A Ring By Spring: The MRS Degree

December 27, 2007 4:05 pm     Posted in Reality  Candy -- NYU g+ page

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By Candy

Your dream has finally come true. You’ve made it into a private college, you’re paying upwards of $50,000 per year for your education, and you’ve just met the man of your dreams- a wealthy and intelligent man, who you plan to marry upon graduation. Congratulations, you have just been awarded your very own ‘MRS‘ degree… and will never have to work again!

Possible holders of an MRS degree (pronounced EM-AR-ES) are women who attend college just to meet potential husbands with high social standing and future earning potential.

This phenomenon, which occurs predominantly at private Christian institutions, has turned America’s ‘Bible colleges’ into ‘bridal colleges’. On these campuses, engagement is not only an eagerly awaited (and accepted) part of a relationship, but marriage is often promoted and planned around graduation.

“I don’t care how young I am. I love my boyfriend and I know we will get married and start a family when I graduate,” says one eager Baylor University female. “Never having to work – that’s just fine with me.”

Conversely, this push to wed is in opposition to the values taught at many large public universities, which promote female students’ independence and career planning.

“I find it completely unattractive,” says Ryan Bruels, a recent graduate from the University of Colorado. “One of the most important things to me is that my wife has a passion for something- not just becoming a breeder.”

Bruels’ perspective may be shared by others, but the times speak otherwise. Many students in relationships push the envelope by exchanging ‘promise rings,‘ symbols of an engagement soon to come. Sororties , for example, add to the marriage madness with caqndle ceremonies pronouncing the engagement of a fellow member – typically, by lighting a candle and passing it around the room until the newly engaged sister blows it out and the describes in detail ‘how he proposed.”

And these wedlock-bound coeds have even taken to the internet. Hundreds of Facebook users have created groups in support of the MRS cause. Student-led groups range from the ‘Future Homemakers Club‘ to one called ‘College is my Backup to Becoming a Trophy Wife!’

One group in particular, entitled ‘I Don’t Really Care as Long as He Has a Trust Fund,’ describes its membership this way:

“We know men want sexy, but they also need someone sophisticated enough to take home to Mama… Heck, he’ll be graduation soon, and if he already has, then you’re only a few steps closer to the day you are both driving Beamers and Benzes.”

Although independence and career goals for women are now accepted on college campuses, evidence still exists of women going the old-fashioned route: investing their money in pursuing a future lifestyle rather than in an academic conquest.

You have the ring on your finger and the diploma in your hand. The future is up to you.

11 Comments on "A Ring By Spring: The MRS Degree"

  1. Missy says:
    Fri, 28th Dec 20075:15 am 

    my school is exactly like this, & at first, it really really surprised me, but it catches on, & now my boyfriend and i have already talked about getting engaged right out of school, & him providing everything. i thought it was strange at first, but i don't mind it now.

  2. Ellie says:
    Wed, 16th Jan 20088:03 pm 

    i find this so stupid.. if you have kids and divorce or whatever, itll be harder to get a job and provide for the children if you didnt finish your education or you didnt get a job in your field after graduation. it would be a lot harder to support the kids, and employers would be less likely to hire you if you have no experience. you cant just be completely dependant of someone, especially a male. and if you are dependant of his money, what if he makes you sign one of those forms so that you cant get half of his assets (forgot what those are called)? anything can happen, and if you are completely dependant of him, youre just digging yourself a hole that you might not be able to get out of easily.

  3. K says:
    Sun, 27th Jan 20088:13 am 

    It's called a prenup…and why does it matter to you? It's not like she's asking you to do the same thing..it's her life choice.

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  5. Sarah Locker says:
    Mon, 7th Sep 20099:17 pm 

    I find this very offensive. Your implication is if a woman gets married soon after college she is a gold digger, or trying to get a free ride when in fact she may just be *shocking* in love.
    I am a senior and getting married right after graduation. My fiance and I will both work for several years afterwards, until we have children and then I will stay home for the first few years with our children. Why? Because I want to, and believe it is right for me and our future family.
    Had I decided I wanted to be a doctor, lawyer, ect. and be married I would have done so as well. I completely support women’s independence and right to choose what they want for their own lives, and some women choose marriage and to have children. And guess what? There is nothing wrong with that.
    There are also men who marry rich women, and men who stay at home with their children while their wives work.
    I think this idea you are portraying is offensive and contributes to the stigma that women are the weaker sex.

  6. william says:
    Sun, 12th Sep 20103:47 pm 

    I knew there was a term out there for this phenomena! It's something that I recently saw during my college years, and still continue to see even out there in the workforce. Women with MRS degrees do not necessarily have to be stay at home moms/wives too. They can adopt the phenomena that I see in the workforce, where the wife can do fluff part-time jobs, like photography, temp services, office type stuff, because they know full well that they have a husband providing them with financial support. I know several young women who work such jobs, which normally would make them starve considering the low pay they're receiving. But because they have that rich husband, they still get to drive off each day in their brand new fully-loaded SUVs. Sad really, considering how quickly that can all go away when the husband decides to leave.

  7. Naomi says:
    Sat, 11th Dec 201012:52 pm 

    This is stupid and incredulous of women. However it's not the way you painted it: there are women who go to Christian schools in pursuit of a real career, who just want to be with others of their faith. There are non-religious women who seek MRS degrees, and at public schools too. Also, Christian schools don't promote MRS degrees

  8. Andrew H says:
    Thu, 6th Jan 201112:39 am 

    "There are also men who marry rich women, and men who stay at home with their children while their wives work. "

    Surrrrrrre there are. I wonder how many men go to college simply to meet a rich woman who wants to spend the rest of her natural life providing for him, his needs and his child. And of the ones who do, how many are actually successful.

    You nailed it on the head in the beginning of your post; You will stay home wih the children because YOU want to and YOU believe it is right. The only men who stay home and take care of the kids are the ones who do so because SHE wants it that way and SHE believes it is right.

    He didn't say women are weaker; he said they are taking advantage of having their cake and eating it too.

  9. Lmj says:
    Thu, 29th Dec 20111:18 am 

    Fast forward 25 years post college…I married my college boyfriend post graduation. Being a career woman was always my goal. After working and climbing the ladder for 6 years I had my first child and found it incredibly hard to be everything to everyone. Fortunately, I married an intelligent man and have been able to stay home and raise three amazing children. After seeing my friends trying to do it all and how lucky they tell me I am, I believe that a bachelors degree and Mrs degree combo worked great for me.

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