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Plan your
YEAR.
Plan your
YEAR
Chapter 11 of 12
Learn how to...
...position yourself to be able to write the perfect personal statement by learning how to plan your year effectively.
DREAM to
DESTINATION
Have you ever noticed that whenever you open the fridge the thing you really want to eat at that moment is never there?
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Ok, we’ll stop as we're probably bringing back painful memories here for you. Like the time when all you wanted was some bacon and yet all you could find was half a tub of mayonnaise and a spoonful of strawberry jam. Other times the thing we really want to eat is there but it needs preparing and cooking. And in the moment most of us are inpatient and we just want it now.
But seriously, have you noticed that some things just take a lot of time and planning?
We sort of appreciate that saving up for a house deposit may take some time or meeting our ideal partner may not happen overnight. We recognise that few people are multi-millionaires by the time they hit 21. But do you know what we often miss? The simple things that take time and planning. Like getting a part-time job or applying for a university placement. We expect to be able to knock together a job, college or university application in a few hours. A week tops if we are really slow on it. But often it takes a year. At least. Here’s why…
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Experience needed
Ever tried to get your first part-time job only for all adverts and notices in shop windows to suggest that they will only consider someone with ‘previous experience’? Oh we’ve been there…it’s a catch-22 nightmare. I mean how do you get a (first) job if they all want experience? Something has to give.
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Same goes with a university application - college too but universities especially. They don’t just want your grades they want to know who you are and what experience you have. They want a bigger you. A brighter you. A more visionary you. They want to know about your experiences
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Success = Time + Work + Planning
Let us imagine that you are applying for university. Now those of you who have already made it there or who hold no interest in ever going then please just go with us on this one. Everything we will be learning over the next few minutes is applicable to you too no matter what your next move. All will be revealed. Promise. As we were saying, let’s imagine that you are applying for university. Hopefully you have teachers who are going to keep you on track with the academic assessment side of things. That is to say that they will be helping you get the grades. Sure, after all, no grades = no placement. But we all know that universities (much like college placements and future employers) want a bigger you than just
a grade. They don't just want a list of qualifications on a piece of paper. They want to know about other qualities you possess, such as an active interest in the subject, leadership skills and wider social skills learned by caring for others. All of these things take time. Months at least. And they take planning.
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Planning your year
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Let’s take a step back a minute. If we aim to be writing a university application in say December then we need to start planning the December before at the latest. I.e. 12 months before. Only our application is merely a chance for us to document the person who we are. We now have 12 or so months to build our profile so that we become the person they desire.
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You will need to do your own research on this and each country’s university establishments will operate a bit differently but let us give you an initial three broad suggestions of what they usually value:
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1. They like to see that you have hobbies and interests and are not afraid of challenges.
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2. They like to see that you hold an active interest around the subject that you are applying to study.
3. They like to see that you are committed to helping others.
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Now this list is far from extensive but it’s big enough for us to walk through this concept of yearly planning for you.
Portfolio Building
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If you want to be able to document the three qualities mentioned above successfully then it will take some time. At least 12 months most likely. So you now have a year to build up a portfolio of evidence and you best get planning!
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Let us give you some practical examples for each thing we covered before we look to conclude this section.
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1. If universities want you to hold active hobbies and not be afraid of challenges then you probably need to consider joining a club for a few months at least, ideally longer.
Let’s say you join a tennis club. You then enter competitions (whether you have a chance of winning is almost irrelevant, you are evidently not afraid of the challenge!). You may offer to volunteer your time to coach less able players. You may read tennis coaching blogs and watch YouTube videos and other demonstrations to improve your game and your coaching. All of this you can document on your application.
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2. If universities like to see that you hold an active interest around the subject that you are applying to study then you need to document this. They don’t just want phrases like ‘I really enjoy Geography’. They want to see you actively demonstrate it with how you spend your time.
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So perhaps once a month you go on an expedition with your friends or family to a place of interest. Interested in coastal erosion? Head to different beaches and go do some informal research. Interested in town planning? Try visiting a different city once a month. Can you get any work experience in your area of interest on a weekend or during the school holidays? Why not add a subscription to a monthly Geography-based magazine to your Christmas list?
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3. If universities like to see that you are committed to helping others then get volunteering.
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Maybe you could help volunteer at a club as mentioned before. Maybe you do some voluntary work at a place of interest like a homeless shelter. Maybe you help teach your brother and his friend how to play the guitar. Maybe you will even get paid for helping others! Aha. There is a thought… But even if you do not get paid then it’s kind of irrelevant because if a lack of volunteering is standing between you and your DREAM future then you need to get onto it. Without delay.
Next steps
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Well done for hanging with us on this one. This section is slightly bigger than most but it’s an important one and truth be told we have only really scratched the surface of it. But hopefully it’s enough to get you thinking.
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So now over to you…
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What do you need to do in the next 12 months to secure your DREAM future? Some things may be one-offs (e.g. a one-off visit) and some things may be regular occurrences (e.g. committing to a monthly subscription to a magazine). Some may be just for a season (e.g. 6 months voluntary tennis coaching) and some may be permanent. Remember to factor in busy times in your life like exam season and Christmas when you might not be able to achieve as much as you can at other times.
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Use our Future decided 12 Month Planner to help map out your commitments and what you need to do over the next 12 months to achieve your DREAM future. You can find it on pages 34-35 of your workbook (link to download below).
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Have a think...
1. What do you need to be able to document in 12+ months’ time to get you to your DREAM university/college placement or job career?
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2. How much of your current life will you be able to document already? E.g. clubs you belong to or experiences you have already had.
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3. Where in your weekly diary can you find space to incorporate more of the things that you may need to be able to document (e.g. joining a club/society?).
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As teaching staff we also have to plan our year. Only our (academic) years are not 12 months long. Especially not for our exam classes.
Therefore we need to make sure that we spend our time wisely and effectively. Our gold package video course covers the same content but packs more of a punch, leaving more of your year available to cover other important content.
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