Episode 001: Your 2020 Goal Setting and Planning

Episode 001:
Your 2020 Goal Setting and Planning

January 7, 2020 by Ruchi S. Kothari

There’s something to say about the beginning of a new year as we all start fresh with a clean slate. Keeping that in mind, our first episode is about Your 2020 Goal Setting and Planning for the year. This is a good one, a good exercise that you or your child should do every January and again in August/September, when it is the start of a new school year. Revisiting your academic and personal goals keeps you on track and prevents you from missing out on important milestones or deadlines, such as taking standardized tests like the SAT, ACT, APs or IB exams.

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I created this interactive bonus just for you: It’s called the Your 2020 Goal Setting and Planning IvyBound Sheet. The link to this pdf is provided in my show notes for this episode at https://ivyboundconsulting.com/001. No need to frantically take notes, I’ve got you covered. READ THE TRANSCRIPT and the Your 2020 Goal Setting and Planning IvyBound Sheet, and follow along.

The purpose of this worksheet is for you to see your entire year ahead, and be able to plan and prepare ahead of time, so that you aren’t thrown a curveball. As a high schooler, many steps, like completing your standardized tests on time, as you know, are critical components of your applications. Use this step-by-step guide to help you through your college admissions journey, at whatever stage you might be. Let yourself enjoy this process and keep your mind open to all the possibilities you have.

In this episode, we discuss nine questions to answer your academic, testing, extracurricular, and personal planning and goal setting.

Here’s a snapshot of a few things we talk about….

[03:33] Subscriber spotlight shoutout
[04:45] Today’s episode is sponsorship by www.ivyboundconsulting.com
[06:30] Download Your 2020 Goal Setting and Planning IvyBound Sheet. The link to this pdf is provided in my show notes for this episode at https://ivyboundconsulting.com/001
[07:32] Deliverable-action items needed for college applications
[14:25] Question #1: Year in High School, going into what year (in August/September)
[15:57] Question #2: Your Academic, Extracurricular, Sports, Arts, Music or Other Goals
[18:42] Question #3: Your Testing Goals
[20:16] Admissions Tip
[21:09] Admissions Tip
[24:37] Admissions Tip
[25:32] Question #4: Challenges you are facing, and the Solutions you can think of
[26:26] Question #5: The People you can go to for Academic and Emotional Support
[28:17] Contact me, Ruchi S. Kothari for guidance and support you through your college admissions journey
[28:36] Question #6: Milestones or Achievements you will be celebrating
[29:47] Question #7: Your Personal Goals.
[30:46] Question #8: Things you like to do to Relax or when you are stressed
[32:21] Question #9: Plan out some Vacation or Down Time so that you can unwind, have fun and enjoy life
[33:28] Free gift for three subscribers!
[35:33] Live Office Hours with Ruchi S. Kothari where I answer three real-time college admissions questions
[35:47] Office Hour Question #1
[37:22] Office Hour Question #2
[39:29] Office Hour Question #3

FREE GIFT for 3 Lucky subscribers -
2020-Year Wall Calendar.

In order for you to win, you must:

Subscribe to Be Collegebound with IvyBound series
Screenshot yourself listening to this podcast or watching the YouTube video
Share it on your stories along with your biggest takeaway
Tag 3 friends
And don’t forget to tag me with @ivyboundconsulting and #ivyboundconsultingpodcast or #ivyboundconsultingYouTubevideo.

Results will be announced in the next podcast. So, stay tuned!

In order for you to best implement your goals, please be specific in naming the activities and the actions you will take to achieve your desired goal. I’m going to explain each question in more detail, giving you some admissions tips, tricks or secrets along the way, making this the best goal setting and planning activity you’ve ever done. Pretty cool, right?

“When you write it down, and are intentional with your goals, you take action and just make it happen.”

At the end of each episode, I offer live office hours with myself, Ruchi S. Kothari, where I answer three college admissions questions that high schoolers or their parents post. Today, I answer the following questions:

Is it better to get a B in an AP class or an A in an Honors or regular class?
What’s a healthy number of colleges to have on your list?
My mailbox has been inundated by mail from colleges, including those from the Ivies. Is this an indicator of my daughter’s chances of getting admitted?

If you have a burning question, please leave it in the comment box, so I can answer your question next time. I’m so thrilled to help you in any which way I can.

This episode is sponsored by

Today’s episode is sponsored by IvyBound Consulting, a college admissions company that I created with my life’s mission in mind– to help each and every student of mine to get admitted to the college of their dreams. You can say this is my calling, and I can’t even tell you the delight I feel when I hear about my students pursuing their interest, or excelling in their academic area, or better yet getting into the college of their choice.

You can say, anything and everything about education lights me up– from the quality and type of education, the comprehensiveness of curriculum, the best educators chosen, and the safety of our children have attracted me to this field. I am currently serving on my town’s Board of Education for the second term, I’m an alumni interviewer of Northwestern, and a member of the professional organization of Independent Educational Consultants of America.

As I bring massive clarity and integrity into the college admissions process, I have helped many high schoolers through their journey with the products and services offered at www.ivyboundconsulting.com. And, I hope to help countless more…

Listener Shoutout

“A quick shout out to all the parents who are listening right now, because I get you and all that we do to keep our children constantly nourished, happy and safe. I can even bet, some of you are probably driving your children around, shuttling them from one class to another. I HEAR YAA!!! So, download my podcast series, and when you’re on the go, keep listening. You might pick up some quick and effective college admissions tips, tricks and secrets. Take what you want and leave the rest.”

“And, all the high schoolers who’ve tuned in a quick shout out to you as well. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to listen to my podcast series or watch these series on YouTube. Choose the platform that works best for you to pick up quick and effective college admissions tips, tricks and secrets to help you stand out and create winning college applications. Take what you want, share it with your friends, and leave the rest. “

Every other week I release an episode as a podcast. And the following week, the same episode as a YouTube video So I encourage you to go check it out if you need a visual example of the topic being discussed. You can find my YouTube channel by searching up Ivybound Consulting. Feel free to check out all of my podcasting videos. And, please don’t forget to subscribe to the Be CollegeBound with IvyBound podcast and YouTube series, and leave me a review in the comments. Thanks so much.

Join me next time where I discuss Early Admit Rates for Class of 2024 and what’s trending in college admissions this year.

I hope you enjoyed this episode and thanks so much for tuning in. I’m leaving you with something to think about: Make it Your Own!

Your college admissions journey is unique to your experiences and circumstances. Use your intelligence and your talent, and yes you have many of them, to make the best of your journey, so Make it your Own!

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast, enable me to answer a burning college admissions question you may have, and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you! Be Collegebound with IvyBound!