Will Marriage Hurt College Plans?

Published October 16, 1980.

QUESTION: All my life I have been encouraged to get an education, and I plan to commence soon by enrolling college. My only problem is I recently graduated from high school and have been going with this guy who wants to get married. How will this affect my educational plans? Can I do both?

ANSWER: It would be to your advantage both as an individual and as a marriage partner to get an education. But the education may be attained in several ways. If you perceive an education as a means to qualify for a good job, then I would highly recommend you enroll in a vocation or business school where you can complete your training in one year or no more than two. Both you and your future husband will benefit from your endeavors.

If however, you marry soon and still plan to graduate from a four-year college, it will be difficult although not impossible to do. Here are a few trends and statistics you ought to consider before making your decisions.

The Carnegie Commission on Higher Education reported that 53 percent of college students entering as freshmen will eventually graduate with a four-year bachelor’s degree. While it may thus appear that your chances are 50/50 to graduate, it has also been found that a higher percentage of males graduate than do females. And marriage for women seems to compete with graduation.

At one Midwestern university it was found that the time at which a co-ed married greatly affected her chances for graduation. Their study indicated that if a woman married while she was a freshman, there were 5 chances in 100 that she would graduate with a bachelor’s degree (no play on words intended). If she married while a sophomore there were 20 chances out of 100 she would graduate. If she waited and married when she was a junior, her chances of graduating, 99.5 in 100, were almost assured. Where a young woman is during her academic training is an important factor when considering her chances for graduating and getting married.

At another major western university, it was found that twice as many freshman males eventually graduate as do freshman females. Approximately 80 percent of  male college students graduated as compared to only 40 percent of female students. About 46 percent of the women who entered college as freshmen did not return for their sophomore year. And among those women who dropped out it was found that 48 percent or nearly half, did so to marry. The same study reported that among the males who eventually graduated as seniors, 62 percent were married at the time. By comparison, only 29 percent of the women graduating were married.

Thus, you see the chances are not high of a woman being married and graduating from a four-year college or university, particularly if she marries during the first or second year of her schooling. There are also other factors which affect the probability of graduating, such as her husband also being in school, having a child, and financial resources to continue.

If you feel you have found an appropriate young man to marry, perhaps you should do so. If, however there are questions not only about him but also the timing of the marriage, you may want to consider waiting a year or two. This is particularly true if you are serious about graduating with a four-year degree. By waiting until you are a junior or about age 21 to get married, you will be within striking distance of graduating. And if you wait to marry until your senior year, graduation is almost guaranteed.

It is a compliment to you that a young man has proposed marriage. In your deliberations, consider not only the event, but the timing of the wedding as well. And in your discussions you should also consider his educational or occupational training.

And by the way, when you do marry I think you will find it an education in and of itself.