The "Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century" represent a major effort for setting goals for language instruction across the United States and across instructional levels. They provide descriptions of what "language students should know and be able to do" through 11 content standards in five goal areas, the five C's--Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities--which, as Byrnes (2008) pointed out, "pertain to diverse facets of language use." The framework of interrelated goals has helped states institute standards for learning, helped teachers set learning goals, and helped students achieve them. It has had a major impact on language teaching and student learning in the United States. This study investigates the alignment between student goals and expectations and the Standards. First, it investigates whether university students report having goals that align with the goals in the Standards, as well as whether students believe they will achieve these goals by the end of their formal university studies. Then, it explores differences in the goals and expectations of students of commonly taught languages (CTLs) and less commonly taught languages (LCTLs). This research shows that postsecondary students' perspectives of their own reported goals for language learning align well with the Standards. In that students' own views had not previously been measured directly, this finding is most welcome to a profession that is preparing curriculum toward the goals articulated through this framework. It is particularly compelling that postsecondary students share the goals of the Standards, which could help put to rest doubts that the Standards are applicable to that level of instruction. It is equally important that LCTL students share the goals of the Standards, in fact even more than CTL students, which should encourage continued development of standards specific to these groups. (Contains 4 figures, 1 table and 7 notes.)