Washington ? The No. 1 reason many young adults drop out of college is an inability to juggle school and work, according to a report released Wednesday.

When choosing between a degree and going to work, paying rent, buying groceries or supporting family members, many students are forced to drop out, said Jean Johnson, of Public Agenda, a nonpartisan public policy research firm that conducted a telephone survey of more than 600 people ages 22 to 30 for the report.

The research reflects a “very, very different reality” from the common image most people have of college as “a place where a young person goes and they become an adult,” Johnson said. “So many of them are already assuming adult responsibilities.”