A person experiences significant change over the course of a lifetime. These changes often involve socialization, the process by which one learns the appropriate attitudes and behaviors within a culture. Without a doubt, the transition from secondary to higher education involves a process of resocialization, an identity transformation in which social norms and roles are altered or replaced. One of the most dramatic periods of resocialization occurs when one goes off to college. Interestingly, 53% of Americans 20-21 year-olds are enrolled in higher education and arguably experience some level of resocialization. Let’s take a moment to consider different aspects of the transformation college students experience from a sociological perspective.
The series of social changes that a person experiences over the course of their lifetime, from childhood to senior adulthood, is known as the life course perspective. For most people, regardless of age, college is a period of intense learning. In the weeks leading up to college, many students engage in anticipatory socialization, the process of learning different behaviors or activities to aspire to group membership. This may involve acquiring the course syllabus and textbooks early to try and prepare for class. If the student is joining the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), their anticipatory socialization might involve transforming their mind and body by changing their diet, going to the gym, and getting into top physical shape. In both instances, the student is trying to prepare themselves for the changes they think will be occurring as a result of membership in their new group.
The old saying “You never get a second chance to make a first impression” is true not only for job interviews but also in college. When meeting their professors for the first time, new college students often engage in impression management, an effort to control the impression others have of us. This may involve coming to class early, sitting up front, nodding and smiling when the professor makes a witty (or lame!) comment, and introducing yourself to the professor after class. The effort to manage the professor’s impression of you is an attempt to curate a studious front stage, a person’s public life that they reveal to the world.
