What to Do If Your Child Drops Out of College

So your kid gave college the old college try, but he or she didn't make the grade. Your child is dropping out.

Given how important a college degree can be to one's career, not to mention one's self-growth, it's understandable if you're panicky about what will come next for your son or daughter. It's also understandable if, even if it's not your style, you're suddenly embracing the concept of helicopter parenting and will do whatever you can to help your adult child return to college.

Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy for getting a kid back on the college track. But there is a lot you can do beyond being supportive. If you want to get your kid back to college quickly, keep the following in mind.

Determine why your child dropped out, or wants to. That may seem like obvious advice, but appearances can be deceiving. You may think your kid is leaving college due to low grades and assume that he or she simply isn't disciplined when it comes to studying, when there's another more ominous explanation.

"Students often fail out of school because of an undiagnosed disability or health concern that makes them tired or unable to focus. This also happens with drugs and alcohol," says Katie Schellenberg, CEO and founder of Learning Lab LA, a personalized tutoring service in Los Angeles. She also runs BeyondTutoring.com, an education website and blog with information for parents of kids with learning disabilities. She says that when kids drop out, in her experience, it's often somewhere in their sophomore year, and not the freshman year, as you might think.

If a student is going to drop out, it's usually then, because "there is a lot of structure and support the first year of school, and students start floundering at the end of that time," she says.

Schellenberg adds that the reason why your kid dropped out may, of course, be all about grades and thus easy to fix. Maybe your kid picked the wrong major or simply isn't serious about studying. But whatever the problem is, address it, she says. You don't want to get your kid back in college only to have him or her drop out once again.

And it could also be this easy problem to diagnose but a harder one to rectify: Your child dropped out for financial reasons.

If it's money. Bianca Matlock, director of financial aid at Mountain View College in Dallas, has a couple of suggestions. If you're a parent, and you want to apply for student loans fast, "the student may have the option to apply for a PLUS loan through the institution," Matlock says. "PLUS loans are offered through the Department of Education, and they are based on credit."

She adds that parents may want to talk to the financial aid office to determine if they are eligible for any institutional funds managed by the college. She also says that parents can always apply for a loan from a private lender, "but they are subject to higher interest rates and less favorable repayment terms."

But maybe you and your kid recognize that the university or college is simply too expensive, and that going deeper into debt at this place isn't the right option. In that case, Matlock says, "I would recommend asking for the net price calculator for each institution, which will provide information regarding the current price that students can expect to pay for tuition, fees, room and board, along with books."

Every university and college has a net price calculator online.

If your kid is transferring. Maybe it's time to transfer your child to a college closer to home or somewhere less expensive.

In that case, Schellenberg says you'd do well to ask the new university or community college about an articulation agreement, sometimes called a transfer plan or a course-to-course equivalency. In other words, you'll want to make sure the college courses your kid has already completed go toward the degree at his or her new school.

But don't assume that your kid can't go back to the same school. If dropping out was your kid's decision, readmitting will probably be pretty easy -- far easier than applying the first time.

At least, that's how it goes at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

"Once that initial admission decision is made, the student is viewed as a WFU student -- and we do what we can to help each and every student complete his or her degree," says Christy Buchanan, senior associate dean for academic advising. "Assuming that the reason for taking time away was not a suspension for either academic or behavioral issues, essentially all a student has to do is ask to return, and he or she will be readmitted."

Sara Newhouse, associate vice president for admission and financial planning at Birmingham-Southern College, in Birmingham, Alabama, has a similar take on college dropouts dropping back in.

"This happens more than you would think, and provided the student hasn't been asked to leave the college, a student could begin as soon as the semester after they have withdrawn," Newhouse says.

Whatever college or university your kid goes to, Buchanan suggests contacting the office that helped with your kid's withdrawal. She also tosses out this bit of advice: "I would strongly encourage that the student, not the parent, make the contact. College students are legally adults; institutions of higher education treat them as such, and it's in the student's best interests for them to take the lead for responsibilities such as this."

But if you don't know what office helped with your kid's withdrawal -- maybe it was a hasty retreat, and it's all a blur -- Buchanan suggests trying the office of academic advising.

Newhouse says that at Birmingham-Southern, you would readmit through the admissions office.

Rushing back may not be a good idea. You don't want your child to take off for years and possibly discover that he or she doesn't have the time or inclination to return, but assuming the problem does go beyond finances, returning to college after only a few months may not be the answer either.

"Most students need to feel healthy and successful first," says Schellenberg of college dropouts who are thinking of returning. She notes that your kid may need to have some "wins" first, to build confidence. That might mean spending several months helping your kid get on the right medication -- if it's a health issue -- or maybe taking steps to exercise regularly.

Or it may mean getting your kid in rehab. Schellenberg says plenty of college kids drop out due to alcohol and drugs, which can spell a long recovery process..

"Universities, in my experience, have even been understanding when students elect to undergo treatment for drug and alcohol issues," she says.

But she adds that it's important to keep the university in the loop about what's going on with your kid. If you have a contact you're in touch with fairly frequently, that person, she says, might be instrumental in helping your kid not just return, but connecting him or her to the right resources once back on campus.

Because, again, if your child is going to drop out, you only want to go through this once.