Happy New Year!
As you make your New Year’s Resolutions consider why goal setting is important in the college admission process and beyond.
Goals: You Get What You Set
Adapted from Sam Gordon’s Coalition for College’s website post.
When it comes to goals, former college football player and coach Tony DeMeo says, “You get what you set.” Successful people like Coach DeMeo know that in order to succeed — in sports, in college, in life — you need to set goals. With goals, you take control of your life. Without them, you lack focus and direction. As you aim for college, we encourage you to set goals for yourself. Whether that’s taking on a challenging high school class, applying to more than one school, or getting into the college of your choice, setting goals will keep you on task and on the path for success.
Set goals in all areas of your life.
Yes, it’s important to have specific goals regarding college preparation. But you should also have goals that are broader than the college admissions process. In fact, knowing your goals for family, work, athletic, and spiritual life will impact your goals for college. Ask yourself big questions like: What do I want? What motivates me? How do I want to spend my time? What am I curious about? Your answers will help to identify your goals!
Write all your goals down.
Putting your goals on paper is a sign of commitment. We encourage you to take a picture of them and upload it to SCOIR so that you can reference your goals throughout your college journey!
Never sell yourself short.
If you don’t believe in yourself, you’ll never reach your potential. Think big. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The heroic cannot be the common, nor the common the heroic.” Stretch yourself. It’s better to shoot for greatness and come up short, then to shoot for mediocrity and succeed.
Follow up goal-setting with action.
Setting goals is important, but it must be followed up with an action plan. Take an organized approach to your goal-setting. Think about the steps it will take to achieve your goals, write them down, set a timeline, take action, and start checking them off.
Talk through your goals with your college counselor.
Schedule a time to meet with a member of Cannon’s college counseling team to review your goals and get advice on how to get started achieving them! Programs like the Congressional Award and Presidential Service as well as platforms such as SCOIR can help you get organized.
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