School counselors are charged to identify potential dropouts and they work closely with students to help them stay in school or find alternative means of completing their education. Ninth grade students transitioning to high school experience insurmountable challenges as they shift from middle school to high school. Students who lack the academic preparedness for high school often repeat the ninth grade or drop out of high school. This literature review explored the reasons why students drop out of school, identified predictive risk factors, and highlighted social indicators associated with students who drop out of high school. The school counselor role is to provide intervention strategies and programs to strengthen students desire to remain in school. This article provides school counselors with recommended strategies to decrease students from dropping out of school.