want to make the most of every course as you gain new skills, discover new perspectives, and expand your network. You also want to prepare for a successful career in your field of choice. This is a lot to tackle, and with so many courses and experiences available, it’s easy to get lost in the details.
Goal-setting can help, but not just any goal will improve your academic experience. You want your goals to provide consistent motivation without making you feel overwhelmed. A framework attributed to corporate planning director George T. Doran could make all the difference. Known as the SMART goal, this blueprint could be key to unlocking success as a student and in the professional world. Keep reading to learn what these goals involve and gain practical insights through detailed SMART goals examples for students.
What Are SMART Goals?
SMART goals bring a structured approach to the goal-setting process, offering guidance to ensure that your immediate goals align with your values and your long-term intentions. This approach aims to strike the ideal balance between goals that are achievable and realistic, as well as goals that are ambitious enough to keep you striving for improvement. Key elements of goals that qualify as SMART include:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
We will touch on the specifics of these attributes later, but it is important to understand that all elements are important. They bridge the gap between overly ambitious goals, which are hard to achieve, and overly modest ones, which may result in minimal progress. This mechanism offers both insight into what makes goals effective and a reliable framework for drafting new goals or evaluating past objectives.
Why SMART Goals Matter for College Students
SMART goals matter because they help college students develop short-term objectives that reflect their long-term intentions. Without a structured approach, this can be difficult to accomplish. Students may set vague intentions such as “I want to get good grades” or “I want to build a strong professional network.” Still, unless they are purposeful about how these goals can actually be accomplished, progress is not likely. This can make would-be goal-setters feel frustrated or may cause some to abandon setting goals altogether.
Another reason to set SMART goals? Simply put, they work — or at least, they work when the right goals are established for the right reasons.
Studies consistently show that students who set goals perform better academically than those who avoid goal-setting. What’s more, survey results suggest that setting goals can help students feel more engaged with their coursework and can also enhance their perceptions of success upon achieving well-planned goals.
How to Create Effective SMART Goals
Although they include many moving parts, SMART goals can be surprisingly easy to set. After all, the SMART acronym provides plenty of guidance. Follow these manageable steps to set college-focused SMART goals:
1. Make Your Goals Specific
Above all else, a SMART goal should convey what, exactly, you want to do. It should include action words that reveal your intentions as a student. This should include the intended outcome as well as the specific actions or steps needed to achieve it.
If you have a general idea regarding what you want to accomplish but need help making vague intentions sound more specific, reflect on why you are interested in a particular goal in the first place. You want to feel confident that achieving your goal will make a difference in the long run. Experiment with different language until your goal feels concrete and easy to understand.
2. Ensure Your Goals Are Measurable
While measurable goals arguably qualify as specific, this category is distinct in that it references how much. This offers a reliable mechanism for measuring your progress. Once you clearly define your goal, you can use metrics to confirm when it is achieved or measure your progress along the way.
This step may feel surprisingly intuitive. For instance, if your goal involves achieving a specific grade point average, it already qualifies as measurable. In other cases, however, outcomes may feel impossible to quantify, but the consistency required to meet a goal can still be measured. You may need to determine how often you will engage in a particular behavior or for how long. With a little effort, any goal can be quantified. It’s just a matter of how.
For example, if you struggle to remain on task during synchronous sessions for online courses, you could set a measurable goal of thirty minutes of focused listening or three meaningful contributions to online discussions every day.
3. Set Achievable Goals
The ideal goal will stretch you just far enough. Yes, some effort should be involved in reaching your goal, but success won’t be as satisfying if it comes at the cost of other priorities, such as work-school-life balance. Unfortunately, this facet of the SMART goal framework can be difficult to pinpoint, especially if you are naturally ambitious but must also overcome significant obstacles.
You can engage in some self-reflection to determine what qualifies as achievable. Begin by identifying roadblocks that could stand in the way of success. Remember, what is realistic for one student may only be viable for some. For instance, if you are a working parent enrolled in a full-time college courseload, a 4.0 GPA might not be realistic and could prompt unnecessary stress without meaningfully improving your college experience.
4. Make Your Goals Relevant
Motivation can be difficult to sustain over time unless you understand why. This is where relevance comes into play. Use this opportunity to reveal what makes a given outcome so compelling and what makes all that added effort feel worthwhile. Clarify your long-term objectives so that you can explore them in the context of your current goals. For instance, if you eventually want to apply for graduate school, your GPA is clearly relevant, so that can motivate you to pursue a goal that might otherwise seem arbitrary.
5. Set Time-Bound Goals
Procrastination is a common part of the student experience, but it doesn’t need to be. If your goals are time-bound, they will impart a sense of urgency, which, in turn, will motivate you to take action. Time-bound goals are also easier to break into smaller, more manageable steps. For example, if you want to master a particular skill within a month, you can set smaller milestones for each week and even achieve a more targeted approach to your daily study sessions.
For many college students, this particular step will feel intuitive. Goals often center on college terms or semesters, which provide natural deadlines. However, some goals may call for greater urgency. For instance, you may establish goals that relate to your effort to secure a desirable internship. Depending on your timeline, you may need to meet these goals well before the end of the semester.
