Students with fewer than 300 points struggle to stay in college

Financial hardship among students has increased in the past four years and is a factor in college dropouts, suggests a report from the Higher Education Authority. Drop-out rates from some lower socio-economic groups have increased while students from farming and professional families were least likely to drop out, writes Fiona Gartland for The Irish Times.

“A Study of Progression in Irish Higher Education Institutes 2010/11 to 2011/12”, published last week, also found students with lower Leaving Certificate points were less likely to progress from first to second year in college. Students with 255 to 300 Leaving Certificate points were “struggling to remain in higher education”, it said.

The report looked at the progress of students from first year to second year in universities, institutes of technology and other colleges around the country and found 16%, more than 7,000 students, did not move on.
Full report on The Irish Times site