Sociology Principles of College :: Sociology Essays

Sociology in Familiar Places: Expectations Norms are found in all societies. Colleges are subcultures. There is a specific way of doing things and all campuses are different. Everyone has expectations on how college life will be and the standards that come with it. â€Å"More than a wish or a hope, an expectation is something a student believes will happen, anticipates doing or experiencing. Expectations are grounded in a student's self-understanding and in knowledge about the college or university at which he or she plans to spend the next four years or more.† This superior justification of what a college student foresees by Robert Gonyea, really depicts what a scholar looks forward to in his or her college years. When expectations are applied to the student it is treated as a plan or a goal. However, when intended for the institution, it is looked upon as an obligation. There are so many ideas one thinks of when starting a new chapter in life. Some occasional deliberations include parties, freedom, higher workload, dating, and leaving the comfort zone of high school. In reality, many of these things don’t change, while others alter significantly. A typical expectation of the college life is more freedom in choice. Classes are taken upon his or her own schedule. Everyone, besides getting the general education out of the way, has a decision of what classes to take. Classes begin focusing on the career being pursued, rather than faculty and school regulations. The possibilities are endless in college. This is what created the saying, â€Å"You can be anything you want to be.† This has been said a million times and will be heard a million more. With this newfound freedom of choice comes responsibility. â€Å"Ditching class† has now become something of the past. Unlike high school, classes cost money. Paying for education makes it to where the people who actually want to be there will be, rather than idlers that are there only by force. No one cares if you skip class. Everything, including the grade, is up to the student. Although half the time, professors rarely even take role, missing one class can result in not understanding the newt two weeks worth of work or more. Choose to go to class or not, but if not, the student is paying to fail a class. Goals should be set to avoid skipping of classes. "To maximize learning and involvement during the first year of college, students need to set personal goals that are high enough so that they must try their best in classes and use campus resources to augment what they are learning in their classes.