In the United States, dropping out means students entirely quit school before they graduate. About 1.2 million students drop out of high school every year in the United States. They do this for different reasons: bullying, family emergency, poor grades, depression, mental illness, bad environment or not enough freedom. Students who drop out of high school in the United States are more likely to be unemployed, homeless or receiving welfare. Members of certain racial or ethnic groups drop out at higher rates than white students. Students raised in single-parent families and low poor students are more likely to drop out.