About one million fewer young men were attending college last year than about a decade ago, according to a data analysis by the Pew Research Center.
Last year, there were about 1.2 million fewer young people ages 18 to 24 enrolled in college compared to 11 years earlier in 2011, when college attendance peaked, the Pew Research Center noted on Monday.
Men drove the vast majority of that decline, especially men opting not to attend four-year schools.
One million fewer young men were in college last year, while only 0.2 million fewer young women were enrolled.
This means that men now make up only 44% of young college students compared to 47% in 2011, Pew said, citing newly released U.S. Census Bureau data. At four-year schools, men are an even smaller share of the 18 to 24 student population at 42%.
The gender gap is particularly stark among white high school graduates.
About half of young…
