SETTING GOALS
GROUP 2 PRESENTATION
SUS 1010 : STRATEGIES TO UNIVERSITY SUCCESS
CASE STUDY: SYLVIA SANCHEZ (Chapter 2, pg. 32)
She is a freshman and she’s excited to start her new life.
She is confident in her own intellect.
She has no interest in any of her courses.
Her main priority is to make new friends and to finish her demo CD.
She wants to major in music but her parents want her to major in business.
In her future, she wants to be a famous musician.
She wants to succeed in college; however, she believes that if it doesn’t work out then she could go back home
and return to her old job.
I want the class to think about a few points as we go through our presentation:
1. Do you relate to Sylvia or her situation in any way?
2. Do you think Sylvia’s vision of becoming a famous singer is a goal or a dream?
3. Do you think Sylvia will succeed in college?
1. HOW TO START STRONG IN COLLEGE
a. WHAT MAKES COLLEGE WORTH IT?
College is beyond education and comes with several advantages like:
Higher earning potential
Lower unemployment rates
Wisdom
Insight
True scholarship
Lifelong relationships
§ Higher earning potential -degree owners enjoy twice median income than diploma for
their entire working life
§ Lower unemployment rates- graduates are more employable than non degreed peers
when they are out to find work
§ Wisdom - university students have opportunity to gain a broad range of topics, think
critically, contribute to the society and better their lives
§ True scholarships- this is about being the best student you can be... Inside or outside the
classroom and its value benefits you beyond measure and will serve you throughout
your life
§ Life long friendships- most of the strongest lifelong relationships are formed during
college years giving your diversity and put you in touch with a network of people who
you share your specific interests with
b. WHAT MAKES COLLEGE HARDER
5 mistakes that cost you big time
COOP-G i.e
It can be easily abbreviated as
C- cutting classes
O- overloading
O- overmedia-ing
P- procrastinating
G- going it alone
1. Cutting classes- every class session costs tuition money meaning that it's
an investment that you can't blow off
2. Overloading - some take it as "bragging rights" due to taking as much
classes as possible not knowing that they are putting themselves into
serious stress.
3. Overmedia-ing - one should allocate more time to studies and using the
media as a reward to oneself when resting.
4. Procrastinating - always pre manage your stress levels by doing all your
assignments and duties since you are in charge
5. Going it alone- always engage with the professors as they also want to
know you and they are pleased when you show interest in their course
content
HOW FOCUS WILL HELP: SPENDING
TIME “IN THE SYSTEM”
NEW KNOWLEDGE
CHALLENGE REACTION
ACTION INSIGHT
STEPS FOLLOWED TO ACHIEVE FOCUS
• Step 1: accept the focus challenge
Anytime you study a new subject or take a new course you are challenged right? Research
shows that people can learn more from examples of things going wrong than from smooth
examples
• Step 2: react to the challenge
Become a deeper learner rather than skimming the surface and simply rushing to the next task.
• Step 3: use new knowledge to gain insights
This is through doing an exercise to see if you have understood whatever you learnt
• Step 4: use your insights to propel you towards action
Insights have no impact unless integrated into your life, unless they lead to change. They may
lead you to change your behavior, opinion, make choices about your education or your life.
WHAT INSTRUCTORS EXPECT FROM US AND WHAT
TO EXPECT FROM YOURSELF
In college most of the expectations required from you is to be
professional i.e. academic professionalism
Academic professionalism is a set of behaviors you start now and carry
with you into your career.
LIST OF WAYS TO FURTHER YOUR GOAL TO SUCCEED
1. Don’t just pile on- tuition or studies must be at the top of your obligations
2. Choose to go to class- take class as a priority since you have paid for it. Miss
only when there is an emergency
3. Don’t be an ostrich- always do your best work and submit it on time
4. Show respect- show everybody the respect they deserve and when you are in
class be in class
5. Know the rules- to fit and be in one place one must know the rules and how
they affect you.
6. Takecharge- one should be in charge of him/herself in college. Don’t sit
idle by while success drifts away
7. Invest enough time- get ready beforehand for classes by reading and
doing assignments. Invest as much time as possible to your studies.
8. Learn to work in groups- it is important since you will learn things from
other students that you might not learn from your instructor.
