Going Boldly: Purposeful Engagement, Critical Thinking, and Success in College

At the end of each academic year, millions of high school seniors across the country are ceremonially launched into their futures. For many, that future commences with an anxious summer followed by the start of college. Well before the first college lecture, however, newly enrolled college students should consider a couple questions and a few simple steps that can lower barriers to college success.

The who and the what?

It is helpful to approach college with certain broad goals and a sense of purpose. The full college experience cannot be pre-planned, but students do well to reflect on their academic journeys so far and consider what they want from college. Two questions that I’ve encouraged advisees to consider are ‘Who am I?’ and ‘What do I want?’

Dr. Kelling DonaldThe first question invites students to reflect on their personal qualities and values (e.g. I am … focused, honest, generous, motivated, analytical) and the sources, resources, and forces in their hearts and histories that fuel their aspirations, (e.g. family members and mentors, years of struggle, or generations that never made it to college — until now). Each student’s list of responses will be different, but their lists will be used in similar ways. When college days are long, energies are low, self-doubt intensifies, belonging is questioned, or distractions become increasingly attractive. The ‘Who’ list can remind you that you are stronger, better, less alone, and more resilient that the current situation would want you to feel.

The second question is not an invitation to set academic and professional plans in stone even before starting college. Undergraduates are known to change interests and even majors. ‘What do I want?’ challenges students to identify and write down their broad goals and ideals for college: I will … attend all my classes, graduate with honors, engage with people from different backgrounds, strengthen my combined interests in soccer, violin, and physics, become fluent in French, and so on. I encourage my advisees to write down their primary goals for college — their highest priorities. From one semester to the next, any (in)congruence, between those goals and daily decisions will offer students an objective basis for (re)assessing their trajectories or celebrating progress. The list should be as specific and measurable as possible, but it does not have to be static. If a marvelous course in East African development wins you over, you can select Swahili over French, or study both. At the end of college, this ‘What’ list will be an invaluable reference as students reflect on their personal growth and the evolution of priorities throughout the undergraduate experience.

With the initial versions of their lists in place, there are a few pieces of advice that students do well to consider:

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