The High Cost of Low Graduation Rate: How Much Does Dropping Out of College Really Cost?

College completion is a national priority because it directly affects both individual opportunity and the growth and sustainability of our economy.   This new report by the American Institutes for Research examined earnings and tax payments for the 1.1 million full-time students who entered college in 2002 seeking bachelor’s degrees. The findings? The 493,000 students who started college but didn’t earn a degree within six years missed out on an estimated $3.8 billion in earnings in 2010 alone — income that would have generated approximately $566 million in federal and $164 million in state tax revenue.