SMART
Goals
for
College
Students
1.
The
goals
at
a
glance
01
Raise
my
cumulative
GPA
from
3.10
to
3.50
Academic
·
by
May
14
02
Land
a
paid
summer
internship
in
data
analytics
Career
·
by
March
15
03
Publish
a
portfolio
of
three
finished
projects
Skills
·
by
May
10
04
Save
$
3,000
for
the
Barcelona
summer
program
Money
·
by
June
1
05
Run
a
5
K
in
under
24:00
Health
·
race
on
April
26
06
Sleep
7–8
hours
on
at
least
five
nights
a
week
Wellbeing
·
from
February
2
07
Attend
office
hours
every
two
weeks
in
every
course
Academic
· 28
visits
by
May
1
08
Win
a
leadership
role
in
one
campus
organization
Leadership
·
term
starts
September
2.
Every
goal
,
broken
down
Specific
·
Measurable
·
Achievable
·
Relevant
·
Time
-
bound
1 / 6
01
Raise
my
cumulative
GPA
from
3.10
to
3.50
ACADEMIC
S
Specific
.
Raise
my
cumulative
GPA
from
3.10
to
3.50,
with
the
lift
coming
mainly
from
the
two
courses
I
'
ve
historically
struggled
in
—
CHEM
210
and
MATH
221.
M
Measurable
.
Cumulative
GPA
shown
in
the
student
portal
;
a
3.60
semester
average
across
15
credits
produces
roughly
the
0.40
lift
.
I
check
the
running
grade
in
every
course
each
Friday
.
A
Achievable
.
I
posted
a
3.62
semester
GPA
last
fall
with
the
same
15-
credit
load
,
so
the
target
reflects
what
I
'
ve
already
done
once
,
not
a
hope
.
R
Relevant
.
Staying
above
3.50
keeps
my
departmental
merit
scholarship
and
clears
the
GPA
floor
for
the
two
graduate
programs
I
'
m
considering
.
T
Time
-
bound
.
Weekly
Friday
check
-
ins
,
a
midterm
review
on
March
8,
and
a
final
checkpoint
when
grades
post
on
May
14.
02
Land
a
paid
summer
internship
in
data
analytics
CAREER
S
Specific
.
Secure
a
paid
, 10–12
week
summer
internship
in
data
analytics
or
product
analytics
at
a
company
with
at
least
200
employees
,
with
a
start
date
in
late
May
or
early
June
.
M
Measurable
.
40
tailored
applications
submitted
, 12
first
-
round
interviews
,
and
4
final
-
round
conversations
—
tracked
in
a
single
spreadsheet
with
a
status
column
.
A
Achievable
.
The
career
center
reviews
my
resume
on
January
12,
three
alumni
have
agreed
to
referrals
,
and
I
'
ve
blocked
8
hours
a
week
for
applications
.
R
Relevant
.
Every
analyst
role
I
want
after
graduation
asks
for
at
least
one
internship
.
Two
of
last
year
'
s
interns
at
my
top
-
choice
company
converted
to
full
-
time
offers
.
T
Time
-
bound
.
First
30
applications
by
January
20,
the
next
10
by
February
10,
interviews
through
February
,
and
a
decision
made
by
March
15.
2 / 6
03
Publish
a
portfolio
of
three
finished
projects
SKILLS
S
Specific
.
Build
and
publish
three
completed
projects
—
one
data
visualization
,
one
small
web
app
,
and
one
written
case
study
—
on
a
personal
site
with
my
name
on
it
.
M
Measurable
.
Three
projects
,
each
with
a
live
link
,
a
README
explaining
the
approach
,
and
a
500-
word
write
-
up
of
what
I
'
d
do
differently
.
A
Achievable
.
About
four
hours
a
week
,
building
on
coursework
I
'
m
already
doing
rather
than
starting
from
nothing
.
The
site
itself
takes
one
weekend
.
R
Relevant
.
Recruiters
ask
for
work
samples
and
I
have
nothing
to
send
.
A
portfolio
is
the
fastest
way
to
close
the
"
no
experience
yet
"
gap
.
T
Time
-
bound
.
Project
one
by
November
30,
project
two
by
February
28,
project
three
by
April
30,
site
live
and
linked
from
my
resume
by
May
10.
04
Save
$
3,000
for
the
Barcelona
summer
program
MONEY
S
Specific
.
Save
$
3,000
toward
the
Barcelona
summer
program
fee
and
airfare
,
held
in
a
separate
savings
account
I
don
'
t
touch
.
M
Measurable
.
$
500
per
month
for
six
months
,
checked
against
the
balance
on
the
first
of
each
month
.
A
Achievable
.
Roughly
12
hours
a
week
at
my
campus
job
(
about
$
650
a
month
gross
)
plus
$
150
a
month
from
tutoring
gets
me
there
with
a
small
cushion
.
R
Relevant
.
It
covers
the
program
deposit
and
airfare
in
full
,
which
means
I
don
'
t
have
to
add
this
to
next
year
'
s
student
loans
.
T
Time
-
bound
.
$
500
by
January
1,
$
1,500
by
March
1,
and
the
full
$
3,000
by
June
1 —
two
weeks
before
the
balance
is
due
.
3 / 6
05
Run
a
5
K
in
under
24:00
HEALTH
S
Specific
.
