We exist because the importance of student success is being overlooked by universities across the nation, influencing issues such as Academic Complexity, Career Placement Issues, and Cost.
The official national average four-year graduation rate is only 33% for public universities and 53% for private ones. Even at the top 50 universities, one in four students fail to graduate on time.
– U.S. Department of Education, First Degree
On average, each on-campus advisor is responsible for 491 individual students (892 in California), when no more than 200 is recommended to provide adequate guidance and student support.
– National Association of Academic Advising
One in three students change their major and one in ten change their major more than once. With each change, previous earned credits become obsolete, and students are often forced to take on summer school, or just graduate late.
– U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics
48% of employed U.S. college grads are in jobs that don’t require a four-year degree. 43% of recent college graduates are underemployed (earning less than they should), 67% of whom remain underemployed 5 years after college.
– Bureau of Labor Statistics, Strada Institute for the Future of Work
Four in ten students don’t look into job-placement or salary records when choosing a college. Less than 40 percent of graduates used career services and less than 30 percent tapped into alumni networks. Students who do take advantage of career resources often wait until their junior or senior year.
– McKinsey & Co
36% of recent graduates say they would choose a different major if they could redo their college education and incidentally, one in three recent graduates is in a job unrelated to their field of study.
– Gallup, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
The average student takes 14 more college credits than necessary, resulting in the average student to overspend on college courses by 11%. This overspending translates to $15,765 in after-tax dollars for tuition towards private universities, and even more for out-of-state students.
– The National Student Clearhousing Research Center, First Degree
While the average student expects a median out-of-college salary of $60,000, the actual median comes to $48,400, meaning students are earning nearly 20% less than expected.
– PayScale, LendEdu
Despite overspending, most students can eliminate overspending and further save as much as 20%. Private advisors can inform students on tuition saving tactics that university-employed advisors aren’t compelled to provide.
– First Degree