SMART Goals Examples for College Students
The steps highlighted above may seem overwhelming at first glance, especially if you suspect that your previous goals have fallen short. Sometimes, it helps to observe well-crafted goals in action. Examples of SMART goals for students can be especially illustrative, revealing how different objectives may play out for different students.
Below, we’ve provided a few relatable examples that reveal how SMART goals can play out in the college environment and how they can be adapted to reflect the unique needs of online students.
Example 1: Improving for GPA
Among the most common goals, grade point average matters because it reflects academic achievement and can open the doors to valuable opportunities such as scholarships or graduate school. Students often struggle to make good on this intention because they are not specific enough about how or why they want to improve their GPA. The following example reveals how a GPA-related goal can feel achievable and relevant:
This term, I intend to achieve the 3.5 GPA needed for the ___ scholarship by earning a B or better in every course. To reach this goal, I will commit to studying two hours for every one credit, meeting with a tutor once every week, and attending office hours at least twice for each class.
This qualifies as a SMART goal because it includes a clear intention along with metrics that provide even more detailed insight into what, exactly, this GPA-focused student wants to accomplish. This goal is realistic not only because of the specific GPA it references but also because it establishes smaller, more manageable goals that contribute to the overall objective of a higher GPA.
Example 2: Building Better Study Habits
Because study habits influence career-relevant soft skills such as time management, problem-solving, and communication, some students prefer to emphasize goal-setting for the actual process of studying rather than focusing on the outcomes (such as a higher GPA) of those study sessions. This is where habit-focused goals can come into play:
By the end of this month, I want to establish a structured approach to studying involving the Pomodoro technique. I will complete at least four Pomodoro sessions every day, with each including a 25-minute interval of focused studying followed by a five-minute break.
This goal can be deemed SMART because it references a specific technique believed to enhance study skills and overall time management. To quantify this goal, the student has revealed how often and for how long goal-oriented actions need to take place. This goal is realistic and relevant for most students because it provides a clear roadmap to boosting productivity. It is valuable not only for current students but also for those in the workforce.
Example 3: Enhancing Networking Skills
Networking is a crucial component of the modern college experience, but many students struggle to build authentic connections because they are so focused on meeting academic goals. Others may find it difficult to bring an intentional approach to networking or to determine whether their networking efforts are effective. This is where SMART goals can be helpful. A networking-oriented SMART goal could be structured as follows:
By the end of this term, I will connect with five people in my field through in-person networking events. I will follow up with each of these contacts at least once, ideally with a message or by arranging to meet up in person.
This goal is specific and measurable because it references a targeted number of new contacts. For most students, this should be achievable, especially if the goal is established at the beginning of the term, as this would call for just one new contact every few weeks. This goal is also clearly time-bound as it must be completed by the end of the term.
Tips for Sticking to Your SMART Goals
Goal-setting is only the beginning. The most carefully established goals will mean little unless they give way to action. Unfortunately, many well-intentioned students struggle to remain on track even after setting seemingly compelling goals. These suggestions may make it easier to keep motivated when obstacles threaten to derail important objectives:
1. Track Your Progress
SMART goals are only effective if they drive progress. With careful tracking, it may be easier to determine whether previously established goals are moving you in the right direction. Simple efforts to track your progress can keep you accountable while also helping you observe and celebrate early successes.
If your goals are measurable, tracking them should not be difficult. Begin by breaking major goals into actionable steps. Designate milestones that reflect significant progress but also feel realistic. For example, if your SMART goals center around skill development, set a smaller milestone that helps you determine whether you have progressed toward mastering the skills in question.
When possible, leverage technological solutions to make progress tracking feel intuitive. From productivity apps to project management platforms, many solutions promote consistent tracking by sending alerts or even by gamifying the goal-tracking experience.
2. Stay Flexible
If early tracking reveals unexpected roadblocks, use the opportunity to reassess your goal and efforts. Based on these initial insights, you may uncover opportunities to refine your approach based on the realities of your class or your schedule. Reflect on these challenges and consider how you might adjust your goal-setting approach in the future.
Some goals that appear achievable or relevant at the outset may seem less desirable over time. Therein lies the need for flexibility. No, you should not automatically abandon any goal that does not appear to be going well. However, you should be willing to re-evaluate on occasion to determine whether your current goals still align with your overall vision or values.
3. Celebrate Small Wins
Not all SMART goals will end in success. You can still acknowledge and reward yourself for any improvements made as a result of bringing a more structured approach to goal-setting and personal improvement. You can even establish your intentions to reward yourself during the goal-setting process. Small treats and fun outings qualify.
Some students prefer to track their progress visually with stickers or icons, which feel like small rewards. Upon achieving ambitious goals, they reward themselves with special splurges like concerts, weekend getaways, or even shopping sprees. Don’t hesitate to get loved ones involved, as friends and family members will be eager to support your wins, no matter how small.
Ready to Achieve More? Explore Our Online Degree Programs
As you prepare for a meaningful student experience, look to the Johnson & Wales University College of Professional Studies for opportunities to expand your skill set as you embrace an immersive learning environment. Offering accessible online degree programs and robust student services, JWU promises guidance and support through every step of your college experience.
For more information about completing your degree online, complete the Request Info form, call 855-JWU-1881, or email [email protected].