Types Of Goals To Set With Your College Admissions Consultant

Along with your parents and your teachers, your college admissions consultant will be a valuable ally as you work your way through high school with your mind set on post-secondary education. Goal setting is important when you work with this consultant, but it's important to set more goals than simply getting accepted at your college of choice. A series of smaller goals in the months prior to applying can help you to keep your eye on the prize and continue to work hard. Here are some types of goals that may be advantageous for you to make.

Specific Grade Increases

Anyone can tell himself or herself to get better grades before applying to college, but this type of broad goal isn't as useful as making specific goals. Instead, talk to your college admissions consultant about the exact grades that you'll need to get into your program and school of choice, and set your goals accordingly. For example, you might set a goal of getting 85 percent in your math class or 75 percent in a history course. Once you've set these goals, you can assess the series of small steps that you need to take to reach them.

Extracurricular Involvement

A college's admissions department often looks not only at your grades, but also at your extracurricular involvement at your high school. Getting involved in different clubs, teams, and school organizations can help any application, but it's important to be specific about these goals, too. Your admissions consultant can give you an idea of what type of extracurricular involvement will be good based on the school and program to which you're applying. You can then set goals accordingly. For example, a goal might be to have a leadership position on the yearbook committee next year.

Narrowed Choices

For many high school students, narrowing down their preferred college program at a specific college should be a top priority. It's important to have a backup choice or two, but being narrow in your focus can be advantageous. When you know the school you want to attend and the program that you want to take, you can become expertly aware of the specific requirements and tailor your application accordingly. This can be better than feeling up in the air about multiple colleges and multiple programs. Your college admissions consultant can meet with you regularly to review these goals and help to encourage you to stay on track at your college application deadlines approach.