Sir, - The Higher Education Report report on third-level dropout rates (The Irish Times, February 26th) states that those who enter college with low CAO scores are more likely to drop out. I scraped my way into a computing science course in September 1999 with the minimum necessary points (175). Like many of my classmates, I chose the course because I knew that after two years I could go straight into the job of my choice. After a few months, though, I realised I had no interest whatsoever in the subject. So I left.
I'm only 19, and I know I have yet to experience a lot in this world, but dropping out of college is definitely the best decision I have made. I worked in the offices of a big oil company, saved £2000, and went on a trip to Thailand and Australia. In three months I saw and experienced things I had never even considered possible. I learned there is more than one meaning to the word "education".
Watching the sun rise over Bangkok; spending a few minutes in silence among Buddhist monks at prayer; walking barefoot and alone along an isolated beach with just the sound of the birds and the waves in your ears - these are all things which have prepared me for life in a grown-up world more than any lecturer or course ever could. The point I'm trying to make is that the word "dropout" evokes an image that is not entirely true. I dropped out because I had made a dreadful mistake, not because it was too hard, or I couldn't afford it, or I couldn't be bothered getting out of bed in the morning. Nor did many of my friends who did likewise.
So, even though the HEA report shows "alarming" dropout rates, there's no need to panic. We're just following our hearts, and have no intention of spending the rest of our lives on the couch or in the pub. - Yours, etc.,
Douglas Whelan, Ballinclea Heights, Killiney, Co Dublin.