Popa, as you wrote, the practical difference is what you both do that first year of marriage, but I disagree with the reason given in your “terutz”.
Let’s assume that the net years of learning will not end up any different. Regardless, the atmosphere of that first year of marriage is different. When your head is filled with Torah and Kedusha, it is not the same as when it is filled with work and, lihavdil, Torah, even though this is the reality for most men.
So I can understand why a young woman would *prefer* to start off her marriage with that atmosphere of Torah and Kedusha rather than starting off with work and, lihavdil, Torah.