STUDENTS are accustomed to seeing all sorts of promotions on campus.

But last week, at Shenzhen University, grads encountered a new one. A local matchmaking service promoted marriage as "the best way to start a career".

In fact, on many campuses, marriage is increasingly seen as providing a way for young people to escape the pressures of job-hunting and career.

According to a China Youth Daily online poll, more than 25 percent of students are considering getting married right after graduation. Take, for example, An Yujie, a Communication University of China art major. The 23-year-old An graduated a year ago and has been unemployed ever since. Now, she finds herself anxious about the future. Marriage would provide a solution. She has begun pushing her boyfriend to make a commitment for the future. She even convinced him recently to visit her home and family in Sichuan.

"Now, no one talks about my still-no-job thing," says An. "I find myself secure with a local Beijinger who has a stable income."

An is not the only one looking to marriage for security. So are many students' parents. For the really protective moms and dads, a daughter graduating without even a boyfriend spells failure. Cheng Yunyun, a 24-year-old information major at Shanghai University, always thought that marriage was something in the distant future. But now, at her parents' urging, she has found herself going to matching-making parties to meet guys. She sometimes gets "forced" to take phone calls from "candidates" arranged by her mom. "It would be great if I could meet a guy that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with," says Cheng. "But going for blind dates is not helping." She may be right.

Weiwei, a Wuhan University economics major met a guy at a campus party six months ago. He seemed to meet all of her criteria, but there was one problem: She didn't love him; she just wanted a secure future in the city. They got engaged really fast, but she soon found that she might have made a mistake. She got tired of having so many things to take care of and couldn' t even find a good reason for doing all the routine work at home. Recently, she broke up with the boy, even though it meant giving up -- for the time being -- a financially comfortable life. According to Shen Zheng, a Peking University psychology professor, looking to marriage to provide security is very dangerous. Shen says recent grads should learn how to solve problems through compromise before considering marriage. That's because it involves so much triviality and responsibility, even troubles.

Also, Shen says young people should be prepared to be independent in marriage -- both emotionally and financially. "If you can't keep up with the other person's mind or social experience, it will be hard to sustain."

Cheng Yunyun, meanwhile, is still going to those match-making parties because she thinks they're an effective way to meet many people in a short time.

But she says she doesn't always give out her phone number like she used to. "I'm waiting to give my number out to the one who gives me a special look in my eye."

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