In the United States nowadays, more than a third of all students are women. Although many women who have received higher education do not spend the whole of their lives following careers for which their education has prepared them, it is accepted that the benefits of university career are useful. With so great a proportion of the young people entering higher education there is a problem of maintaining academic standards, and the process can be painful. Half of those who embark on higher studies fail to graduate. The number who drop out after one or two years is disturbingly large, though there is evidence that even incomplete university study gives a person better career prospects than none at all. On the other hand, one in five of all who receive bachelor’s degrees go on to take higher degrees.
当今美国的女大学生占大学生总数的三分之一以上。

尽管许多有高等学历的妇女终生从事的工作与她们的专业并不对口，但是，人们相信，受过大学教育总是颇有益处的。

由于进大学的青年这么多，便出现了坚持学术标准的问题，而这有时是煞费苦心的。

虽然有迹象表明，一个人大学肄业也比从未上过大学在就业前景方面具有更多的优势，但是大学生中仍有一半的人无法毕业，学一两年后退学的则多得惊人。

另一方面，获得学士学位的人中，五分之一的人继续攻读更高的学位。