Hanah Kim
Class of 2024Leonia, New Jersey
About
Hi my name is Hanah Kim. I pursued my interests in computer science and AI with my project, "Predicting College Student Dropouts with Machine Learning," in which I created a random forest classifier and neural network to identify college students at high-risk of dropping out of school.Projects
- "Predicting College Student Dropouts with Machine Learning" with mentor Kristen (Sept. 5, 2023)
Hanah's Symposium Presentation
Project Portfolio
Predicting College Student Dropouts with Machine Learning
Started July 18, 2023
Abstract or project description
In the U.S., 33% of college students do not graduate, with 24% dropping out in their first year. Various factors contribute to these high dropout rates, with finances as a significant one: some sources estimate that as high as 51% of college students drop out because of a lack of funds, a statistic that is confirmed by the machine-learning models used in this experiment. In this study the neural network and random forest classifier machine learning models are used to predict whether a student will graduate or drop out. The “Predict students dropout, academic success” dataset was used. This dataset provides various pieces of information about students, including gender, age of enrollment, and dropout status. The random forest classifier had an accuracy of 92.05% and the neural network had an accuracy of 91.71%, with academic and finance related factors contributing most to the dropout rate predictions. The ability to predict college student dropout status using machine learning is crucial, as it allows colleges to recognize students at risk of dropping out, enabling institutions to provide additional resources.