Phys.org

Sometimes shit happens that makes study commitments unviable. While I was at uni, a friend's dad became extremely ill, and my friend doing a double major quit her degree to go home to take care of him (he died, unfortunately; she eventually resumed her studies 2 years later with one major). Some people's funding dries up (cannot get loans, family financing falls through). Other times personal problems make focusing on studies difficult (ie: mental health, addiction, health problems).

People have the best intentions, but life has ways of getting in the way. This assumption that people who don't graduate are not fully applying themselves is limited and perpetuates negative beliefs about drop outs.