Starting college sometimes comes with a lot of uncertainty, and it can be hard not knowing where to start. Creating a four-year plan can help provide direction, experts say.
“It seems silly at the beginning, because four years seem so far away, but it does go fast,” says Amy Gunter, director of academic advising for the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities.
Having a roadmap of your college journey can help you avoid delays, maximize opportunities and stay on track for graduation. Here’s how to make a college four-year plan.
4-Year-Plan Template
The four-year plan can be organized as an outline or a table, but you should format it in a way that makes the most sense to you.
Printing out a template and filling it in as you progress through college can be helpful, providing a clear visual reminder of the plan and making it easier to update as needed. You can find templates on schools’ websites or through your academic advisers, experts say.
“We know that a college education is a big investment for them, and so it’s really important to us that they know that they have the support and guidance to be mindful of their time,” Gunter says.
Twelve credits is the minimum to be considered a full-time student for federal financial aid, according to Federal Student Aid. However, taking around 15 to 16 credits each fall and spring semester is generally standard to graduate in four years, experts say.
A common four-year template should cover all bases. Have a section for each semester, including winter and summer interims. You can also have a section for transfer credits that can be applied to your degree.
“Even if there’s an established four-year plan like we have, we know every student’s journey is going to look different,” Gunter says.
Use a Degree Audit System
Most colleges have a degree audit system that helps you track courses you need to graduate and highlights classes with prerequisites. It’s a great tool to use alongside your four-year plan to stay organized, experts say.
The audit system helps you track which courses you should be taking each semester, says Ken Clavir, assistant registrar at the University of Northern Colorado, adding that a “four-year plan really helps the student navigate their degree progress so that they’re taking those courses in the most efficient way possible.”
Courses tend to be sequenced, meaning they must be taken in a certain order, experts say.
“There can be critical points where if you don’t take this course, then you can’t take this next one, and so forth,” Gunter says. “We’ve tried to take all the guesswork out of that and put it into a plan that shows students, ‘If you take this here, then that opens up these other pathways.'”
Organize Your Classes
Factor in Transfer Credits
Understanding transfer-credit equivalency is key to making sure previous coursework counts toward your degree.
“The one thing that we don’t want students to do is take a course that they’ve already taken, or if there’s a similar course and we’re willing to use it as a substitute,” Clavir says. “We don’t want them to retake a course unnecessarily.”
Whether it’s credit from an Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate course or credits from a community college, students should work with their advisers to see how these credits can be applied to their degree plan. Approved transfer credits can free up space in your plan for courses you’re interested in but that aren’t required, or reduce the need to take courses during interim periods.
Balance Major and General Education Requirements
A combination of major and general education courses each semester can help you stay engaged and avoid getting overwhelmed, experts say. Find the right balance to keep your academic plan manageable and on track.
It’s important to consider your academic strengths and weaknesses, says Monica Fine, associate dean of student success at the Wall College of Business at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina. “I think it’s important for our business majors. Some of them love math” while others may be weaker in math, Fine says. “So I don’t want to give them too many quantitative courses every semester. If I look at it as a four-year plan, I can say, ‘Okay, let’s just do two quantitative courses per semester.'”
Don’t try to knock out all gen ed requirements right away, Clavir says. That can delay your progress in major requirements — especially if you unintentionally skip over prerequisites — and lead to more delays if you change your major.
Plan Ahead to Study Abroad
If you want to study abroad, start planning sooner rather than later.
Global fluency and international experience are career competencies that employers often look for, says Dave Curry, director of the Center for Career Exploration & Development at Ithaca College in New York. It’s important to figure out where this experience fits in your plan and when is the best time to do it, he says.
“It’s about being timely,” Fine says. “Making sure that you figure out where you’re going to study abroad and when you’re going to study, and that takes a lot of preparation. You literally need to be thinking about study abroad a year before you do it.”
With an adviser, look into what credits you can earn at an international institution and determine which courses you would rather take abroad than at your college, experts say. Often, these courses are electives that can count toward your major or minor, Clavir says.
Take Advantage of Interim Terms
Many universities offer classes during summer and winter breaks, which students can use to catch up or get ahead on credits, experts say.
Interim terms can allow you to earn credits that you may have delayed or retake a class you dropped or failed. Just make sure they’re offered during the breaks.
You can also take courses at a local college while at home during these breaks, which is known as transient enrollment.
If it’s a class you might not enjoy, taking it at a community college where it may be less rigorous and cheaper can give you a better chance at receiving credit, Fine says.
Make Time for Professional and Skill Development
When planning your classes, consider what you want to get out of your college experience.
“I always like to tell students that college is four years that’ll set them up for the next 40,” Curry says. “Making sure that they actually weave in career planning into the four years that they’re there is really important.”
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And keep in mind the typical sequence of classes. During freshman and sophomore years, students tend to take many introductory and general education classes, Gunter says. But in their junior and senior years, students typically take more specialized courses in their major and think about their careers.
Throughout college, work on your professional skills through internships, co-ops or classes, Curry says. This allows you to grow and become knowledgeable in your field.
“College is all about exploration,” Curry adds. “Taking certain classes, doing an internship or job shadows, or networking in certain fields” will give you a sense of what you like and dislike and give you a strong sense of what you want to do after you graduate.
Make Room for Additional Programs
If you ever think about adding another major or minor, discuss with your adviser how it may affect your current path, experts say.
If it’s going to add another semester to your four-year plan, it might not be worth doing unless your university offers a kind of 4+1 program, where you can get a bachelor’s and master’s degree, Fine says.
When discussing another program with your adviser, ask if there’s room to double up on credits. Often, universities require similar general education courses for different majors or the programs require you to take a certain number of electives.
In these cases, you can find common ground in your majors or minors and don’t have to take more classes than you expected.
“Sometimes there’s overlap. Sometimes there’s duplicate courses. Every university has general education,” Clavir says. “What is best is to work with the adviser and take both of those plans to the adviser and make sure that (you’re) making the best plan possible to eliminate having to retake courses or take courses in a wrong order.”
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How to Make an Effective 4-Year College Plan originally appeared on usnews.com
