College enrollment drops as men stop viewing high ed as helpful for employment
‘This shift is driven entirely by the falling share of men who are students at four-year colleges,’ the report found.
‘By losing focus on the mission of preparing their students for their career, [colleges] become a non-factor, or even a negative factor, in helping job seekers find a job,’ said one observer.
College enrollment among men had steadily fallen for years, according to a December report from the Pew Research Center. The report came out months before the recent wave of anti-Israel campus protests, which have drawn widespread condemnation for their anti-Semitic incidents, disruptiveness, and attacks on law enforcement.
“This shift is driven entirely by the falling share of men who are students at four-year colleges,” the report explains. “Today, men represent only 42% of students ages 18 to 24 at four-year schools, down from 47% in 2011.”
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“Today, only 39% of young men who have completed high school are enrolled in college, down from 47% in 2011,” the report continues. “The rate at which young female high school graduates enroll has also fallen, but not by nearly as much (from 52% to 48%).”
Some have expressed their opinions that the change is caused by prospective college students deciding that universities have lost their purpose of effectively preparing students for future careers.
“The higher ed system has worked itself out of a job,” Andrew Crapuchettes, CEO of the job board RedBalloon, 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.”
He continued, telling Newsweek: “The labor shortages of the past few years have hit the trades harder than other industries. 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.”
Other experts point to the prevalence of trade jobs that do not require a college degree, and that allow young men to avoid the potentially tens of thousands of dollars in debt that a college education can require.
“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, CEO of Dreambound, told Newsweek.
“There’s been a big backlash against expensive 4-year colleges whereas trade schools or apprenticeships are on the rise. Men, especially white men, are much more likely to enter the trades or enter the technology industry, where a degree also isn’t required,” Kan continued.
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For reference, Columbia’s undergraduate tuition is $68,400 for 2023-2024. Harvard College’s tuition is $82,866 for 2024-2025. Undergraduate costs for Stanford for 2025 are $87,225, including tuition, housing, and a “health fee.”
Campus Reform has contacted Columbia University, Harvard University, and Stanford University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
