Now seen as a normative stage for nearly all relationships including African Americans. However, there are preferential differences for why certain couples enter into cohabitation. Caucasian women chose to cohabitate with a partner as a precursor to marriage whereas African American women found it as an alternative to singlehood. White women were also less likely to conceive while cohabitating compared to their African American counterparts. Level of education also impacts the rate at which cohabitating couples’ transition into marriage. As minority males’ lower aggregate levels of educational achievement has been linked to men choosing more often not to marry with their cohabiting partner as much. Societal value of men as partaking in the “provider” role and the link between education and income explain some of this hesitation to marry a cohabiting partner.