Spring Semester Marked by Freshman Dropouts
Campus is emptier without as many freshmen as fall semester. Photo courtesy of Sower staff.
By Elisha Meyer
Students returning to their dorms for second semester classes at Concordia University Nebraska found more open parking spaces and less midnight noise as a result of several freshman dropouts across campus.
Sophomore Rees Lyon is one of several residential assistants at the university, who are tasked with overseeing hall regulation and organizing events throughout the school year. Lyon came back from break to find that more than half of the 17 original residents on his floor of the Schuelke dorm were either dropping out or transferring to another school. He said that those who left were missed by him as well as the rest of the students on the floor, but jokingly added that he was able to sleep more peacefully than he had before.
“It was definitely quieter than it was during first semester,” Lyon said.
Lyon said that it was sad to see them go. Other students felt the same way about dropouts from their halls, including freshman Shelby Zeigler.
“My hall is super close so we’ve kind of lost a few friends in it,” Zeigler said. “I don’t know if it’s really had an effect on the hall, but it’s just kind of heartbreaking to know that some of your friends just moved away.”
Dropping out is influenced by a number of reasons. Homesickness, student debt, a crippling workload and remaining unable to decide a major are all factors in the choice to either continue education or not.
Whatever the reason may be, the dropout process is familiar to colleges and universities across the country. UNIGO states that the average retention rate for college freshman stands at 72%. According to U.S. News, Concordia University manages to stand just above that rate with 76%.
Acceptance rates by different schools can play a part in these statistics, however. Some schools, such as Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Chicago, excel at freshman and overall retention with 99%. The explanation behind it is the average 7.5% acceptance rate between the three schools. According to U.S News, Concordia stands much higher at 73.3%.
With second semester in full throttle, some students believe that now, more than ever, is the time to bond with their hall. Senior Aimee Howe said that both dropouts and transfers can be sad to experience, but it shouldn’t affect each student too much.
Zeigler came back to the same point and took it a step further, saying that the hall each student lives in becomes a key part of their life.
“There’s definitely a sense of family,” Zeigler said. “You know, if a member of your family leaves, it’s always taking a piece of you with it.”
