{"id":3510,"date":"2016-03-03t23:28:55","date_gmt":"2016-03-03t23:28:55","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/?p=3510"},"modified":"2016-03-03t23:28:55","modified_gmt":"2016-03-03t23:28:55","slug":"how-to-set-smart-test-prep-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/blog\/how-to-set-smart-test-prep-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"how to set smart test prep goals"},"content":{"rendered":"

we all know how important goal setting is to help you stay on track with your study schedule. but how do you go about setting your goals? most students who are smart studiers advocate the smart goal-setting method. that is, your goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.<\/p>\n

specific<\/h3>\n

when writing out your goals, be as detailed as possible. what exactly are you trying to achieve? it\u2019s not sufficient to say you want to \u201cdo well on your upcoming test.\u201d what does \u201cdoing well\u201d look like to you? what exact score will you need to hit? what areas do you need to specifically improve on to hit that score? what is the reason that your score needs to meet x threshold?<\/p>\n

measurable<\/h3>\n

being able to measure your progress toward meeting your goals allows you to assess how well you\u2019re doing and whether you need to calibrate anything in your study schedule to achieve those goals. for example, let\u2019s say you set a goal to memorize 200 vocabulary words by the end of the month \u2013 that means 50 words each week. let\u2019s say after week two, a quick flashcard quiz shows you that you\u2019ve only memorized 25 words total and forgotten the rest. now you know that you need to increase your commitment to studying for the remaining weeks to meet your original goal. give yourself benchmarks and deadlines to help measure your success.<\/p>\n

attainable<\/h3>\n

give yourself the tools that you\u2019ll need to attain your goals, and set yourself up for success! sign up for a magoosh course, speak with a magoosh test prep expert<\/a>, review our test-specific blogs, and get the necessary help you\u2019ll need to turn your goals into reality.<\/p>\n

realistic<\/h3>\n

goal-setting should motivate you to study \u2013 but if your goals are completely unrealistic, they can turn your studies into an insurmountable task. if you haven\u2019t looked at a math question in years and you set a goal to suddenly be performing the most difficult calculus questions under timed conditions within the next week, you probably won\u2019t be able to achieve that goal. setting a series of goals that are not realistic for you to meet will likely demotivate you in the long run. on the other hand, the small wins that come along with meeting goals you can actually execute on will help push you toward crossing the finish line successfully.<\/p>\n

timely<\/h3>\n

why do most people think of their careers in five- or ten-year terms? any further out, and it would be easy to lose track of those goals over time. your goals for test prep should be no different. if you don\u2019t give yourself parameters of time to study within, you\u2019ll probably find it difficult to get started. on the other hand, if you know you have three months to accomplish your goal, you won\u2019t let days or weeks go by without putting in some study time. setting a timeframe for your goals encourages you to act on them!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

about the author:<\/h2>\n

\"catherinecatherine supports magoosh\u2019s future grad school students by unlocking tricks of the test prep and application trade. catherine spends her free time checking out local farmer\u2019s markets, reading food and lifestyle blogs, and watching bravo. she is forever in search of the best mexican and italian food in any given city.<\/em><\/p>\n

 
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

smart studiers advocate the smart goal-setting method. learn what that means and how to do it by following these simple steps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":141,"featured_media":3596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[365,366,367,368,369,51,370],"ppma_author":[508],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nhow to set smart test prep goals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"most students who are smart studiers advocate the smart goal-setting method. that is, your goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/blog\/how-to-set-smart-test-prep-goals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_us\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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