For high school freshmen, sophomores and juniors, the beginning of the year is the perfect time to create educational goals for yourself so that you can get into your dream school and start working towards the career you’ve always wanted.
Start with the end in mind
When sitting down to establish your goals for the year, it’s important to know what your overall objective is. Do you have a specific GPA in mind? Are you trying to get into your dream school? What score are you trying to get on your SAT/ACT?
Your goals need to fit in with your overall vision. If you want to get into Texas A&M University, research the admissions requirements and build your goals around them. If you want to improve your GPA, you should compare your desired GPA and current GPA and break down what grades you need to get each semester to make it a reality. If your focus is on improving your test scores, taking a practice exam like the PSAT can give you a baseline of your scores and show you which areas you need to emphasis during prep.
Be S.M.A.R.T. when setting goals
One of the most popular methods for establishing new goals is the S.M.A.R.T. method, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-based. Your educational goals should follow these five metrics.
Your goals should be specific. Don’t just say “I want to get into college” — say “I want to get into Texas A&M.” When your goals are more specific, you’re able to visualize the path and have a destination in mind. Once you know which school you want to attend, you can identify the exact requirements you need to work on to get there.
A year is a long time. Goals need to be measurable so you can make sure you’re on the right track. If you don’t track your goals, you might make it to August before you realize you’ve made no real progress. Let’s say you want to improve your GPA from a 3.0 to a 3.5 and to do so, you need to get a 4.0 in both semesters. Track yourself throughout the semester to see what your GPA would be if the semester ended at that time. Then track your remaining assignments, projects and exams to see what scores you need to reach your goal.
It can be thrilling to set high goals, but unattainable goals do nothing but bring disappointment. Make sure your goals are realistic — don’t shoot for a 3.9 cumulative GPA if you’re sitting at a 2.75 as a junior. Identify what you need to get into the school you want and lay down the steps to getting there.
Goals need to be relevant to your long-term objectives. Don’t set goals that won’t get you where you want to be. If you want to do your best to save money on college, aim to pass all your AP/IB exams or complete dual-enrollment courses.
Luckily for you, your educational goals can fit nicely as your New Year’s resolution. This solves the Time-based metric. Set up a timeframe that you want to complete these goals within and create milestones to reach throughout the year.
Keep track
Creating milestones for your goals can keep you accountable and make sure that you are headed in the right direction for success. Use a planner, calendar or notebook to make sure that you’re on track to reach your goal by the end of the year.
Make sure to review your progress regularly and adjust your timeline if you need to. School, work and life can get overwhelming at times — it’s important to not forget about your goals and stay flexible.
Reward yourself
Science shows that setting and achieving small goals keeps you motivated and on track to reach your larger objectives. Motivation stems from feelings from within, so treat yourself with small rewards every time you reach a milestone. Over time, you will build more and more motivation without needing to reward yourself.
Take yourself out for a nice meal, enjoy an at-home spa day, buy yourself a little present. Find creative ways to treat yourself when you do well on an exam or take big steps towards achieving your goals.
Setting and achieving educational goals is one of the best ways to accomplish more than you thought possible. You’ll be surprised how much you can do when your approach is tactical. Write these goals down and place them somewhere you will see them every day. Hold yourself accountable and work hard — you got this.
Start with the end in mind
When sitting down to establish your goals for the year, it’s important to know what your overall objective is. Do you have a specific GPA in mind? Are you trying to get into your dream school? What score are you trying to get on your SAT/ACT?
Your goals need to fit in with your overall vision. If you want to get into Texas A&M University, research the admissions requirements and build your goals around them. If you want to improve your GPA, you should compare your desired GPA and current GPA and break down what grades you need to get each semester to make it a reality. If your focus is on improving your test scores, taking a practice exam like the PSAT can give you a baseline of your scores and show you which areas you need to emphasis during prep.
Be S.M.A.R.T. when setting goals
One of the most popular methods for establishing new goals is the S.M.A.R.T. method, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-based. Your educational goals should follow these five metrics.
Your goals should be specific. Don’t just say “I want to get into college” — say “I want to get into Texas A&M.” When your goals are more specific, you’re able to visualize the path and have a destination in mind. Once you know which school you want to attend, you can identify the exact requirements you need to work on to get there.
A year is a long time. Goals need to be measurable so you can make sure you’re on the right track. If you don’t track your goals, you might make it to August before you realize you’ve made no real progress. Let’s say you want to improve your GPA from a 3.0 to a 3.5 and to do so, you need to get a 4.0 in both semesters. Track yourself throughout the semester to see what your GPA would be if the semester ended at that time. Then track your remaining assignments, projects and exams to see what scores you need to reach your goal.
It can be thrilling to set high goals, but unattainable goals do nothing but bring disappointment. Make sure your goals are realistic — don’t shoot for a 3.9 cumulative GPA if you’re sitting at a 2.75 as a junior. Identify what you need to get into the school you want and lay down the steps to getting there.
Goals need to be relevant to your long-term objectives. Don’t set goals that won’t get you where you want to be. If you want to do your best to save money on college, aim to pass all your AP/IB exams or complete dual-enrollment courses.
Luckily for you, your educational goals can fit nicely as your New Year’s resolution. This solves the Time-based metric. Set up a timeframe that you want to complete these goals within and create milestones to reach throughout the year.
Keep track
Creating milestones for your goals can keep you accountable and make sure that you are headed in the right direction for success. Use a planner, calendar or notebook to make sure that you’re on track to reach your goal by the end of the year.
Make sure to review your progress regularly and adjust your timeline if you need to. School, work and life can get overwhelming at times — it’s important to not forget about your goals and stay flexible.
Reward yourself
Science shows that setting and achieving small goals keeps you motivated and on track to reach your larger objectives. Motivation stems from feelings from within, so treat yourself with small rewards every time you reach a milestone. Over time, you will build more and more motivation without needing to reward yourself.
Take yourself out for a nice meal, enjoy an at-home spa day, buy yourself a little present. Find creative ways to treat yourself when you do well on an exam or take big steps towards achieving your goals.
Setting and achieving educational goals is one of the best ways to accomplish more than you thought possible. You’ll be surprised how much you can do when your approach is tactical. Write these goals down and place them somewhere you will see them every day. Hold yourself accountable and work hard — you got this.