It’s that time of year again! The fall semester is about to begin, and campuses are buzzing with the excited anticipation that a new academic year brings. Whether you’re a first-time college student, returning student, transfer student, or a student about to graduate — here are five proven steps you can take to set yourself up for one of the best semesters ever.
Set SMART Goals
Commonly attributed to Peter Drucker's Management by Objectives concept, the SMART system helps you create clear and reachable goals:
Make a list of specific, meaningful, and measurable goals for your semester that you can reasonably achieve within this limited timeframe. Make your goals relevant to your long-term career plans.
For example: “My goal is to achieve a 3.7 GPA this semester. To make this happen, I will block out 20 hours of study time every week and faithfully adhere to my schedule. I will create a separate binder for each of my classes that I will fill with thorough and organized notes, and I will review these materials before every test.”
Read your SMART goals every day to reinforce your commitment and hold yourself accountable for following through.
Get Organized
Find a weekly or monthly scheduling solution that works for you, whether it’s a digital app that helps you manage your class schedule, teacher contacts, and upcoming assignments and tests such as
Connect with Your Instructors
Be proactive about introducing yourself to your new professors. Drop in during office hours to ask questions about the course and share your academic and career goals. A warm relationship with your instructors goes a long way toward helping you be successful, not only in their courses but also down the road when you need a letter of recommendation for graduate school, a fellowship, or an internship.
Take Advantage of School Resources
In addition to familiarizing yourself with the free information available to you at the campus libraries, computer labs, career centers, and tutoring and writing centers, be sure to attend any orientations your school offers for new students.
Here at Geneva College, we devote several days to helping our new students feel welcome and require a semester-long Learning and Transitions course to fully acclimate them into college life. Our Center for Student Development plans exciting activities and learning opportunities during Welcome Week, giving both freshmen and transfer students a chance to connect to our community and transition into college life.
Returning Geneva students can benefit from hundreds of activities – from nationally known speakers to adventure fun – and dozens of clubs, but only if they take advantage of the opportunities.
Prioritize Your Health
Developing excellent self-care skills in college will help sustain you throughout your academic years and set a solid foundation on which you can build your future.
If you’d like to learn more about the biblically based, Christ-centered education at Geneva, we’d love to explore the possibilities with you. For more information on how Geneva College can help you pursue your career goals, please phone us at 855-979-5563 or email web@geneva.edu.
Opinions expressed in the Geneva Blog are those of its contributors and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official position of the College. The Geneva Blog is a place for faculty and contributing writers to express points of view, academic insights, and contribute to national conversations to spark thought, conversation, and the pursuit of truth, in line with our philosophy as a Christian, liberal arts institution.
Aug 24, 2017
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