A recently released report reveals that the United States is lagging behind other countries in terms of 25- to 34-year-olds with college degrees, ranking seventh among industrialized nations. This despite the fact that the U.S. has the world's highest concentration of 35- to 64-year-olds with degrees.
Even more dismally, although 63 percent of Americans enter college, only 50 percent graduate, ranking us with those educational powerhouses Mexico and New Zealand.
The statistics here at AU are a little more promising, though. Over 70 percent of AU students graduate within six years, putting the university at the top of U.S. graduation rankings.
The main reason America is lagging behind in young people who enter college and eventually graduate? Money. Many European nations pay full tuition, along with stipends for books and housing, for their college students. At the same time, the American federal government has been slowly but surely reducing the amount of federal aid.
Pell Grants that used to cover 70 percent of students' tuition now barely cover half.
Overall, we have some pretty great educational opportunities in America. Unlike in France, American youth can be relatively assured of a job after graduation.
Here at AU, students get a very practical education. AU's study abroad programs are some of the best around, and students intern all over D.C. It's just hard to get an internship at the CIA if you attend the University of Iceland...
