University and college enrollment in the U.S. has significantly declined in recent years. A large factor of this phenomenon is the Covid-19 pandemic, which arrived in the U.S. at the start of 2020. While it is true that both males and females have dropped out, males make up a significant amount of the decline in enrollment. Currently, there are 1.5 million fewer students enrolled in colleges and universities than there were five years ago. Approximately 71% of that decline is attributed to males, according to the National Student Clearinghouse.
The disparity between women and men regarding college and university enrollment has existed for decades, but recently, the topic of men falling behind has increasingly become a topic for discussion. The question is, why has it become a topic of concern now? As of late, as was mentioned in the “New York Times,” various schools have reported that women have made up 61% of their student population, which is a record high. While this is something to celebrate since there was a time where women could not attend colleges and universities at all, many schools see this as an issue that needs to be rectified.
Numerous schools have been extending offers exclusively to men as well as rejecting applications from women in order to lessen the disparity between the two genders in schools. The reason for this being that when a school becomes noticeably dominated by one gender, it reportedly makes the school less appealing to both males and females.
While men falling behind in regard to college enrollment is concerning, there are a few things that should be taken into consideration. For example, there is the fact that men are still in the overwhelming majority when it comes to higher-paying professions and are able to find higher-paying jobs even without having a college degree. Women, even with a college education, have limited options in acquiring higher-paying jobs, and those options decrease severely without a degree according to the New York Times.
Another factor to consider when analyzing why men are falling behind in enrollment is that there are support systems in place specifically for women. As was previously mentioned, women struggled getting their foot in the door when it came to higher education many years ago. As a result, many women’s centers sprang up all over the country to aid in female success in higher education, according to The Wall Street Journal. This helped women stay motivated in academic settings, take corporate leadership goals, and keep their hunger for education. Men, however, have had fewer modern avenues for counsel and direction. According to the WSJ, men seem to have a “hope deficit” in which many do not believe that a college degree pays off in the real world.
While I love the support women are receiving to be able to improve and excel academically, it is saddening to see men falling behind at the same time. While the deficit isn’t exceedingly great as of right now, it is still concerning and the disparity is increasing each year. Equality is still the goal, and it is my hope that we will do what we can to not only help women when they’re behind, but their male counterparts as well, as they are in this current predicament of falling behind in college enrollment.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.