Now more than ever before, women across the U.S. are taking control of their future. In the 2018 midterm elections, 540 women ran for state or federal office -- the highest number ever.

The same is happening when it comes to finishing or furthering a college degree.

According to statistics from WGU Ohio, 65 percent of its Ohio students are female and the same goes for WGU students nationally. WGU Ohio is a state affiliate of Western Governors University, an accredited, national, online, competency-based university.

WGU Ohio Chancellor Rebecca Watts says the uptick in women completing their degrees can be attributed to multiple reasons. For both men and women, college affordability is a key reason for not completing a degree. Women, more so than men, may have abandoned their college studies to have children or take care of family. Others may find themselves forced to become the sole breadwinners due to a life-changing event. In many cases, women send their children on to high school and college and realize they are ready to advance their own careers.

For Bobbi Laakso, a recent WGU graduate in Ohio, mounting student debt was the reason she quit college and took on a full-time job as a bank teller. But in 2016, Laakso discovered WGU was surprisingly affordable and self-paced, which allowed her to work while completing her bachelor’s degree in business administration. It took Laakso less than two years to graduate, and now she’s a VP for lending at a major national bank.