Academic success for college students requires making a plan. Planning is a key component of self-determination. Research studies have shown that self-determination is sine qua non (fancy way of saying  essential) of academic success for the college student.   Here are some handy dandy self-determined steps towards academic success.

Step 1. Know and Value Yourself. Click here to read more about Step 1.

Step 2. Grow a goal that reflects you and your value. A goal that is authentic and genuinely owned by you. Click here to read more about goals. Goals have a starting point and an ending point by when. For example: I will go from X to Y by May 30th. Read my previous post about goals.

The plan to college success is like a road map.

I like to differentiate the goal from the plan. Let me use a road trip analogy. The goal is your destination. The plan is the road map. The goal tells you which direction to head but the plan tells you which road. Along the road you will have landmarks to help you know if you are still headed in the right direction and to tell you how many miles you have traveled in the direction of your goal. Landmarks also help you know how many miles until you arrive at your destination. These landmarks are mini-goals. A sort of check list.

For example if you are traveling from Fort Worth to Corpus Christi, Texas you will head south on I35. You will drive through Waco, Temple, Georgetown, Austin and onto San Antonio. Then you will take I37 from San Antonio to Corpus Christi. At each city you will know how many miles you have traveled and how many more are still to go. If you want to get there by dinner time you will need to leave early in the morning because there are a lot of miles between north Texas and the coast (and a lot of traffic in Austin).

In college, your goal might be to increase your GPA from 3.0 to 3.4 by the end of the semester. You can do the GPA calculations as per your college regulations and determine you need to earn 2 A’s and 2 B’s in order to meet your 3.4 GPA. (Note: this is just an example. You need to refer to your university’s standards for GPA calculations.)

You have a specific and measurable goal. It is attainable and realistic. Plus you have a definite time to get it done. In other words, you have a S.M.A.R.T. goal.

Using our road trip analogy, Your 3.4 GPA is your destination. The 2-A’s and 2-B’s is the freeway you get on to reach your destination. Now the landmarks or the cities along the interstate are the individual exams or papers or other assignments in each course. When you earn your first A or B in the first exam of the semester you have reached your first landmark.

Do you have a destination goal? Do you have a clear direction? Do you know which freeway to take to get to the coast? Which landmark will tell you are you headed the right direction?