Many sociological causes influenced my decision to attend college and more importantly, Clemson University. Factors such as family, class, gender, culture, race and age all played major and minor roles in why I am here today. Ever since I was a child, Clemson always was in the back of my mind as the college I had wanted to attend due to family ties to the University. As I entered my senior year of high school, this played a major role as I only applied to two colleges, Mississippi State University being the other. Upon receiving my acceptance letter to Clemson, the choice was abundantly clear and I began my first semester of college last fall. Despite being unaware of the factors or causes thats had influenced me at the time, I have realized
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Both my father and uncle attended Clemson as well as my grandfather who also played football for the University. With all of this in common, Clemson was always in the discussion at family reunions and Thanksgiving dinners. Also being of the upper middle class had a great deal of influence on me attending Clemson as college and success are often synonymous. A study conducted by Edward McDill and James Coleman on a student’s college plans based on father’s education and social status also supports that my family and social class influenced my decision to go to college. Their study revealed that students whose father’s had a high educational background and were of a high social status had the highest percent of college plans in their senior year at 74%. In contrast, students whose father’s had a low educational background and were of a low social status had a much lower percent of college plans at only 28% of students (McDill). This study emphasizes the effect that my family and social class had on my decision to attend college as three of my relatives attended Clemson and I am in the middle …show more content…
One consequence that I specifically came to college for was the ability to get a job and be part of a group of coworkers. Having a degree will enhance my ability to get a job and be able to work as part of a group or team. I will go to work everyday and be a member of my coworkers group which will only be possible upon earning my degree. This concept also relates to social stratification in that a person with a degree is more qualified and would therefore receive a higher position of power and prestige because of it. Another consequence of attending college and earning my degree is that I would be able to maintain or even improve upon my current social class rather than decline. College will allow me to find a job as I will be more qualified than people without degrees and therefore I will be able to work my way up in the social class system and build on what my parents have achieved. One final consequence of attending college is that I will be exposed to the illegitimate opportunity theory. By obtaining a high level job, I will be more exposed to white collar crime as opposed to street crime due to the disparity in income and power I will have after obtaining a job using my degree. This will also leave me prone to conflict theory and that the people I associate with may receive preferential treatment compared to those who are of a lower status because they do not have
Both my father and uncle attended Clemson as well as my grandfather who also played football for the University. With all of this in common, Clemson was always in the discussion at family reunions and Thanksgiving dinners. Also being of the upper middle class had a great deal of influence on me attending Clemson as college and success are often synonymous. A study conducted by Edward McDill and James Coleman on a student’s college plans based on father’s education and social status also supports that my family and social class influenced my decision to go to college. Their study revealed that students whose father’s had a high educational background and were of a high social status had the highest percent of college plans in their senior year at 74%. In contrast, students whose father’s had a low educational background and were of a low social status had a much lower percent of college plans at only 28% of students (McDill). This study emphasizes the effect that my family and social class had on my decision to attend college as three of my relatives attended Clemson and I am in the middle …show more content…
One consequence that I specifically came to college for was the ability to get a job and be part of a group of coworkers. Having a degree will enhance my ability to get a job and be able to work as part of a group or team. I will go to work everyday and be a member of my coworkers group which will only be possible upon earning my degree. This concept also relates to social stratification in that a person with a degree is more qualified and would therefore receive a higher position of power and prestige because of it. Another consequence of attending college and earning my degree is that I would be able to maintain or even improve upon my current social class rather than decline. College will allow me to find a job as I will be more qualified than people without degrees and therefore I will be able to work my way up in the social class system and build on what my parents have achieved. One final consequence of attending college is that I will be exposed to the illegitimate opportunity theory. By obtaining a high level job, I will be more exposed to white collar crime as opposed to street crime due to the disparity in income and power I will have after obtaining a job using my degree. This will also leave me prone to conflict theory and that the people I associate with may receive preferential treatment compared to those who are of a lower status because they do not have