Women don't need to choose between a cap and gown and a wedding dress, study shows

For years, women have often felt like they had to choose between a career and a more traditional home life, but a new study conducted by the Pew Research Center suggests that the gap between the percentage of college-educated women who marry and their high-school educated counterparts is narrowing.

In years past, research seemed to indicate that if a woman hadn't worn a wedding dress by the time she was 40 years old, she probably never would - and that was even truer for college-educated women.

While that news isn't likely to make a woman second guess her choice of earning a college degree, it might make some single ladies feel as if they're destined to be the perennial bridesmaid.

However, it seems that the times have changed, and women over 40 still have a chance to make a trip down the aisle, if they're so inclined.
In fact, 40-year-old college-educated women who have never married are twice as likely to tie the knot within the next 10 years as those with only a high school diploma.

The research also indicates that as of 2008, the amount of college grads under 40 who had said "I do," (86 percent) was only 2 percent less that the amount of women with a high school diploma who were married (88 percent).

The group that was least likely to marry was women who had dropped out of high school, while college grads were the most likely to divorce.