5 Examples of SMART Goals for College Students

What are examples of SMART goals for college students?

Do you wonder, what goals should I be setting while I’m a student?

We all have goals – there are always things that we wish for and want to happen.

As a college student, it’s savvy to prioritize your goals.

From getting good grades to maintaining a social life, there can be so many things you’d like to achieve.

But, for your goals to be achievable especially when you’re hard-pressed for time, you need to make sure they’re also S.M.A.R.T.

These goals are definitely worth having, and you’ll definitely feel great when they happen.

Get ahead. Be a winner. Stand out from the crowd.

It’s well and good to have goals, but you need to make sure you can achieve your goals. So, what you need is a proven way to get the results you want.

Make a SMART start to goal setting, and take the needed actions over a specified time period. This way you’ll ensure your goals can be reached. You may know that SMART typically stands for:

• S: Specific
• M: Measurable
• A: Achievable
• R: Relevant
• T: Time-bound

Let’s take a look at how setting a SMART list of goals for savvy college students works. Here are 5 examples of SMART goals for college students. 

Top 5 Super SMART Goals College Students Should Have

SMART College Student Goal #1:
“I want to be healthier and lose weight to look better”

Specific: I want to lose 15 lbs.

Measurable:

• I’ll look up places like eBay and Craigslist, and buy a good used bicycle within 3 weeks.
• I’ll look online for simple and healthy meal recipes that I’ll use within a week.

Achievable:

• I’ll cycle the 6 km regularly between home and campus.
• I’ll always take the stairs and stop using the elevator.
• I’ll prepare my own simple and healthy meals daily.
• I’ll have fast food only once a week (down from my usual 3 fast-food meals a week).

👉🏽 RELATED POST: Healthy Habits List: 10 Easy Changes With Big Results

Relevant: It’s smart to look after my own health. Being fitter means:

• I’ll be better able to successfully manage my busy college lifestyle.
• I’ll reduce my risk of falling ill.
• I’ll develop positive long-term habits that will keep me fit and healthy.
• I’ll look better and have a better quality of life.
• I’ll look better, which will be an asset in my job search.

Time-bound: I’ll lose 7 lbs in the first 4 weeks, and lose 8 lbs in the following 4 weeks. I’ll maintain my ideal weight from then on.

This will work since I’ll be continuing my active lifestyle and healthy eating habits.

SMART College Student Goal #2:
“I want to build up an emergency fund”

Specific: I want to build up an emergency fund of $1,000.

Measurable:

• I’ll take a close look at my finances tomorrow – my monthly income and expenses.
• I’ll write down the areas where I can cut my spending.
• I’ll think of new side hustles to make more money part-time.

Achievable: Every Saturday I’ll record the amount of savings I make, and how much extra money I make from my side hustle.

Relevant: I really need to have an emergency fund, because there can be unexpected expenses like broken phones and auto repairs.

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Time-bound: I’ll have saved up my $1,000 emergency fund in 18 months’ time, as I have calculated that I can afford to put aside $56 each month for the purpose.

Once you’ve crushed your worthy goal of creating an emergency fund, you can use the same saving and side hustle skills to save for other goals like investing or taking a vacation. That’s how you have more money as a college student. 🙂

SMART College Student Goal #3:
“I want to get better grades in my courses”

Specific: I want to score at least an A- in each of my courses (I currently have an average grade of B).

Measurable:

• Over the next week, I will make appointments with my course instructors.
• I’ll ask them for advice on how I could earn an A- or a higher grade in each course.
• I will note down their advice and feedback, and start taking steps to do better in my studies.

Achievable:

• On the day after tomorrow, I’ll create a weekly time schedule for term time.
• This schedule will detail my class times, part-time work hours, self-study times, breaks and leisure times.
• I’ll allocate enough time each week for studying each course.
• I’ll regularly apply improved learning strategies based on my instructors’ feedback.

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Relevant: I really want to reach my full potential as a student.

Getting good grades is a top priority for me, as doing better will jumpstart my career when I graduate.

In a highly competitive job market, I’ll likely get better job offers sooner, and be better prepared for my new job.

Time-bound: By the next major exams, I’ll be scoring more A- or higher grades in my courses.

In a year’s time, as a SMART and savvy student, I’ll have my A- or better grades in my results.

