01 Mar Road Map for March: Sophomores

As the trees are sprouting new buds and leaves, and the days grow longer, I am feeling my own sense of renewal. You might also be feeling more energy and and getting ideas for projects you’d like to tackle this spring, so this is a great time to set your goals for the rest of the school year. These can be academic goals, or they might be related to your extracurricular activities or other personal priorities. Make your list, and then prioritize.

Next – and this is the important part – map out a plan. What are the steps you’ll need to take to meet your goals? Do you want to raise your grade in a specific class? Some possible steps might be meeting with your teacher or completing assignments before they’re due. What about getting a certain AP score on a May exam? You could start by creating a study plan for March and April with topics for each week, putting together a study group and making a schedule to meet. If you’re looking to complete 20 community service hours before the summer or land an internship, your steps might be to research  opportunities, create or update your resume and contact the appropriate staff person at each organization. Or if college planning and prep is on your mind you could choose 3 to 5 colleges to research online, register for a college fair, and pick at least one school to tour in person this spring. Whatever your goal is, you’ll be more likely to reach it if you identify what you’ll have to do along the way.