Setting Goals as a College Student

For college students, setting goals is crucial! I know that may sound cliche, but it really helps with staying organized and reaching the end goal: Graduation! Plus, staying goal oriented in and out of school can be motivating and meeting goals can inspire you to keep going.

As I’ve mentioned before, college students have a lot on their plate: focusing on school, managing a social life, work, internships, job searching… the list goes on.

As a student, setting goals can help you remain focused and manage stress a little better. An article from the University of Central Florida lists why setting goals is important for college students:

• It specifies what needs to be achieved
• It defines a plan of action
• It acts as a self progress report
• It reflects your success

As we’re in the New Year, think about some goals you can set for yourself.

Short-term v. Long-term Goals

Yes, goals come in different forms… who knew!

It’s good to have both short-term and long-term goals. Short-term goals can actually help you reach the long-term ones. For example, most college students have the goal of graduating and some small-term goals to help you reach that could be:

• Establishing a major
• Meeting prerequisites
• Obtaining required credit hours

Once you have a list of goals you want to meet, the next step is to prioritize! This is when you define what your short-term goals are and which ones are long-term.

Time and importance are big factors in prioritizing goals. You want to keep in mind which ones are the most important to you and define which goals have a shorter timeline than others.

Going off the previous example, two-long term goals a college student could have are graduating and landing the job of your dreams. Prioritizing those two goals might look like placing the goal of graduating before getting the job.

Both of those goals have a timeline but for some, graduating will play a part in landing that desired job, so that’s why you would want to prioritize graduating first.

And then finally, you would have several different short-term goals that will help you meet those long-term goals. Along with the ones mentioned above, you might add:

• Beginning a job search
• Finalizing a resume and portfolio
• Researching different companies

Check out this blog to read more about short-term and long-term goals.

Making Meeting Goals Possible

Sometimes having a list of goals to meet can be overwhelming. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed but it’s important to not let it discourage you from continuing to work towards them.

Here are four tips that can help you successfully meet goals:

1. Set goals that motivate you — if you set goals that aren’t exactly motivating then it becomes easy to disregard them and fall behind.
2. Set SMART goals — specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound goals are what make goals easier to meet.
3. Write out your goals — research shows that the act of writing something out makes it real and tangible.
4. Make an action plan and stick with it — making a plan for yourself gives you something to refer back to and keep on track.

My Goals for the New Year

As a senior in college, I have a few goals of my own and with the New Year approaching I feel more motivated than ever to meet them. Specifically, I currently have three short-term goals and two-long terms goals.

My short-term goals are to:

• Finalize my portfolio and resume
• Start my job search
• Finish my last semester with a high GPA

These are the goals that will help me successfully reach my long-term goals. They will hopefully set me up for success and serve as stepping stones to my future.

My long-term goals are to:

• Graduate
• Land a job

My long-term goals are the next two big steps in my life. Graduating college is something I have been working towards for the past four years and landing a job in the social media and marketing field is one of my dreams!

Conclusion

Setting goals and working towards them doesn’t only help you while in college, but it helps you succeed in life after graduation too. Take advantage of the New Year and make a list of goals, prioritize them, and create an action plan.

Set your mind to it, you can do it!