ABOUT WHO IS GOING TO COLLEGE. ENROLLMENT AMONG YOUNG AMERICANS HAS BEEN DECLINING OVER THE PAST DECADE, THAT DECREASE MOSTLY DRIVEN BY FEWER YOUNG MEN PURSUING DEGREES. A PEW RESEARCH STUDY FINDS THERE'S ABOUT ONE MILLION FEWER YOUNG MEN NOW ENROLLED IN COLLEGE COMPARED TO 2011. WE TOOK AT CLOSER LOOK AT WHY, IN THE SECOND PART OF OUR FOCUS TONIGHT ON RETHINKING COLLEGE. TOMORROW MORNING IN BRENTWOOD, NEW YORK, HE WILL GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL. BUT LIKE A GROWING NUMBER OF YOUNG MEN, COLLEGE IS NOT IN HIS IMMEDIATE PLAN. >> I STARTED LOOKING INTO COLLEGE TOO LATE AND I DID NOT DECIDE WHAT I WANTED TO DO. I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE I WOULD GET THE MONEY FROM. I JUST THINK IT WOULD BE BETTER IF I STARTED WORKING IMMEDIATELY. GEOFF: RAISED BY A SINGLE MOTHER WHO ALSO CARES FOR HIS DISABLED BROTHER, HE SAYS HE PLANS TO BECOME A CERTIFIED HVAC TECHNICIAN. HE HAS NOT RULED OUT GOING TO COLLEGE ONE DAY, BUT SAYS IT SIMPLY DOES NOT MAKE SENSE RIGHT NOW. >> BE FACT I WOULD HAVE TO PAY EVEN THOUGH I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANT TO DO, AND THAT I MIGHT NOT EVEN GET A JOB IN THE FIELD I WANT. GEOFF: HE IS NOT ALONE. LAST YEAR AMONG HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES IN THE U.S., ONLY 57% OF MEN ENROLLED IN COLLEGE, COMPARED TO 65% OF WOMEN. IT'S A TREND THAT DATES BACK NEARLY THREE DECADES. EVERY YEAR SINCE 1996, WOMEN HAVE ENTERED COLLEGE AT HIGHER RATES THAN MEN. >> THE EDUCATION SYSTEM AS A WHOLE DOES NOT SEEM TO BE WORKING QUITE AS WELL WITH BOYS AS IT IS FOR GIRLS. GEOFF: RICHARD IS THE AUTHOR OF, OF BOYS AND MEN, WHILE THE MODERN MAIL IS STRUGGLING, WHY IT MATTERS, AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT. >> MEN ARE FALLING BEHIND IN EDUCATION. THE EDUCATION GAP IS BIGGER NOW THAN IT WAS IN 1972. WHAT ACCOUNTS FOR THAT? >> THE MAIN REASON IS IT IS THROUGH THE EDUCATION SYSTEM, GIRLS ARE OUTPERFORMING BOYS YOU CAN SEE IT FROM THE BEGINNING IN KINDERGARTEN ALL THE WAY THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL. IF YOU LOOK AT HIGH SCHOOL GPA, WHICH IS A VERY GOOD MEASURE OF SUCCESS, TAKE THE TOP 10% OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. TWO THIRDS OF THEM ARE GIRLS. THAT OBVIOUSLY AFFECTS WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE COLLEGE SYSTEM. GEOFF: TODAY, MEN MAKE UP ONLY 42% OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS, AND FOR YOUNG MEN OF COLOR, THE GAP IS ESPECIALLY ALARMING. THERE ARE 50,000 FEWER BLACK MEN ENROLLED IN COLLEGE COMPARED TO PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS. >> I THINK COLLEGE IS BECOMING A TOUGH SELL FOR A LOT OF MEN. NOT NECESSARILY BE HOOKED -- BECAUSE COLLEGE IS NOT A COMPELLING IDEA, BUT RATHER BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER COMPETING FACTORS THAT MIGHT BE EQUALLY IF NOT MORE SO DESIRABLE. GEOFF: ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE, HE STUDIES HOW BLACK AND LATINO ADOLESCENT BOYS EXPERIENCE SCHOOL. HE SAYS FOR THE YOUNG MEN HE WORKS WITH, PROBLEMS OFTEN BEGIN LONG BEFORE COLLEGE. >> BLACK AND LATINO BOYS GROW UP IN A SOCIETY THAT STEREOTYPES THEM AS NONACADEMIC, AS SOCIALLY THREATENING. AND MANY OF THOSE TYPES OF STEREOTYPES SHAPE HOW THEIR EDUCATORS ENGAGE WITH THEM IN SCHOOLS. GEOFF: MORE WOMEN THAN MEN NOW HAVE COLLEGE DEGREES, ACCORDING TO U.S. CENSUS DATA, AND THEY ARE MORE LIKELY TO GRADUATE WITHIN FOUR YEARS COMPARED TO MEN. IT HAS LED SOME COLLEGES TO TARGET MALE STUDENTS AS A GROUP IN NEED OF EXTRA SUPPORT. >> WE ARE NOT PRETENDING THE PROBLEM DOES NOT EXIST, WE ARE TRYING TO ADDRESS IT HEAD-ON. GEOFF: JONATHAN IS PRESIDENT OF MONTCLAIR STATE UNIVERSITY. HOW DO YOU CRAFT A PROGRAM THAT WORKS TO HELP MEN THAT DOES NOT COME AT THE EXPENSE OF WOMEN? >> OH, I DON'T THINK THIS IS A MATTER OF EITHER/OR AND I DON'T THINK THIS IS A MATTER OF PUTTING THE NEEDS OF FEMALE STUDENTS SECOND. I THINK IT IS A MATTER OF ASKING THE BASIC QUESTION OF WHY DO WE SEE DIFFERENTIAL GRADUATION RATES WHEN WE SORT BY GENDER AND RACE? THAT IS WHERE YOU REALLY START TO SEE THIS GAP WIDEN. GEOFF: MORE THAN HALF OF MONTCLAIR STATE STUDENTS COME FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS, AND MEN MAKE UP JUST 40% OF TOTAL ENROLLMENT. