'Male college crisis': Male high school graduates going to college at much lower rates than women

Article here. Excerpt:

'Nationally, it's being described as a "male college crisis," and Indiana is not immune to the trend. Male high school graduates are going to college at much lower rates than women, and that gap continues to widen.

Indiana higher education officials describe it as "a concerning gap ...This is the first time in recent history the male college-going rate has dropped to below half (46%),” in reference to the high school graduating class of 2020.

In contrast, the college going rate for Hoosier women in 2020 was 61%.

The report focused on the overall decline in college attendance, with just 53% of Indiana high school graduates going to college in 2020, a one-year decline described as “alarming” by Chris Lowery, Indiana’s new commissioner for higher education.

In a November 2021 article for Inside Higher Education, Angela Baldasare wrote, "While the exact causes of this trend line are difficult to pin down, the pressures on men to work and provide are commonly cited, as are campus climates and services not tailored to men, increased uncertainty during the pandemic, negative impacts of the pandemic on career choices, not wanting to take classes online and the lack of internet access and/or technology."'