Opinion | Plan ahead even if you have no plan

One random evening my first year of college, I set myself up for more success than I have at any other time during my college experience. I was a lowly political science and math major trying to consider what minors or certificates would best prepare me for a future career as a lawyer and what would look best on my future law school applications. I had no idea what I was doing, just like the rest of the new students around me in the dorms. But because of a few hours of work and the advice of a fellow first-year student, I made my life about 100 times easier, and I would thoroughly like to thank past Livia for her diligent work.

While I knew I wanted to go to law school, I was just as lost as every other first-year that year. Existing in a collegiate space post-COVID and trying to figure out what my life was going to be like 800 miles away from my family was already difficult. But when you add the additional pressure of clubs, interests, extra degrees and study abroad opportunities, the whole first-year experience got muddied real quickly.

Back in the fall of 2021, I desperately sought structure and routine in any little facet of my life that I could, hoping to maintain some semblance of balance in my constantly busy and complicated schedule. You do a lot your first year. You learn about your interests, what kind of things you want to study and what kind of activities you want to spend your fleeting time with. Getting inundated and overrun is par for the course. However, there is a solution.

One of my suitemates, who had a much better grasp on their daily schedule than I could ever have dreamt of at the time, shared with me her degree planning spreadsheet, and my life was changed for the better. She forwarded her color coded, highly organized and simple Excel document where she plotted her next seven semesters of classes, including study abroad and summer opportunities she wished to be a part of. My suitemate is an engineering major, so her future was pretty set in stone. But as a confused and disgruntled political science and math major who had no idea of what her next step was going to be, I was enamored by the prospect of figuring it all out in one go.

So that’s what I did. I started it around dinner and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning planning every single class and kind of course I wanted to take in each specific semester, cross checking the requirements on University websites. I was a madwoman. I planned out every single moment until my final semester of senior year. And you know what? Despite having no real plan at the time, doing so really helped me come up with one.

While I may have been a little overzealous in the beginning, and it did take a few more days of finetuning and combing to get my spreadsheet to a place I really enjoyed, this document has made my life 1,000 times easier. At the time, I had no plan or strategy as to what classes I wanted to take next. I had no idea what I wanted to spend the next four years of my life focusing on. But the simple, meager plan I did make my first year of college has saved my butt countless times. It has given me a better understanding of what it is I needed to accomplish than any other University document and has helped me find my path the last three years.

Because of my spreadsheet, I very quickly realized that attaining a sociology major instead of just a minor was a possibility and that accomplishing a math major wasn’t the smartest decision I could make. I was then able to squeeze in a public professional writing certificate between classes for my two majors. My sophomore year, when I discovered the law, criminal justice and society department, I was able to maneuver courses around so that I could obtain another minor as well. 

Because of my spreadsheet, I have also been able to get a better hold on my gen-eds, allowing myself the ability to spread them out throughout my college experience and diversify my courseload each semester. I’ve had a grasp on all that needs to get done and what it is I need to accomplish to graduate since my first semester first-year. Even when new exciting opportunities popped up and it felt like I was never going to be able to get it all done in four years, my spreadsheet and the rough-drafted plan made it all the easier to figure it out.

Not only that, but planning my college experience when I had no plan has made signing up for classes one of my favorite times of the semester. I am honestly saddened that I will only be messing around with the PeopleSoft scheduler one more time. Every semester when it is time to pick my classes, I refer to my spreadsheet so I know exactly what courses I need to take. I can move the classes around from table to table and ensure that I am not burdening myself with too many credits in a future semester or boring myself with too many courses of the same type.

Now, I may be an advocate for spreadsheets and timetables, but I truly believe that every first-year should sit down and make a document that details their collegiate experience. Even if you’re undecided and are not inclined towards any degree, sit down and make a spreadsheet and a semblance of a plan. At the very least, plan out when you will take your gen-eds.

If you are a pre-med double major, you’ll be able to better visualize when you can finally take the Taylor Swift English class. A business student might learn that they have the time to fit in a music degree, honing their skill on the instrument they long thought they had to set aside. Maybe even the hardworking, overeager students will come to realize they can graduate a full semester early if they move just a few things around.

Really, there is no better resource than a self-made spreadsheet and a semblance of a path to take. Even if you have no plan, make a spreadsheet and rough draft it out. Your final draft can come later, but getting that first draft down is imperative. You will really truly be setting yourself up for more success than you realize.

Livia LaMarca is the assistant editor of the opinions desk who misses using the Oxford comma. She mostly writes about American political discourse, US pop culture and social movements. Write to her at lll60@pitt.edu to share your own opinions!