Objectives
- Review some of the many motivations students have for entering college.
- Identify your personal motivations as pathways to achieving goals.
Directions
- Review the table below, which lists various motivations cited by other students.
- Identify your main motivations, and rank your top five.
- Reflect on your selections in terms of how they connect with short-term and long-term plans for the future. Discuss with your results with your classmates.
Understanding your motivations is essential to helping you not only prioritize your plans for the future but also gain inspiration about directions you may not have yet charted. Ultimately, your motivations for being in college align you with roadways to fulfilling your goals and ambitions.
| MY TOP FIVE | MOTIVATIONS FOR ATTENDING COLLEGE |
| Gain more qualifications in my field | |
| Increase my earning potential; make more money | |
| Challenge myself | |
| Show others that I can succeed | |
| Start an independent life | |
| Satisfy my curiosity | |
| Have fun | |
| Change my career | |
| Do what my parents were not able to do | |
| Find a better lifestyle | |
| Build my confidence | |
| Expand my social contacts; bond with new friends | |
| Improve my network of business associates | |
| Gain exposure to a wide array of topics | |
| Attend campus events | |
| Make my family happy | |
| Fulfill my dreams | |
| Take classes at home or work or anywhere | |
| Take advantage of campus resources like the library and gym | |
| Join a sports team | |
| Join campus organizations | |
| Spend my time during retirement | |
| Have continued support via alumni programs | |
| Learn to study and work on my own | |
| Gain access to professors | |
| Link up with people who already excel in the ways I aspire to | |
| Get sports spirit | |
| Gain more access to entertainment like theater and bands | |
| Be more productive in life | |
| Explore myself | |
| Become well versed in many subjects | |
| Dig deeper into learning than I did in high school | |
| Expand my knowledge of the world | |
| Others? |