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CONSEQUENCES IF MORE YOUNG MEN CHOOSE NOT TO GO TO COLLEGE? >> THERE ARE SO MANY CONSEQUENCES. I DON'T THINK THAT MEANS EVERYBODY SHOULD GET A FOUR YEAR DEGREE. I DON'T THINK COLLEGE IS FOR EVERYONE. BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE DATA, THE DATA SAYS IN TERMS OF INCOME, IN TERMS OF HEALTH, IN TERMS OF HAPPINESS, IN TERMS OF LIFE SATISFACTION, YOUR ODDS ARE BETTER WITH A FOUR YEAR DEGREE. GEOFF: IN 2022, MONTCLAIR STATE LAUNCHED THE MALE ENROLLMENT AND GRADUATION ALLIANCE, A TASK FORCE DEVELOPING PROGRAMS THAT AIM TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN MORE MEN. >> IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING ANY LEVEL OF INSTABILITY IN YOUR LIFE, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. GEOFF: DANNY, THE UNIVERSITY'S ASSISTANT PROVOST FOR SPECIAL PROGRAMS, HELPS LEAD THE INITIATIVE. LAST SPRING HE WELCOMED 300 HIGH SCHOOLERS FROM NEARBY CITIES IN NEW JERSEY. FOR MANY, IT WAS THEIR FIRST TIME ON A COLLEGE CAMPUS. >> PLEASE GIVE ALL OF THEM A ROUND OF APPLAUSE. GEOFF: FOR JEAN, IT WAS A CHANCE TO SHARE HIS OWN STORY. >> MY FAMILY MOVED OVER 12 TIMES BEFORE I GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL. WE WERE ACTUALLY HOMELESS AT ONE TIME AND HAD TO MOVE IN WITH FAMILY MEMBERS. I GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL AT ONE POINT. A TEACHER WHO TOLD ME I WOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO SEE 25, ALCOHOLICS IN MY FAMILY, DRUG USERS AND MY FAMILY. THIS WORK IS VERY PERSONAL FOR ME. GEOFF: WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND THAT WORKS? WHAT IS THE KEY TO PROVIDING ACCESS, AND ONCE STUDENTS GET ADMITTED, MAKING SURE THEY ARE SUCCESSFUL? >> THEY REALLY NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE BENEFIT OF COLLEGE AND HELP THEM UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT COLLEGE CAN OFFER AND BE ABLE TO MAP OUT WHAT THEIR PLAN IS BEYOND HIGH SCHOOL. >> COMING HERE WAS TOUGH FRESHMAN YEAR. GEOFF: AND BEYOND ACADEMIC HELP, SOME OF THE MEN ALSO NEED SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ONCE THEY ARRIVE ON CAMPUS. HE MEETS OFTEN WITH A STUDENT ORGANIZATION THAT AIMS TO DO JUST THAT. >> IT HAS ALLOWED ME TO BE CONFIDENT. GEOFF: THEY HELP LEAD THIS GROUP KNOWN AS THE BROTHERHOOD. >> IT IS IMPORTANT THAT MEN GET SUPPORT FROM EACH OTHER. BECAUSE WE DON'T GET ENOUGH. AND EVERYBODY BOTTLES IN THEIR EMOTIONS. YOU HAVE TO KEEP THIS PERSONA OF BEING A TOUGH GUY. THAT'S NOT THE WAY TO GO. >> IN THE FUTURE OF WHAT YOUNG MEN TO REALIZE, IT'S OK TO COME OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. WHEN YOU COME OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE, AT THE END OF THE DAY WHEN YOU WALK ON THAT STAGE IN MAY, YOU'RE GOING TO BE GRATEFUL FOR IT. GEOFF: LAST MONTH MITCHELL DID GRADUATE WITH A DEGREE IN SCIENCE. MCKENNA WILL DO THE SAME LATER THIS YEAR. THEY SAY BEYOND THE DEGREE, COLLEGE IS ALREADY PAYING OFF. >> TIME MANAGEMENT, RESPECT AMONG OTHERS, HOW TO WORK WITH OTHER PEOPLE. ALL OF THAT YOU CAN LEARN IN COLLEGE IF YOU DO COLLEGE OF THE RIGHT WAY. GEOFF: BACK IN BRENTWOOD, NEW YORK, HE SAYS HE IS COMFORTABLE WITH HIS OWN DECISION. >> I FEEL LIKE I AM ENTERING A NEW CHAPTER IN MY LIFE. IT IS ALWAYS EXCITING. I ALWAYS WONDERED WHAT WAS LIKE TO BE A GROWN-UP. NOW I GET TO EXPERIENCE IT. GEOFF: AS COLLEGES TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHY SO MANY YOUNG MEN