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Comment by otoburb | Hacker News Reader

According to the article women still believe the trade-off to be worth paying for and attending college since their application numbers are still holding steady.

Are most of them making a huge mistake? I guess it depends heavily in the credential(s), but I think there has to be a deeper reason for falling and unbalanced undergraduate enrollment amongst men.

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All Ponzi schemes collapse, the growth colleges experienced in the past led them to be overly optimistic and make promises they can no longer meet. The falling debris from the collapse is already happening, as the wave of unbreakable and unpayable student debt imprisons a generation.

Women are known to chase institutional accolades more than men when given the opportunity. It is in line with a general preference for more security.

Will it work today? Probably. There are few women in the trades. If you can get a cheap degree, it is likely better than no degree.

No, women are generally underpaid compared to men, so it's obvious that they'll try to get the appropriate degrees in order to be able to compete.

Women don’t earn less for the same work. Never married women with no kids actually out earn never married men with no kids.

Please read “why men earn more” by Warren Farrell or skim the table of contents for a list of some of the factors that influence earnings, such as working longer hours, in a different field, in unpleasant conditions, etc.

I always assumed no one give me benefit of doubt if I don't have something actually in hand. Which meant for me, I would expect the degree to be necessary for me to get the first job.

Anecdotal but I've noticed that for a lot of women, achieving the degree seems to be the end goal and status symbol, while for men the degree is just a path to better financial outcomes. If the calculation for the latter has changed to where degree is no longer worth it compared to alternatives, that could explain it.

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