Setting Goals & Planning Ahead

by Luis Rodriguez

December 2008

College is the key to success in the future. A doctor or a lawyer is obligated to go back to college and achieve a diploma before entering the work force. College is the door to a better life and for success, yet up to 50 % of community college students fail in the first year because they don’t have clear career goals or they have extracurricular activates that limit their time for study. A boat becomes lost over time if there is no navigator and a man becomes lost in a forest if he has no guide. To have success overnight is rare, so planning ahead is crucial to the success of any man who wishes to become independent.

Being organized is very important and you need to focus on figuring out your career goals. Most college students have no idea what careers they are interested in. This becomes a problem over time as they waste time and money. Without having the right direction a student becomes lost and is not clear which way their future will take them.

            College students who don’t have clear career goals or have too much extracurricular activity will never have success in life. As an outside resource I interviewed a former Gavilan College student from Hollister, California. Andreas briefed me on his past high school graduation and his new enrolled college life. Being a student and holding grades with a full-time job could be a difficult task for any man to maintain. Enrolled as a full-time student with a job was hard work and stressful. Making money by having a job as a waiter as an extracurricular activity had its consequences. In the summer, Andreas Oropeza dropped out of college. He was still attending his communication class and had dreams of being a forensic scientist working in a lab. Taking biology and communication where required along with weight training. "For only one year did I attend school at Gavilan College," Andreas said. My interviewee had very little success after attempting a school life at Gavilan College; he right now serves as a fast food employee in Kentucky Fried Chicken.

            In the interview I learned why one student without having the right amount of time and energy had dropped out of college with a job on the line. If he had planned ahead, more success would be an option. My interviewee dropped out because he had too much extracurricular activity. Holding down a job and full time student was too much work for him to handle. My own experience is you should be more organized for being ready for school. Not having the right obligation can lead you off. Very soon the future comes and you are not prepared for it. When you’re first enrolled you should consider school as your number one priority. Second you should buy a planner to make sure your schedule is ready. The third is following your schedule and get good grades. With good grades you can have a better career. Having a dead end job can not be the only answer to living. The future to success star’s with you. Being a freshman and not completing the first year is a way to start on the bad track. Never finishing school can be painful for the future. The training for a better future begins with school. Freshmen fail their first year without having clear career goals. As a student not having clear career choice can be a problem in more ways than one. Freshean drop out their first year 50% of the time because a lack of career choice and lack of commitment towards one goal. In my opinion, not being clear on goals can be costly in the form of economics. Freshmen dropping out of school in the first year is a great waste of money. The formula of not having clear career goals and too much extracurricular activity leaves students with the bill of rising cost of college.

            Dropping out happens when students do not reach clear career choices. Failure in the first year by freshman leads to an expensive debt, the average undergraduate racks up student debts totaling about $ 18,000. Tuition and fees at public colleges and universities which award most U.S bachelor’s degree soared to a rising cost. The increase raises total cost. The increase raises the total cost of tuition; fees, room, and board. The cost of attending a University is an eye popping $ 40, 000 a year.

            In order to avoid the high cost of all the school damages you should be clear about what career choice you do want. School is very important and you don’t want to waste time and money. Both items are a luxury people run out of, students who do not complete their first year of college because lack of career choice never has success in life. In my personal experience having the choice to come to Gavilan College is a rare opportunity.

            I’m clear about my future in I know what career path I’m on. Most college students do not know what skills they are interested in. My own experience is that you have plan ahead for the best future. Someone does not have a clear path without a guide to lead the way. Success is an obstacle that has to be taken by steps. Taking my time to be organized and being clear about what career to pursue is part of my plan to have success my first year at Gavilan College. Freshmen failing their first year can never have the bright future intended for them. The road to a better career star’s with completing community college. After possibly transferring to a four-year school and getting your Master’s or Bachelor's you can enter the work force.

            In conclusion being a success star’s with your first year of community college. To have a great success you need to be clear about the right career move. A safe way of making sure you successfully meet your goals is by not having too much extracurricular activity. The right balance of focus organizing time will lead to positive school work. With a direction of what choice in career you receive more training by transferring to a four year college or university. The Transfer/Career Center is a great place to start and look for details of what school offer what skills you need to be part of something more than a dead end job. Register yourself at community college and plan for a better. For the best years are yet to come. I will walk forward knowing my future will have so much to bring by being successful. Success will not come overnight. It will never be easy, but the right steps can lead to the right place in the world. Finding success is all inside the person. Hope and determination makes all the difference in having a key to success in the future.