For many of us, coming to college with the dream that we are going to find someone to marry is exciting. Typically, for those who romanticize about the sweet ambiance of spending the rest of their lives with someone like your college sweetheart can be more than an illusion. However, is possessing a college degree a “must have” when searching for your soul mate? Many of your fellow peers had some very cynical responses when asked this question. Female students who were surveyed here on campus overwhelming responded the same by saying they didn’t care whether the man they chose to marry was college educated or not. Apparently, what matters the most for these ladies was knowing if the man would be able to provide or not. “Women like to feel provided for and taken care of,” said sophomore Demetria Daniel.
Ironically, since men are always presumed to be the caretakers and providers for the family, it seems logical that women would seek out men who have a higher education because more education equals more money and job security in the future. The men who were asked the same question ultimately felt the same way as well about women. Freshman Ronald Smith said, “If the person you’re meant to be with doesn’t have a college degree, that shouldn’t be a deal breaker for marriage.”
Inevitably, within the African American culture, more women than men attend college and receive degrees, not to mention more women are heads of house holds. With that said, is it truly being realistic to try to establish a relationship with a man without a college degree? Although a degree doesn’t guarantee success, there are a lot of people without degrees who have lives fullfilled with luxurious accomplishments.
Some highly educated people end up with a lot less of the success they anticipated, while there are millionaires who didn’t even graduate from high school living the “easy life.” In the end, having a college education doesn’t determine whether or not you’re going to be successful, likewise getting married doesn’t equal happiness.
Whatever the case may be keep in mind that the odds are not that black and white when it comes to issues of the heart.. or money!