Why So Many Young Men Are Abandoning College Degrees

A student is seen during a high-school exam inside the Vittorio Alfieri classical high school on June 21, 2023 in Turin, Italy.

A large number of men are forgoing college, leading to an alarming gap between university-educated men and women, a new study found.

The Pew Research Center discovered a large drop in male Hispanic high school graduates turning away from four-year colleges. While 42 percent were in attendance in 2011, the number fell to 33 percent in 2022.

White males had a substantial drop, as well. While 49 percent attended college in 2011, the number moved to 40 percent in 2022. The gap was significant for white high school graduates, as female white graduates were the most likely to enroll in college, at 50 percent.

So why are the young men fleeing higher education in droves?

In part, the migration of young men away from college can be explained by a growing and widespread skepticism over higher education and the high student debt it often leads to, experts said.

In 2022, the total number of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college had declined by 1.2 million since its peak in 2011. That coincided with the growing $1.75 trillion of student debt nationwide.

And some businesses are getting rid of college degree requirements.

A November survey of 800 U.S. companies by Intelligent.com found that 45 percent of companies will get rid of bachelor's degree requirements for some positions next year. And another recent survey of 70,000 small businesses found that 67 percent of the surveyed employers believe college graduates aren't prepared for the workforce.

"The higher ed system has worked itself out of a job," RedBalloon CEO Andrew Crapuchettes said. "By losing focus on the mission of preparing their students for their career, they've become a non-factor, or even a negative factor, in helping job seekers find a job."

But that doesn't tell the full story. The reduced number of college students is largely led by men, with 1 million fewer young men in college today and just 0.2 million fewer young women compared to 2011.

Overall, only 39 percent of young men who completed high school are enrolled in college, down from 47 percent in 2011.

"A lot of men don't see the point of a degree when it's so expensive and they feel a lot of nihilism about their job prospects post-college," Athena Kan, the CEO of career and technical training platform Dreambound, told Newsweek.

Men might be more likely to feel a bachelor's degree is not necessary for career success, a Pew Research study from 2021 found.

"The labor shortages of the past few years have hit the trades harder than other industries," Crapuchettes told Newsweek. "High school grads, particularly men who are attracted to the trades, are finding that they can earn good salaries without racking up tens of thousands in college debt."

Among adults who did not have a bachelor's degree and weren't enrolled in college, men were more likely than women to say they didn't attend college because they didn't want to or because they didn't feel they needed more education for their desired job.

"There's been a big backlash against expensive 4-year colleges whereas trade schools or apprenticeships are on the rise," Kan said. "Men, especially white men, are much more likely to enter the trades or enter the technology industry, where a degree also isn't required."

Men and women said that not being able to afford a four-year degree was a major reason for not having attended college at equal rates.

The Problem Starts Early

The reasons for the widening gap go far deeper than the decisions men and women make upon graduating high school, however.

"It also starts earlier than college," Kan said. "Women are more likely to get accepted into college than men, and women are more likely to have better grades than men overall. There's been some research that says it's because girls have fewer disciplinary problems and are better at planning ahead, conscientiousness overall."

As fewer men attend and graduate from college, there's ongoing concern this could stifle men's estimated career earnings over time. According to a Georgetown University study, college graduates earn $1 million more in earnings over their lifetime compared to those who didn't graduate.

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