Good Goals For Freshman To Set In College
If you’re a graduating high school senior getting ready to take the big next step into the college world, it’s important that you set goals for yourself at the next level. Goals are representations of your core values and are great for pushing yourself to stay focused and achieve a lot of success in college.
Setting goals for yourself heading into freshman year can definitely help you build good habits that will motivate you to excel in the classroom, and trust me, you’ll need all the motivation you can get. If you’re looking for the inspiration for some motivating goals to set for your freshman year of college, check out these short and long term ideas to strive for.
First, lets look at some good short-term goals.
Make It To All Classes On Time
Getting to your classes on time is a good college goal to have. Being on time helps you avoid information that may be given at the beginning of class and can give you the freedom to pick your spot if there isn’t assigned seats (which there usually isn’t in college). Most importantly, being early and on time is simply a really good habit to build when it comes to getting ready for the real world.
Plenty of college freshman get lost looking for their rooms during the first week, and almost every student ever has overslept at least once during their academic career. Making a mental map of your classes by taking yourself on a tour of campus buildings and getting appropriate amounts of sleep will give you a better chance of being up and ready to go come class time.
Aim For All A’s
This is a good college goal for any student that wants to go above and beyond in the classroom. The great thing about shooting for the moon with this goal is that even if you miss, you’ll still land among the stars (pretend all of the B’s are stars). Push yourself to not only pass, but pass with flying colors, and you’ll have no choice but to achieve great success in college.
Have No Late Assignments
Part of wanting to have excellent grades is staying disciplined and on top of your schoolwork. That’s what makes getting all of your homework in on time a good college goal.
This is another good goal to have because it can work its way into being a great habit for the real world if you work a job that requires getting tasks done before a certain deadline. Turning in your homework when it’s due shows that you are a responsible student that can balance their workload well.
Make A New Friend
I’ve talked a ton about academic goals to set your freshman year, but there’s more to college life than going to class and going back to your dorm room.
A good college goal for freshman to have in the short-term is to make a new friend on campus. Your first ever roommate, a classmate, or a teammate if you’re an athlete are all easy options to make your first college friend.
Another great place you can find a new friend is at freshman orientation. Most college freshman are in search of somebody they can be cool with to make themselves feel less alone at a big place. Whatever it takes, whoever it takes, make a new friend early on in college!
Each of those are goals that can be completed in the short-term. Now let’s check out some more long-term goals that you should work toward over your four years at your university.
Finish College With At Least A 3.0 GPA
Like I said, shoot for the moon but don’t be afraid to land in the stars.
Some college classes are going to be easy A’s, but some of those might really strain your brain and have you praying for even a C.
Going for a 3.0 is a good college goal for freshman to set because the goal demands hard work in ever class. Of course every student would love to maintain a 4.0 GPA, but if there’s any one saying I heard throughout college that couldn’t be any more true, it’s that “C’s get degrees.”
Setting the bar at 3.0 is highly attainable because it isn’t requiring you to be perfect with A’s, nor is it letting you get off with doing the bare minimum to get a C in every course. Some assignments will be forgotten about or sometimes you tried your best but just didn’t get the grade you wanted, but it’s not the end of the world. If you study hard and try your best, the results will work themselves out in the end.
Get Involved With Campus Programs
A good college goal to have is to become involved on campus before you leave. Jump into the marching band. Try out for the lead role for a campus performance. Sign up for sports clubs and play intramurals. Join the student senate or another campus committee. Join any one of the numerous clubs your college has to offer, or join two or join some more.
Maybe this doesn’t happen freshman year, but by your time as a senior, it’d be cool to look back at your life in college and say you were apart of something on campus and had a lot of fun doing it!
Walk Away With Memories That Will Last Forever
A good goal you should have set for the moment leave campus for the last time as a student is to exit with more knowledge than you had stored before and more memories than you can even begin to count. Enjoy your college life and everything that comes with it. Enjoy the friendships. Enjoy the homecoming games. Enjoy the parties. Enjoy the dinner table discussions. Take with you all the memories, from the microscopic to the monumental.
Graduate!
This is every student ever’s goal from day one.
Graduating college is a good college goal. Like really good. In fact, it’s got to be the best college goal you can possibly have. It’s the whole reason you took the next step into higher learning. Reaching your ultimate goal of graduating takes accomplishing a series of short-term goals along the way.
Not everybody makes it to the finish line, so graduating college is a huge accomplishment. Turning in homework on time, trying your best on each test and working hard to pass each class each semester will have you in as a lock for your cap and gown in four years time!
I encourage you to set many goals while you’re in college. Set short-term goals, set long-term goals. Set goals for the day, the week, the semester or the school year. Set them and strive for them. Stop at nothing to achieve your goals and be great!
