The importance of goal setting for the new school year

Charlie Baker IV
Aug 25, 2017 · 4 min read

School has started back for the students in the Atlanta University Center on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2017. For some students, it is their first time coming to college, but as for others it is their way of coming back home.

On the campus of Clark Atlanta University and Spelman College, both institutions are filled with eager students wondering how life in college will be. As for the freshmen class of 2021 at Morehouse College, they are not too worried about campus life because they had a taste of what “Mother Morehouse” births on campus during their new student orientation week.

For Morehouse, NSO, also known as new student orientation lasts a week. The men arrived at Morehouse on Tuesday, Aug. 8th and completed the program on Tuesday, Aug. 15th.

Throughout this week the young men attended several assemblies, ceremonies, hall meetings and classes that helped prepared them for the upcoming semester. Events ran from students meeting each chair of a department to learning about registered student organizations to even sexual health classes.

Many freshmen felt that this week dedicated only to them was very impactful. Most feel like this week helped them make the adjustment from high school to college.

Evan Peace, freshman at Morehouse College in Graves Hall

One Morehouse College freshman, Evan Peace, said that during his time in NSO it made him create goals for the year.

“This year my goal is to achieve a 4.0 and become involved in Morehouse culture and environment while building a strong bond with my brothers,” said Peace.

There are many students like Peace who has similar goals for the year. Morehouse has many upperclassmen that wants to do better than their previous school year.

Upperclassmen say their reasoning for not doing their best academically was because of the course itself or them not utilizing their professors to their advantage.

Some say the information given in the class was too challenging and they were not mentally prepared to handle the course.

If it wasn’t for that reason, then upperclassmen say that they now see the importance of office hours. A few seem to reference the common expression “a closed mouth doesn’t get fed”. Also, upperclassmen talk about how they were too prideful to ask for help, but after receiving final grades they realized asking for help when you do not know something benefits the student in the long run.

A few even talked about picking the “right” professor for each course. Students are using mediums such as the website http://ratemyprofessors.com and word of mouth to help them choose the professor which will make it easier for them to get an A+.

For other Morehouse students, many wish academics were their only reason. However, being that Morehouse College is a private institution, sometimes the goal for the year changes to not having any financial aid issues.

Most students at Morehouse dread going to the financial aid office. Some talk about the long hours you have to wait to get cleared and some talk about the fear of not having an item completed and be told that they cannot move on campus or take classes until that is settled. For each student, the problem varies.

“I feel like financial aid is really bad at communicating with students when it comes to knowing the certain documents or things needed by the office”, Morehouse College sophomore, Robbie Floyd said.

Robbie Floyd, sophomore at Morehouse College standing outside Brawley Hall

Floyd said that he moved in early because of his residential assistant training and wasn’t told that he wasn’t financially clear when he came on campus. When classes started, he went to the café and one of the cafeteria employees told him that his account was frozen.

Upset because he could not eat in the café until his financial aid problem was solved, Floyd started his sophomore year to a rough start. However, he saved money and just bought groceries until he was clear.

Whether it is academic, personal, or financial goals, students coming in for the fall 2017 semester have an improved attitude of achieving their goals.

Students realize that every goal they set probably won’t be met, but as long as they are willing to make adjustments and roll with the punches, they are guaranteed to have a successful school year.

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