(ARA) – Jayme Malpiedi wasn’t expecting to meet her future spouse when she decided to attend Grand Canyon University. It just happened, as it apparently “just happens” for an estimated 60 percent of the students who attend the faith-based Arizona university.

With an increasingly untethered 20-something generation, young people are waiting longer than ever to get married, have children, and “settle down” as the old phrase goes. Though unintentional, students who attend faith-based institutions seem to be bucking the trend.

“Marriage was the last thing on my mind, especially when my first impression was of him decked out in that ridiculous ‘Revenge of the Nerds’ costume with his volleyball teammates,” says Malpiedi. She and her fiance, Clayton Hall, didn’t meet until finals week in the spring semester of Jayme’s senior year, but it was clear early on that they shared similar values, beliefs and visions for their futures. In fact, their first date was a church service.

Malpiedi attended public and private schools, and believes that students at faith-based colleges are just more prepared for that major milestone.

“Students who attend faith-based universities are on a different path than other students. They already know what they want for their futures, so those conversations that lead to committed relationships come up early,” she says.

Many of today’s young adults tend to boomerang back to their parents’ nest, remaining unattached to romantic partners, going back to school, traveling and generally postponing major life milestones, such as marriage, until the average age of 26 for women and 28 for men, a number which has grown by five years since the 1970s. But according to alumni and those who work at private religious colleges, most who attend non-secular, private institutions find their life mate earlier in life, marrying either while in school or soon after. The dean of students at Grand Canyon University has estimated their school’s marriage rate at 60 percent or more. Although most religious institutions do not track the marriage rate of their students, many agree that it happens quite often.

Dr. Jim Burns, executive director of Azusa Pacific University’s HomeWord Center for Youth and Family, author of “Closer: 52 Devotions to Draw Couples Together” and “Creating an Intimate Marriage,” notes an insight from one of his colleagues, University of Wisconsin marriage researcher Dr. Ray Short, about some of the best marriages being the result of marrying your next door neighbor.

“Obviously we seldom marry our neighbor, but the best marriages happen when there is the same socio-economic background as well as morals, values and even spiritual principles. Typically sometime in their 20s is when young people begin to contemplate a more serious relationship like marriage. So it only seems natural that many people meet their spouses while going through the college experience,” he says.

Grand Canyon University Campus Pastor Tim Griffin, who recently left a ministry with the NASCAR circuit, agrees. “For years, I counseled couples who were struggling in their relationships due to stressful travel schedules, danger/risk associated with the sport, etc. This setting lets couples avoid the risks that often make relationships more complicated in the ‘real world.'”

Griffin notes that public institutions tend to attract students with a wide variety of belief systems and religious backgrounds, making it a bit more challenging to find mates, let alone dates, with common interests.

Eric and Jessica Andrews of Phoenix met during their sophomore year while star-gazing in an astronomy class, and are friends with several couples who also met on campus and married, including his best friend from childhood, who ended up marrying Jessica’s sister.

“It’s the students’ religious backgrounds and the atmosphere on campus that contributes to the high rate of marriage,” says Eric.

At the first chapel service of the year, Grand Canyon University CEO Brian Mueller shares with parents the likelihood of their children meeting their future spouses, and knows firsthand that it happens quite frequently, as he met his wife while attending a small Lutheran college.

“Take a look around you, because someone in this room will likely be your child’s in-law,” he says.