If your highest level of education is a high school diploma, you have only about a 9 percent chance of marrying someone with a college degree. If you have a college degree yourself, that probability rises to roughly 65 percent — and those numbers are from 2005, so they are likely even higher now.

This is known as assortative mating: people tend to choose partners similar to themselves in education, politics, personality, and more. What young people rarely hear is that college isn’t just for studying or preparing for a job. It’s a rare environment filled with people your age, with similar interests and comparable academic backgrounds — a situation you may never experience again.

Many graduates tell me they are surprised by how quickly their dating pool shrinks once they start working. Most colleagues are older, have families, or aren’t plausible partners. So toward the end of the piece, I argue that students should view college not only as a path to credentials, but also as one of the best places to meet a long-term partner.