This is the 5-year Plan Assignment. For this assignment, you will develop a 5-year plan for accomplishing a psychology major, including participation in extracurricular activities and a plan for the year following graduation. You will submit one Microsoft Excel document for this assignment, using the template provided below.
Completed Excel template:
The first step in developing your 5-year plan is to create your own academic evaluation using the template below. This evaluation should list all the classes you have taken in the past, are currently taking, and plan to take in the future, semester-by-semester starting with your freshman year. (It will help you a LOT to open your own academic evaluation from GoSolar when you begin working on this document.)
Note that the template includes three alternatives (as different tabs/pages): traditional student, transfer student, and nontraditional student. You should choose the ONE page that fits your experience best and complete that template. You do not need to complete all three. (You can right-click and delete the two other templates once you’ve chosen the one that’s right for you.)
Once you complete the list of classes you’ve taken/are taking/plan to take, you should add in all extracurricular activities–both in and out of school–and details regarding WHEN you plan to address various issues such as a job search, preparing for the GRE, enrolling in the Honors College, asking for letters of recommendation, etc. Add those into the appropriate semesters.
Your plans should include your years of college, plus one additional year post-graduation. For instance, if you are a senior who is graduating in May 2026, you should include what you have accomplished during the past 3 years, the current year’s classes/activities, and what you plan to do the year after you graduate. If you are a sophomore, you will include classes/activities you completed during your first year of college, the classes/activities you plan to complete this year, and the classes/activities you plan to complete in the next three years (final two years of college + one year after college).
This means that the “5-year plan” may actually turn out to be 6 or 7 years for some students; that’s okay. What we’re looking for is that you’ve thought through what you’ve done, what you have left, and what you want to do the year after graduation.
Summary of Plans After Graduation
At the top of each Excel template, you will also provide a short summary about what exactly you plan on doing right after graduation (e.g., job, Peace Corps, graduate school, join military). Plans for how you will address issues related to preparing yourself for those next steps should be included semester by semester in your plan. For instance, if you’re planning to get a job right after graduation, you should be sure you’ve mapped out in your plan things like updating your resume, mock interviewing, procuring interview clothes, attending job fairs, etc. If you’re planning to attend graduate school you should include in your plan things like studying for the GRE, taking the GRE, writing a personal statement, getting letters of recommendation, etc.
We also ask you at the top of your template to include a contingency plan (e.g., Plan B). That is, if your initial goal for the year after graduation is to attend graduate school, what is your plan if you don’t get in? Write a few sentences describing that plan to us.
You can download the assignment template here: 5-year Plan Template.
This assignment is worth 20 points and will be graded as follows:
7.5 points for generally following instructions (e.g., using proper template, personalizing, proofreading, including courses)
5 points for summarizing post-graduation plan & contingency plan at top of template
7.5 points for including appropriate content in plan (e.g., extra-curriculars/experience, post-grad plan, active steps to post-grad plan)
