A majority leave without degrees.
For women without degrees, it might not happen at all.
Part of the thinking seems to have been that priority should go to those without degrees.
The employment situation for those without degrees is much worse than for those who have them.
That's why it is especially important for those without degrees to rely on networking, Ms. Piotrowski said.
But college debt is an even bigger problem for the growing numbers of borrowers who drop out without degrees.
Diane Johnson, the president of the Electrical Contractors Associationn, believes we are "sitting on a ticking timebomb" where people without degrees are treated as "second-class citizens".
As a member of the N.F.L. players' union, he also saw how dim the prospects after football could be for players without degrees.
It would also give people without degrees a fighting chance of getting into the workforce; currently one in five under-25s are unemployed.
31% of those without degrees were in upper-middle skilled roles, but they tended to be in skilled trade jobs, such as carpenters, plumbers and electricians.
