Social media likes to tell women that the perfect man is out there. However, on a campus where women outnumber men, that perfect man is sometimes hard to find, especially when coordinating school and a future career.

Young girls often make a mental list of characteristics that they want in a guy and are determined to match each of their criteria in a given relationship.  However, when college comes around, the fight between ideals and reality begins.

“When we are young, we have a fantasized and romantic view of what we want in a man, but sometimes we have to be real,” sophomore business major, Jacky Negrete, said.

“There is always a struggle.  We shouldn’t have to settle.  I think it’s perfectly fine if you don’t find your companion, especially in college.  There isn’t a specific age.  It’s a matter of compatibility.” 

Before the 1960s, women didn’t typically go to college, leaving men as the majority on campus.  However, according to Collegboard.com, SMU currently consists of 53 percent women and 47 percent men. 

At other universities where similar situations exist, the standards for relationships can become blurred.  However, women walking along the SMU Boulevard have a different opinion.

“Although numbers show that there are more girls on campus than guys, I don’t think that it’s that noticeable to students,” freshman, Kenzie Schott, said.

“I never really noticed there being a difference.  I wasn’t even really looking and I found someone,” Jill Gregory, a senior chemistry major said.

Although many students find compatibility with their peers they lack the time to pursue building a relationship, preferring to spend their time on school.  Some students feel they have to choose between their relationships or their future careers.  For these 21st century students, the pull of having to choose between a relationship or a career can still be felt.

“I feel like I should be involved in my school and focus on my school work right now,” sophomore, Anastasiya Kartseva, said. “There is a different level of commitment in learning when you come to college.”

Although some students believe that they must choose between having a career or having a relationship, Karen Click, the director of the Women’s Center, suggests, “there is room for a healthy relationship, for both.”