WHO ARE YOU?
AND WHAT DO YOU WANT?
College is a time when you will make some of the important
choices in life.
The choices are:
Your major
Your career
Lifelong friends
ZOOM IN AND FOCUS
The ability to zoom in on your academic work is critical and
mainly a challenge to many of us.
We should limit the amount of time technology eats into our time
to avoid multitasking.
Technology stimulation gives the brain a squirt of dopamine
which leads to addiction bringing brain fatigue as the main by-
product.
When we interrupt our focus, we are more vulnerable to mistakes.
Long stretches of alone time is when you are most productive
ZOOM OUT AND WANDER
College is a time of discovery for many students, a time to wander(explore)
and finding your hidden passion.
TIPS TO ZOOM OUT
Separate your goals from other people’s goals e.g. family, partner or
friends
Forget passion, for now, follow interests.
Decide whether your expectations can match reality.
An eventual choice should be something you are good at.
Understand your core values and map them to a future career.
WHAT WILL BOOST YOUR SUCCESS
IN COLLEGE?
Attitude is the main thing that leads to success.
POSITIVITY PAYS OFF
A positive attitude helps you cope easily with the daily
affairs of your life. Positive people tend to set higher goals
and expend more effort in order to reach their goals. They are
also more resilient which helps them to bounce back and
persevere despite having setbacks.
8 WAYS TO ADJUST YOUR ATTITUDE
1. Know that you always 5. Fill your mind with
have choices messages about attitude
2. Take responsibilities for you want to have
your own choices 6. Negative experiences can
3. Convert turning points be great teachers
into learning points. 7. Offer help without
4. Choose your words expecting something in
carefully return
8. Acknowledge your
blessings
HOPE HELPS
Hope in this case is the ‘can-do’ attitude that
includes goals, strategies to reach these goals, and
the motivation to achieve them. Hope is also the
ideas and energy students have that their future will
be better than their present or past. Also have
confidence and positivity.
STUDENTS WITH HIGH HOPE:
Can conceptualize their Break big goods into
goals smaller ones
Are focused on their goals Stay on task
Stretch themselves Are less likely to get down
Are self motivated on themselves
Track their progress Find multiple ways to
reach their goals
Are highly motivated
WHAT DRIVES YOU?
VALUES, DREAMS AND GOALS
BASIC CONCEPTS TO KNOW WHAT DRIVES YOU
What do you value?
Where will your dreams take you?
How motivated are you to get there?
VALUES AT THE CORE
One way to gain some insights about who you are is to look at your core
values.
My core values for instance;
Creativity
Wisdom
Balance
Happiness
Independence
Challenge
Success
Values can change as you go through life e.g. single people value
freedom while those in a romantic relationship value companionship
and commitment to each other
Values can conflict one another in order not to hurt ones feelings e.g.
when asked to give an honest comment on your friend’s hairstyle
Once you define your values, they can serve as guideposts in helping
you make choices everyday to more significant ones such as which
major to pursue in college.
DREAMS VS GOALS
Dreams are fantasy based in a perfect world
Dreams are not enough to create your future
Diana Robinson once said, “a dream is a goal without legs”
Dreaming is the first step to create your future by creating
your dreams to come true, you need to plan and work hard
Dreams and goals are not the same thing.
You must find a reality based plan to help you develop
actual goals that help you reach your dream . For it to work
you must focus:
FOCUS
F- fit
Your goal must fit your values, character and who your as a person
O- ownership
It must be your goal, not someone’s else goal for you. Own it!
C- concreteness
For any goal to be affective, it must be real. Be able to describe it, its ultimate
outcome- in complete and specific detail including your deadline of
accomplishment.
U- usefulness
Goals must have utility or purpose in which it should be tied to
your long- term vision of the person you want to become.
S- stretch
The key to stretching is to find a good balance being realistic and
being challenged
SHORT AND LONG TERM GOALS
Short term goals act as an intermediate step to achieve
your long term goals i.e. they are accomplished in a short
timespan e.g. in a day, week, month or year
Long term goals are set to be achieved in a long timespan
e.g. two years, ten years or in a lifetime.
References
Focus on college success pg 31-64 by Constance
Staley
Youtube
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THANK YOU.
