You are correct. Hypergamy is all about competition among women for the same top 10% of men.
You also have women spending their teens and 20’s chasing the same “cute guys” (tall, good looking, “genetically superior” physically), then reluctantly “settling” for a guy with decent earning power in their 30’s.
Some women choose to be “single moms”, having kids by the cute guys, then looking for some hard-working shlub to marry and support them and their spawn.
Yep! Women have high SMV (= Sexual Market Value) in their late teens till their early thirties, while "average" men (if they play their cards right) have low SMV till they hit their stride in the mid 30s, whereupon their SMV then outpaces that of their contemporaries of the opposite sex.
Add in illegitimate children, and the disaster is complete.
This talk about "college degrees" is only roiling the waters / confusing the issue! The real issue is the uncontrolled SMV of callow young women (who used to be subject to strict societal strictures) - which is further abetted by our current free-for-all culture.
Regards,