More than three-fourths of students starting at four-year institutions earn a bachelor's degree or are still enrolled six years later. Of students who started at a public two-year institution, more than half earned some kind of degree or were still enrolled. At the same time, certain students are at particular risk of dropping out, and there are wide gaps in rates of completion. This document discusses the problem of persistence in higher education, while pointing out potential misimpressions of the issue when viewed through raw college graduation numbers. Academic advisement and support, secondary school-college curriculum collaboration, bridge programs, continued research, and, crucially, means of easing financial concerns, are advocated as the most constructive approach to ensuring that all students advance as far as their ability, motivation and hard work can carry them.