Tyler Mulvenna worked three jobs last summer, but was still short the money he needed to pay for college. Mulvenna, 21, a junior at Georgia State University in Atlanta, got a small gift of money from his college. That allowed him to live at school and attend class. Georgia State used the gifts, usually under $1,000, and other programs to increase graduation rates by 22 percentage points since 2006. The school also watches student performance for early signs of trouble, such as missing classes, not completing work, or low test scores. The idea, said Vice Provost Timothy Renick, is to help before problems grow and force students to leave school. About 59 percent of college students graduate within six years, according to the U.S. Department of Education. That means many students leave college before graduating. At Georgia State, the rate is 55 percent, but much higher than 10 years ago. Georgia State is a school with 50,000 students, including many minority students. They are often the first in their families to attend college.