Do Parents Spend More on College for their Sons or Daughters?
Jeff Selingo
Bestselling author | Strategic advisor on future of learning and work | College admissions and early career expert | Contributor, The Atlantic | Angel investor | Editor, Next newsletter | Co-host, FutureU podcast
Last June, after a talk at the Summer Seminar in Minneapolis about how colleges need to increasingly prove the value of their brand of education to cash-strapped parents, an admissions director from a pricey Midwest private college approached me.
He said that in recent years at his institution it appears that parents are more willing to pay higher tuition prices for their daughters, but not for their sons. As the father of two daughters his observation intrigued me.
There’s been a ton of academic research on boys falling behind academically, but not as much on whether parents are willing to invest more in the education of their daughters and not their sons. One study looked at what parents spend on a variety of items, including education, and found that in one-child households, parents with daughters do indeed spend more, but those results don’t hold up in two-child households.
Other studies have found that men with sisters or daughters were more nurturing and empathetic, and a more generous boss and philanthropist. And, perhaps, they were willing to spend more money on their daughter’s college education.
Now, new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides evidence that if parents indeed spend more on the college education of their daughters than their sons it might be because they think the girls are the better bet when it comes to actually getting a college degree.
According to the BLS data, 32 percent of women in the United States earn a bachelor’s degree by the age of 27 compared to 24 percent of men. Women are also more likely to start and finish college. Some 70 percent of women enroll and college and 46% of them complete a degree, while 61 percent of men start college, and only 39 percent of them finish.
Even when men and women both get a college degree, young educated men are more likely to be unemployed in their early twenties. Women with a bachelor's degree or more education spent a larger proportion of weeks employed than did similarly educated men (77 percent vs. 71 percent) and less time out of the labor force (20 percent vs. 26 percent).
When it comes to a college degree, the divide between men and women is growing. The lifetime value of higher education is more important than ever to both sexes, but only one seems to be getting the message.
Jeffrey Selingo is author of College (Un)Bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means for Students, and of the forthcoming e-book, MOOC U, an inside look at the world of massive open online courses, due out this spring from Simon & Schuster. He is a contributing editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education and a professor of practice at Arizona State University.
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Photo: Tyler Olson/Shutterstock.com
Student Success Advocate| Military Spouse| Higher Education Professional
10 年As a parent who is sending their son off to college, it is more about the right fit for the student and campus programming. We toured several campuses across the country before he chose the college campus that he will be attending. Give your child choices and don't box them in to your state and the local programs that surround you just because they are your son or daughter. There are so many wonderful colleges out there that you need to provide them the opportunity to make the choice and feel the fit for themselves. Yes our son did receive a scholarship and did from all schools he applied but it was ultimately his choice as to where he would feel he would get the best education. We couldn't be happier with the choice he made either. Statistics might show that individuals spend more on their daughters but individuals spend just as much on their sons as well.
Disrupting the Compliance Space with Tech | AML & Regulatory Compliance | Responsible Sourcing | Precious Metals Expert | Founder Director @ AKW | Co-Founder @ EduAims |
10 年Hi Jeff Selingo I come from India and here we have a reverse scenario. Parents are willing to spend enormous amounts of money on their son's education but not for their daughter. It may be because Indian parents are expected to spend a lot on a daughters marriage and so the money on education is viewed as a waste. The cultural aspect must have a great aspect. Just my two cents.
Registered Pharmacist at Oregon State Hospital
10 年Today, many households have only 1 or 2 kids. Perhaps this may contribute as to why parents will support a daughter in college over a son. Just a thought.
Registered Pharmacist at Oregon State Hospital
10 年There are many attractive college majors out there. Probably the best way to pick a major and then ask yourself, "will I be able to pay back my student loans after graduation?" This will help in the selection process for a major. As a pharmacy intern, one of preceptors gave me sage advice about the importance of "keeping your fingers in the business" during periods of not working full-time. He was right, because bills do not care if you trying to find yourself. Have something to fall back on where one can work part-time during graduate school, raising children, etc, is very important to help pay bills is important.
Private care , Independent Consultant for the number one skincare brand in America <3
10 年Michael- I so would have loved to experience that truth in "my world". It's actually NOT a myth where I stand.