The ultimate goal for most college students is to graduate with flying colors and use their degrees to earn a decent income for themselves. For some, the goal is just to learn a skill and build professionalism. Maybe you have your own ultimate goal as a student. But wait a minute, have you thought of setting medium or mid-term goals for yourself? Sounds weird? Well, it doesn’t. The fact that this may be a new concept for you doesn’t mean you can’t achieve it or you shouldn’t give it a try at all.
Students usually have dreams and visions. They want to be either this or that by the end of their academic journey. This is why goal setting is mostly important for students. The academic era gives an opportunity to help students achieve academic success. Medium-term goals are goals every student should set to achieve this success.
If you’d love to know more about mid-term goals for students, then do not look away.
Setting Effective Medium-Term Goals for Students – Goals Examples
Some students think that medium-term goals are not important, and that you can actually do without them. What matters is to keep your eyes fixed on the long-term goal or ultimate goal and head towards that direction. This is a wrong approach to academic success. How do you finish a huge plate of meal? You take one bite at a time. The same is true about academic goals. It is worthwhile to set long-term goals but setting smaller goals like medium-term goals will make important changes in your life and make your goals worthwhile.
A key factor is not just to set medium-term goals but to set effective ones. It is not just enough to have a mental picture of what you hope to achieve or say it with your mouth. You should actually do it. We can say that effective goals could you effective in your academic journey. It is true that students are already buried in academic work but setting these goals will take you well into the future and give you a meaningful lie.
Great examples include increasing their Grade Point Average (GPA) over a period of time, being in good relationships with other students and teachers, diligently working on all assignments, class works, and projects, building an up-to-date and professional resume, and earning a certification.
Understanding Medium-Term Goals and Why they are Important
Medium-term goals fall in the area between short-term and long-term. They may also be called intermediate-term goals. Medium-term goals are goals you plan to accomplish in a not-too-long period of time. These goals may help you accurately foresee if you are working towards your long-term ones. They are types of goals that help bridge the gap between your day-to-day school activities and your ultimate goal.
The time frame for medium-term goals is usually 1-3 years. Sometimes they could take 3-5 years. Medium-term goals are a moderate plan that students can set and achieve in their academic journey. As you can see, they are really between short and long-term goals.
They provide direction, motivation, and milestones for achievement. A lot of things take longer than just a short period of time to accomplish. Medium-term goals are important to help you stay motivated and keep you from seeing life look like a boring journey. You will also achieve milestones. Setting the right medium-term goals will give you something to hold onto and it will make you happy.
Medium-Term Goals Examples for Students
Do not feel you are alone if you think you are stuck and don’t know how to set medium-term goals. There are other students who feel the same way. Some of the medium-term goals examples listed below can give you inspiration on what to set for yourself.
Academic Mid-Term Goals: Improve GPA over the next 2 semesters
One of the academic mid-term goals you can set is to improve your Grade Point Average (GPA) in the next academic session. You don’t have to be an A student, you just have to up your game and work harder in order to excel in your grades. You may need to burn night candles, deny yourself sleep, or any other sacrifice that will help you reach the goal.
Take courses to gain skills for future careers. Let’s say, for instance, if you want to earn a professional skill such as graphic designing or content writing, you should take courses that will help you achieve that. Some of these courses usually come with a test or an assessment and then you will be graded based on your performance. Work harder to earn a good grade as that will also boost your GPA.
Complete internship in the field of study. This is also important. Well, not all fields of study require an internship. But to be ahead of your class, and to have an edge over others, you may need to plan to complete an internship. Internships help you acquire more knowledge and experience that can be helpful to you for the coming years into the future.
Personal Development Medium-Term Goal Examples
Join new student organizations to expand your social network. No man is an island of knowledge, you may have heard that. You may also have heard that man is a social being. Humans were created to socialize. Joining student organizations will help you expand your network of friends. This could enhance your communication and interpersonal skills which you help you later in your career life.
Create a regular fitness routine to achieve health goals. You should be healthy and fit as a student. You surely do not like it when for health reasons, you can’t make it to class or you missed an assessment. So try and set fitness goals for yourself such as walking to school instead of taking a bus, running a few kilometers at home or even joining a fitness program in college. You could also set medium-term health goals like desisting from soda for a week.
Learn time management to reduce procrastination. Procrastination is a theft of time. Students often procrastinate. They leave things to be done at the nth hour. Procrastination is dangerous. It could make things stressful for you and it will even tamper with your academic life and overall life goals. Prioritize important tasks so that you can have enough time for the less important ones.
Career Mid-Term Goals for College Students
Attend career fairs to build professional connections. Career fairs are business opportunities and events where job seekers and potential employers or recruiters meet together to discuss career opportunities. This could create an avenue for you to build personal and professional connections that will help propel your career. Look out for these events in College and attend boot camps to reach your career goals.