Finish
a
timed
5
K
race
in
under
24
minutes
,
starting
from
a
current
best
of
27:40
set
in
October
.
M
Measurable
.
Three
easy
runs
,
one
interval
session
,
and
one
longer
run
each
week
,
with
a
monthly
time
trial
to
check
pace
per
kilometer
.
A
Achievable
.
A
3:40
improvement
over
14
weeks
works
out
to
about
16
seconds
per
kilometer
—
a
normal
progression
for
someone
already
running
three
times
a
week
.
R
Relevant
.
It
builds
the
base
for
the
half
marathon
I
want
to
run
next
fall
,
and
it
'
s
the
most
reliable
hour
of
stress
relief
I
have
in
a
heavy
semester
.
T
Time
-
bound
.
Time
trial
under
26:30
on
February
1,
under
25:15
on
March
15,
and
the
target
race
on
April
26.
06
Sleep
7–8
hours
on
at
least
five
nights
a
week
WELLBEING
S
Specific
.
Be
in
bed
by
11:45
pm
and
awake
by
7:30
am
on
at
least
five
nights
a
week
,
which
means
problem
sets
move
off
the
late
-
night
slot
and
onto
a
fixed
afternoon
block
.
M
Measurable
.
Phone
sleep
log
;
I
count
the
nights
at
seven
hours
or
more
and
aim
for
five
or
more
per
week
,
twelve
weeks
in
a
row
.
A
Achievable
.
It
requires
one
habit
change
—
a
screens
-
off
alarm
at
11:00
pm
—
plus
an
agreement
with
my
roommate
about
late
noise
on
weeknights
.
R
Relevant
.
Sleep
is
the
single
biggest
input
to
how
well
I
retain
material
.
Every
low
exam
score
last
semester
landed
in
a
week
I
was
sleeping
under
six
hours
.
T
Time
-
bound
.
Start
February
2,
review
the
log
every
Sunday
night
,
and
reassess
the
whole
habit
at
the
end
of
the
semester
.
4 / 6
07
Attend
office
hours
every
two
weeks
in
every
course
ACADEMIC
S
Specific
.
Make
one
15-
minute
office
-
hours
visit
per
course
every
two
weeks
—
four
courses
,
each
with
one
prepared
question
written
down
before
I
walk
in
.
M
Measurable
.
Roughly
seven
visits
per
course
across
the
term
: 28
visits
total
,
logged
in
a
simple
tracker
with
the
date
and
the
question
asked
.
A
Achievable
.
Fifteen
minutes
each
,
stacked
onto
two
fixed
afternoons
so
it
never
competes
with
a
class
or
a
shift
.
R
Relevant
.
I
need
three
recommendation
letters
next
year
,
and
right
now
the
professors
I
'
m
asking
know
me
only
as
a
face
in
a
120-
person
lecture
.
T
Time
-
bound
.
First
visits
in
week
two
,
tracker
reviewed
every
Sunday
,
all
28
visits
completed
by
the
last
day
of
classes
on
May
1.
08
Win
a
leadership
role
in
one
campus
organization
LEADERSHIP
S
Specific
.
Take
an
elected
or
appointed
leadership
position
—
events
chair
or
treasurer
—
in
one
organization
I
'
m
already
an
active
member
of
,
rather
than
joining
something
new
.
M
Measurable
.
Attend
at
least
80%
of
meetings
this
year
,
volunteer
at
four
events
,
own
one
recurring
responsibility
,
and
submit
the
nomination
form
before
the
deadline
.
A
Achievable
.
I
'
ve
been
a
member
for
a
year
,
the
current
events
chair
graduates
in
May
,
and
the
role
has
gone
uncontested
the
last
two
cycles
.
R
Relevant
.
Budget
and
event
experience
is
the
gap
between
my
resume
and
the
roles
I
'
m
targeting
,
and
it
'
s
the
kind
of
thing
that
becomes
a
real
reference
.
T
Time
-
bound
.
Volunteer
at
two
events
by
February
,
ask
the
outgoing
chair
to
mentor
me
in
March
,
nominations
close
in
April
,
and
the
term
starts
in
September
.
3.
Write
your
own
in
five
lines
A
goal
is
only
useful
if
you
can
check
it
.
Run
each
one
through
these
five
tests
before
you
commit
to
it
.
S
Specific
.
Name
the
exact
outcome
,
not
the
direction
. "
Raise
my
GPA
to
3.50"
beats
"
do
better
this
semester
."
5 / 6
M
Measurable
.
Decide
the
number
and
where
you
'
ll
read
it
—
a
portal
,
a
tracker
,
a
bank
balance
,
a
stopwatch
.
A
Achievable
.
Anchor
the
target
to
something
you
'
ve
already
done
once
.
If
you
'
ve
never
hit
it
,
stretch
by
roughly
15%,
not
50%.
R
Relevant
.
Connect
it
to
a
scholarship
,
a
program
,
a
role
,
or
a
letter
you
actually
need
.
Goals
that
serve
nothing
specific
get
dropped
in
week
three
.
T
Time
-
bound
.
Set
one
final
date
and
a
handful
of
checkpoints
between
now
and
then
.
A
deadline
with
no
checkpoints
is
a
wish
.
```
6 / 6
