Two-hundred-and-seventy-eight undergraduates at a large southeastern university completed a confidential anonymous forty-item questionnaire designed to assess student reactions to course expectations and the degree to which they engage in behaviors typically associated with positive academic outcomes. Women were significantly more likely to be in class on time, to sit in the front of the class, to take notes, to buy/read the book and to report "I carefully organize the studying I must do for the class." Theoretical explanations include gender role socialization ("good girl's follow teacher's instructions"), modeling (women today have educated employed mothers as models), reference group (women look to other women to identify expected behaviors) and the Pollyanna hypothesis (a rewarding equitable future awaits the achieving woman). Limitations and implications of the data are suggested. (Contains 1 table.)