Perception on the average college student

Prompt: Perception

Begining my freshman year in college I had many ideas on what my college experience would be like, and the many different kind of people I would meet. I had no idea how different and opposite college would be from high school. The average student at Macon State is twenty seven years old and has at least one child; this statistic was given to me at orientation, and was very shocking to me. Like other young students I was not expecting to be in college with older adults but schockingly, adults are the majority of the student population. There are many different stereotypes and prejudices against adults who have chosen to finish their education and go back to college, and these different views and opinions can often change anothers view or perception on this topic.

The common stereotype that all college students should be young and single is not a valid way to examine the student body, because many do not fit into this mold. Adults returning to school also often face prejudices in the class rooms. Adults often have the tendancy to study hard and more often than some college students, which the students do not like because they usually ruin the grade curve for the class of young students who have not studied. Along with school, the adults have other responsibilities that the average student does not have, such as a job and a family. With extra responsibilities some may feel as if these students are treated more lieniant than younger students without these responsibilities which is a far from the truth. Typical stereotypes and prejudices are a daily occurances for the adult student body and they continuously show their determination to reach their goal and not let their admirations be down gradedby continuing to work on their perception of what is good for them as well as their families.

We try to remain open minded about differnet types of students and people we go to college with, but it remains no matter how we try to refrain from being prejudice or stereotypical we often catagorize certain groups, it is our human nature. Socrates and Gorgias were correct when they said that objective perception is not possible, this is due to the media and todays society. In our communities today we do not have our own original thought, we hear someone elses view and base our view upon that, yet it is not without some kind of prejudice, bais or stereotype.