KRISTIE MOSS / Scroll Illustration

Getting a B.A. degree and leaving without a Mrs.

Graduating without a spouse

Jade Betzer BET05002@BYUI.EDU campus staff

Many students graduating sans engagement agree that it is time to shed the assumption that students are only here to get married and recognize that students are at BYU-Idaho to get an education.

“It is just about split down the middle with 49 percent of our graduates married. So the majority is still single. However, 55 percent of those receiving bachelor’s degrees are married,” said Kevin Miyasaki of the Registrar’s Office.

There are 3,284 married students on campus. That is 26.3 percent of the total student body. The question is, does this affect the educational standpoint of the university of BYU-Idaho and does leaving single make a difference?

“I don’t feel bad about leaving single at all. The culture would have you think that if you’re not married before you graduate then there is something wrong with you. I believe you shouldn’t rush into something of this magnitude without some thought,” said David King, a senior from Provo, Utah.

Leaving single may make students feel like a minority in the community. After all, the number of married students on campus has nearly doubled since 2001, rising from 1,058 to 3,284, according to the Registrar’s Office

“The prophets stress marriage so that we will be prepared and not to push us. So if I wait for the right thing and didn’t find it at BYU-I, it’s okay,” King said.

The increase in married students is a likely contributor to the decline in the average credit hours carried by each student, which is at 13.7 after a gradual decrease since BYU-I’s change into a four-year university.

“We have noticed a drop of average credits carried by students. It is not just the increase of married students that is affecting this average. The movement to a four-year institution, the difficulty of course work and cost of education in general probably all have an impact on this,” Miyasaki said.

The estimated median age for first marriage in the United States for 2000-2003 was 27 years old for men and 25 years old for women, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The median age of first marriage for men and women was higher than the national averages in the Northeast, and the median age for first marriage for men and women was lower than the national averages in the Midwest, West and South.

“I don’t think that marital status gives a student an advantage or disadvantage, unless the student makes it an issue,” Miyasaki said.

The U.S. Census Bureau reinforces the value of a college education: Workers 18 and over with a bachelor’s degree earn an average of $51,206 a year, while those with a high school diploma earn $27,915.

Workers with an advanced degree make an average of $74,602, and those without a high school diploma average $18,734.

The Educational attainment in the United States show in 2004, 85 percent of those age 25 or older reported they had completed at least high school, and 28 percent had attained at least a bachelor’s degree; these are both record highs.

For BYU-I students, a total of 1,614 students will receive diplomas at the scheduled April graduation.
There will be 1,201 who will receive bachelor’s degrees, and 431 students will be presented associates degrees.

“I feel like a minority, not [only] for leaving single, but for those leaving [single] with a bachelor’s degree,” King said.

There will be 968 females graduating and 646 males; 793 of these are married student.

This means 821 BYU-Idaho students will be leaving single.