Balancing work and school number one reason students leave college, according to Public Agenda survey

"The number one reason students give for leaving school
is the fact that they had to work and go to school at the
same time and, despite their best efforts, the stress of
trying to do both eventually took its toll. ..." according to a survey by Public Agenda, http://www.publicagenda.org/files/pdf/theirwholelivesaheadofthem.pdf funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
p 5

"So what would help?"
Most "point first to options that would give them more
flexibility in schedules and help them mitigate the challenge of working
and going to school at the same time. Eight in 10 of those who did not
complete college supported two proposals that they believe would make
college graduation feasible: 1) making it possible for part-time students to
be eligible for more financial aid (81 percent said this would help 'a lot');
and 2) offering more courses in the evening and on weekends so that they
could continue working while taking classes (78 percent said this would
help 'a lot')." p. 18

We were alerted to the study by an entry in an Academic Impressions e-mail which linked to a Washington Post article,
"Majority of College Dropouts Cite Financial Struggles as Main Cause," by Jenna Johnson, Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 9, 2009; http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/09/AR2009120903045.html