SMART  College Student Goal #4:
“I want to save for my vacation (or my phone or computer upgrade)”

Specific: I’d like to save $500 for my vacation (or to upgrade my phone or computer).

Measurable:

• I’ll take a close look at my current finances tomorrow – my monthly income and expenses.
• I’ll write down the areas where I can cut my spending.
• I’ll think of new side hustles to make more money part-time.

Achievable: Every Saturday I’ll record the amount of savings I make, and how much extra money I’ll make from my side hustle.

Relevant: I would love to go away on a vacation with my friends during the next summer break.

It would help me to unwind after my exams. This will help me sustain my efforts towards doing better in my courses.

Time-bound: I’ll have saved up $500 in 9 months – I’ve calculated that I can put aside $56 every month for the purpose.

SMART College Student Goal #5:
“I want to improve my job interview skills”

Specific: I want to become confident and effective at job interviews.

Measurable:

• Tomorrow I’ll begin searching for tips on interview skills.
• I’ll look for books and online info, and visit the career center to learn more about job interview skills.
• I’ll go through the tips and take notes on interview skills like anticipating possible questions and preparing well-considered answers to them.
• I’ll look into other skills like CV writing.

Achievable:

• I’ll practice my speaking skills by asking questions and volunteering answers in class.
• I’ll also practice answering possible interview questions, video record myself and playback to take note of my strengths and weaknesses.
• Getting a friend to ask me sample interview questions will help me fine-tune my answers.
• I’ll work on improving my weak areas.

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Relevant: Becoming a better speaker, listener and questioner will boost my self-confidence.

In a competitive job market, strong interview skills will be a huge plus in my job search.

Time-bound: In 2 months’ time, I’ll become more confident and effective at job interviews.

As a SMART and savvy grad, I’ll present myself in the best possible light, and will secure a good job offer sooner.

Get Your SMART Goals Worksheet

Ready to set S.M.A.R.T. Goals to help you succeed in college?

Whether you’re pushing for better grades, or to save up for Spring Break, you need to make it Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound. Sign up below to get your FREE SMART Goals Worksheet, form-fillable and printable. 

From the 5 examples set out above, you can see that setting your goals the SMART way makes your goals more than just wishes or dreams. SMART goal setting sharpens your focus, as you need to be clear about these things:

• What exactly do you want to achieve? (Specific)
• What exactly do you need to do, by when? (Measurable & Achievable)
• Why and how are your goals important to you? (Relevant)
• When can you reasonably expect to crush your goals? (Time-bound)
  

How to Achieve Your SMART College Goals

Get crystal clear about why and how your goals are important to you.

Clarity is KEY to motivating yourself to stick to your SMART and savvy goals till you crush them.

How do you stay on track? There are different ways to stay the course. Some examples are:

• Vision: Create a vision board or vision screen – look for attractive pictures, whether hard copy or online.
  Display in prominent places the pictures of your goals e.g. photos of the places you plan to vacation at. Make the pictures a part of your phone or computer home screen.
• Reminders: Give yourself reminders – you can use phone apps or a digital/hard copy organizer to post reminders for yourself.
• Rewards: Reward yourself for the milestones achieved – always give yourself treats or other rewards to sustain your momentum towards reaching your goals.
  Treat yourself to a special meal or a present to celebrate your SMART milestones.

Now, if you need something even stronger to keep yourself powering towards your set goals . . .

Scare yourself!

Yes. Scare yourself into staying the course – this is the ultimate way!

Imagine not cutting it at job interviews. Think about having to write and send countless cover letters over many long months, trying to get a job after graduation.

Imagine not having an emergency fund, and desperately having to borrow money to fix your car.

Do you want these unpleasant situations to happen? No?

You know the SMART and savvy things you need to do to avoid the real nightmares.

👉🏽 RELATED POST: Examples of SMART Goals and How to Make Them

Summary:

• Step 1: Write up your SMART goals.
• Step 2: Keep yourself rewarded and motivated. Stay savvy.
• Step 3: Stay the course and walk the talk.
• Step 4: Relish crushing your goals. Rejoice!

Start making and carrying out SMART goals as a way to succeed.

All the best and good luck!

Make all your SMART goals come true 🙂

What SMART Goal will you set in college?

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