Create a LinkedIn profile and connect with industry professionals. LinkedIn is an online platform where you can connect with recruiters and hirers. Creating such a profile increases your rate of visibility and availability. Recruiters who have an interest in your field of study will be able to search for you. So why not think of adding these to your list of professional goals? Doing so will also help you gain more experience in your career field.
Secure internships to gain work experience before graduating. This cannot be mentioned enough. In College, what you will basically be taught is theory. To dive into the practicality of your field, you should work as an intern in organizations that will help you gain experience. The good thing is sometimes, these organizations retain their interns and that is the start of a career ladder.
List of Medium-Term Goals Examples
Examples of mid-term goals you may want to accomplish are given below:
- Medium-term family goals such as becoming a better sibling or child.
- Graduate as the best graduating student
- Pass all courses in an academic session
- Pay a school/college loan
- Join a sports team
- Saving for retirement
- Have a clear morning routine
- Join a club
- Learn a new course or skill
Mid-Term Goals Can Take You to a New Direction
Long-term goals tend to be overwhelming sometimes. One glance at these goals and you may begin to second-guess. You may begin to have disbelief because it may take years to complete them. But hey, don’t be discouraged at all. Well, mid-term goals will help you stay focused and help you detect areas that need adjustment, evaluation, or improvement.
For example, let us say you want to get a new job.. Ask yourself, ‘Will this job become relevant in years to come?’ You need to determine how much you need it. When you have found the right answers, then you can set mid-term goals of having the job. This will enhance your sense of fulfillment and accomplishment.
Setting SMART Medium-Term Goals for Student Success
Make goals specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound using a smart formula. This will save you the heartbreak of setting goals that are beyond your reach, or goals that are unclear and irrelevant. It will also take you away from the wrong path of goal setting by helping you know exactly what you want to achieve.
Break bigger goals down into smaller, manageable steps. Even the tallest mountain was climbed in smaller steps. Therefore, breaking your goals into smaller steps will help ease the burden off your shoulders and it will help you gain momentum towards your long-term goals.
Regularly track progress and adjust goals as needed. This will help you achieve flexibility especially when the coming days are challenging. Evaluate your progress so you know which goals to do away with and which ones to stick to in order to develop yourself fully.
Find accountability partners and mentors. You could find mentors in your teachers, your family, and other older ones. Let them know what you intend to do and how to achieve them. These persons will ensure your goal is intact and will help you keep your goal in mind when you are lazing around.
Celebrate successes along the way. As you break down big goals into smaller goals, celebrate yourself each time you reach these steps. Feelings of gratitude and appreciation can energize you to work toward your ultimate goal.
Set mid-term goals for financial success
If you want to have financial security, setting mid-term goals is also vital to secure a solid financial future. Financial planning will keep your brain occupied with what to do for yourself after graduation. Setting these goals will also help you manage money effectively. Some of the medium-term financial goals include investing in a course or a program that will earn you money in the long run, clearing your student debt, monthly or yearly savings goals or even creating a budget.
Just have it in mind that these money goals will take a few years to achieve and that is all you need to boost your motivation and your drive for success. Not only will it help you be finally secured but it is the start of being mature and responsibly caring for your finances without depending on anyone.
Setting Goals is Not Enough
As a student, having a well-thought-out plan of your goals is not enough. Your plans need to be mapped out too. To illustrate, imagine if you have a student loan to pay off. Yeah, you may think of things and scenarios in your head that will pave the way to a successful clearing of the debt but if you have these plans are not documented, it is assumed that you have nothing.
The methods to turn your ideas into reality vary depending on what works best for you. The first of those methods you may want to try is the brain dump method. In this method, you write down all your plans on paper. Don’t try to be picky. Write both the ones you think are useless and the ones you think are useful. You can edit the list later. Another method is the mind map method. This is where you write down your goal and paper and make a written connection of other things that are related to your goal.
A third method is list-making. Here, you make a list of the things that are needed to achieve your goal. And the fourth one is the staircase method. This means having an ultimate goal in mind and making smaller steps to achieve the ultimate goal.
Conclusion: My medium-term goals examples when I was in College
Like other students, my goal when I was in College was to excel in my grades and have a well-paying job after graduation. I knew that setting medium-term goals would help me achieve that. So let me tell you some of these goals I set:
- Not skipping classes, except when skipping class is inevitable.
- Completing my assignments and attending all workshops
- Having hours for extra study
- Developing a good relationship with my lecturers
- Spending less, saving more
- Work as an intern in an organization to learn more
- Improving my grade every session
- Taking extra courses and an additional degree to my Bachelor’s.
If you are thinking I would share information on whether I achieved all of them or not, well sorry, but it is not up to you to find out. The point is, you too can set mid-term goals and you should especially do that as you’re in college.
