What’s Working and What’s Still Missing

A look at the programs, supports, and strategies that are making a difference, and why too many students still slip away unseen.

Note: The statistics and research shared here are based on recent studies and national surveys. While numbers vary across regions and institutions, the patterns are consistent and alarming. My goal isn’t to assign blame, but to raise awareness of risks that too often stay invisible until it’s too late.

The Hidden Drop-Off

Nearly 50% of first-year students in North America face course failure, withdrawal, or academic probation. Not because they lack ability, but because many arrive without the tools to manage themselves in a completely new reality.

Only about 1 in 3 ever enroll in a structured transition course. In the U.S., fewer than half of institutions that offer a first-year seminar make it mandatory. In Canada, these courses are often left to chance, with no national standard to ensure access.

How Struggle Shows Up

These patterns are measurable — and they compound quickly:

• Missed deadlines – 40% of first-years lose track of due dates or underestimate how long work will take.

• No system – Disorganized students are 2.4× more likely to end up on probation.

• Silence – Fewer than 25% of struggling students seek out office hours or academic support.

• Social shrink – Friend groups often dissolve after orientation, taking motivation and belonging with them.

• Running on empty – Sleep, nutrition, and activity drop sharply in the first term, hurting focus, memory, and drive.

These aren’t quirks of adjustment. They’re early warning signs and without targeted intervention, they don’t fade. They accelerate.

What’s Working

When schools provide consistent, structured support, the numbers improve:

• First-Year Seminars improve GPA and retention, but only when required and skills-based.

• Peer Mentoring nearly doubled graduation rates at Cal State Fullerton.

• Living-Learning Communities raise belonging and early GPA.

• Supplemental Instruction cuts failure rates and boosts grades.

• Executive-function coaching strengthens planning and follow-through.

These interventions work but reach is uneven. Many of the students who could benefit most never access them.

What’s Still Missing

Despite decades of pilot programs and promising research, critical gaps remain:

• Mandatory life-skills training – Courses that teach self-management improve GPA, retention, and self-efficacy, especially for at-risk students. *Yet in the U.S., only 47% of institutions that offer a seminar make it mandatory, and Canada has no national requirement.

• Proactive executive-function coaching – Improves GPA, wellbeing, and self-esteem, yet is often offered only after a student is already in trouble.

• Sustained peer support – Boosts retention, belonging, and performance, but many programs end after the first semester, missing the toughest adjustment period.

• Integrated mental health and academic planning – Students who access both persist at higher rates, yet advising and counseling are often siloed.

• Equitable preparation benchmarks – Skills like time management and self-regulation strongly predict post-secondary success, but no national or provincial standards exist to ensure graduates leave high school with them.

• Active early-warning systems – Improve persistence when paired with timely outreach, but many schools collect the data without acting quickly.

Until these missing pieces are built into the system and are accessible to every student, strong programs will continue to save some while others quietly disappear.

Why It Matters

Grades can look stable right up until they collapse. By the time the numbers reflect the damage, habits are broken, confidence is gone, and options have narrowed.

Call to Action

• Parents — If the school does not teach life skills, make sure someone will.

• Coaches & Teachers — Don’t wait for the “academic warning” email. Not every institution even has that process in place. The time to build habits is now.

• Students — You can’t wing your way through this. Build systems before you need them.

These are not just college survival skills. They are foundational life tools. Equip them early, and you change the trajectory.