researching a little farther, I realized that I was right! Reading the article "Federal Government Publishes More Complete Graduation Rate Data" by Lynn O'Shaughnessy, it becomes clear that the above fact is not the whole story. Many factors have been omitted.

 For example, graduation statistics for students who began school part-time or who transferred out to other schools have never been collected. In other words, the data collection system ignored the completion rates of nontraditional students who actually represent the majority of the nation’s students. There are a lot of factors that play a very important roll into a fact like that. You also should wonder what part of the blame public colleges share for such an outcome. 

There are always two sides to a coin. Many times, colleges are not providing enough academic support or even schedules that will be compatible with a full time working student. Therefore, I see it as an important question to wonder how much truth is in that statement.

Having that in mind, I still take it very seriously. I would use this fact as motivation for my own future. I definitely want to be one of the lucky students that do get to graduation within 6 years of entering a public college. Like I said before, I'm 40 years old and frankly don't have the privilege of a lot of time in my life right now. I work a full time job, I have a family with two teenagers and a six year old daughter. For me, going to college is a huge sacrifice because it's not only my time and energy, it also affects my entire family.

Now, as I type this up, I realized that it may seem like an excuse for me to not accomplish my goal of graduation but it's actually the very opposite of that. I see it as my biggest motivation. I need to finish my studies as soon as possible so my family does not have to sacrifice more than necessary. 

I come from parents that did not attend college. Their circumstances will not allow them to do it. We lived in a third world country where education is scarce and very expensive. I completely understand their situation and because of it, it makes me want to be a college graduate even more. 

We have lots of opportunities in this country and with my family's support I think I will definitely be one of those lucky students that will graduate in six years.