According to a study conducted in 2013, only 28 percent of people who get married attended the same college. An even lower number, 15 percent, represents the high school sweethearts that eventually wed further down the road. These numbers seem to be low compared to our parents' generation, when it was more common and even amusing that women would go to college to find a husband. The question then arises: what's the difference in our peer groups? Why are millennials less likely to marry someone they date in college than what was previously seen as the norm? Are these campus relationships not seen as serious or long lasting to eventually lead to marriage? Speaking from personal experience, my parents both attended the same HBCU where they met their freshman year. Although my mother only attended this college for two years and then transferred to another institution, they kept their relationship intact despite the distance. This later produced a marriage union between the two, and three beautiful children soon followed. This situation is somewhat similar to the family of another current college millennial, Semia Hamlin. Her parents both attended Howard University, her mother graduating one year ahead of her father. After Hamlin's mother got her undergrad degree, the couple became engaged and were expecting their first child a few years later.

It seems very hard to believe that I could potentially be walking the same campus as my future spouse. Why, you may ask? Because this is such a different time we live in than previous generations; we are more advanced. Hamlin states that since we are living in a digital era, we're more likely to meet someone on social media, whereas our parents "only had the means of being with someone physically in person, on campus."

There's also a common consideration of one's future goals and aspirations that affect any long-standing relationships. When generally asking around campus, more college students are choosing to wait longer to get married and have children post graduation than choosing to start a family and begin their life immediately after. This is seen as a means of security, in which these millennials would rather achieve their own personal growth first (i.e. starting a career, having their own place, settling in an area permanently) before joining in a union with another for the rest of their lives.

What about that scary little thing called commitment? Could that also be getting in the way of college kids seeking marriage after finishing school? According to Hamlin, "A lot of people aren't willing to get in relationships over superficial things [like a fear of commitment]. They're afraid of getting hurt." I definitely agree with the subject's idea of our generation being more resistant in settling down at such a young age. Whatever the reason may be, it seems college students are waiting longer to get married, with usually someone they meet later in life, due to the strong belief in one's personal choices and preferences. It's a beautiful thing to be able to decide how you'd like your life to go. As far as the college sweetheart notion, our "sweethearts" seem to be more focused on graduating, finding their first job post degree, moving out of their parents' house, and living on their own, rather than finding their future life partner and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.