U.S. women are outpacing men in college completion in every major group
U.S. women now earn four-year degrees at higher rates than men across all major racial and ethnic groups, prompting debate over why young men are falling behind in formal education. Commenters weigh factors such as the relative attractiveness of skilled trades, rising tuition and student debt, credential inflation in white‑collar jobs, and differing social expectations around independence and family roles. Others question whether many degrees are still worth their cost, how much gender-targeted programs and cultural messaging shape outcomes, and what the long-term consequences are for work, inequality, and gender relations.
Discipline and Major Differences
- Commenters note large gender splits by major: women heavily in fields like fashion, interior design, elementary education; men in construction management and mechanical/electrical engineering.
- CS is still described as male-dominated, despite being seen as a high-return degree.
- Some wonder how women perform in math and note historical female dominance in early computing.
Trades vs. College Pathways
- One view: men have more viable non-degree options (construction, skilled trades), which draws them away from college; women see college as the clearest path to good office/professional jobs.
- Others argue this reverses cause and effect: boys underperform in high school first; that constrains college options rather than reflecting a deliberate trade-school choice.
- BLS-linked data leads to debate over how “big” the trades sector really is and how many jobs it represents.
Earnings, Debt, and Degree Value
- Some argue “most degrees aren’t worth it,” especially low-ROI majors, and fear women will end up with more debt and weaker job prospects.
- Others push back, claiming rising female pay and continued value of degrees overall, especially in fields like CS.
- Shared stats suggest typical US student loan debt is in the tens of thousands, not “hundreds of thousands,” though private/out-of-state routes can be far more expensive.
- Trades pay is described as roughly around the national median for employees, with higher potential for union or self-employed workers, but with physical wear-and-tear risks.
Admissions, Signaling, and Credential Inflation
- Discussion of state-school selectivity, grade inflation, and changing GPA/SAT thresholds; some remember much easier admissions a decade or two ago.
- Many see degrees as primarily a persistence/conformity and intelligence signal rather than specific training, and describe “credential inflation” in tech roles.
- Self-taught programmers report being blocked or underleveled without formal degrees despite extensive experience.
Gender Gaps, Discrimination, and Support Programs
- Some commenters report positive experiences of women in CS programs and question narratives of constant “torture,” especially given women-only scholarships, clubs, and camps.
- Others share strong accounts of sexism, dismissal, and harassment in math/physics/CS, including in Europe.
- Debate over causes of field-level differences: marketing of early PCs to boys, cultural expectations, and gatekeeping vs. intrinsic preferences.
- Tension around continued women-focused initiatives now that women outnumber men in college; some call for similar support for struggling boys, others emphasize long histories of exclusion.
Boys, Schooling, and Mental Health
- Widespread concern that K–12 environments fit girls better and pathologize typical boy behavior, feeding lower male academic performance.
- Heated subthread on ADHD medications for children: some see them as a crude tool of control with long-term brain effects; others say comparisons to “castration” or lobotomy are exaggerated but agree overprescription is worrying.
Broader Social Reflections
- Observations of male overrepresentation among the homeless contrasted with female-majority campuses; causes (mental health, incarceration, economics, relationships) are disputed.
- Multiple comments worry about a lack of positive male role models and about young men drifting toward grievance-based influencers and oppositional gender politics.
- Others remind that women’s higher enrollment is a recent reversal after long exclusion, and argue that gaps in either direction shouldn’t be celebrated but addressed for everyone.