Gender differences in wage expectations may affect investment in human capital and increase inequalities in the labor market. Our research based on a survey of freshmen at a French university aims to understand how students form differences in wage expectations. Our results show that anticipated earnings differ significantly between men and women. One year after graduation, we find a gender pay gap of 16 per cent. A wage decomposition method indicates most of this effect is due to anticipation of discrimination. Ten years after graduation, anticipated discrimination is still almost as dominant in explaining the gender wage gap. Finally, using a survey of recent college graduates we show that growth in the anticipated gender gap differs greatly from growth in the observed gender gap.