The research claims the issue isn't differential preparation for college. Supposedly they controlled for that factor. They may be correct.
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My first full-time university teaching post was at an urban state "commuter" school with the full range of student SES backgrounds represented in my classes. In the two years I taught there, before moving to the semi-rural campus where I spent the balance of my career, I saw many examples of the life exigencies which cause poor kids not to finish.
Most often the cause was a parent, child or sibling getting sick, dying, or being jailed, with my student having to take up the household slack. Sometimes it was car trouble, their commuting jalopy developing a costly breakdown they couldn't afford to repair. More rarely, they violated parole/probation and were jailed.
I suspect some of my dropouts simply couldn't believe there would be a white-collar job waiting for them at graduation. Perhaps a few of these skeptics were correct.
Often campus recruiters are quite sensitive to interviewees' cultural backgrounds, concerned whether particular students will "fit in" at the firm for which they seek new hires. Recruiters see hundreds of degree candidates and - let's be honest - look for reasons to quickly disqualify most interviewees.
