Study Habits

• What classes are you doing well in, and why? 

I am doing well in a couple of classes. One of them is the Intro to Chemistry lecture because I take notes ahead of time and do practice questions when I do not understand a topic. Another class I am doing well in is English because my teacher gives students resources to comprehend the concepts. 

• What classes did you identify as needing assistance in? 

There are some classes I need assistance with, such as Sociology and Intro to Chemistry Lab.  

• What changes have you made (i.e. amount of time, location, campus resources, study strategies, etc…)?

One change I made would be annotating the reading for Sociology before writing notes. Another change I made involved underlining the important steps for the lab’s instructions. 

Transition to College

• What expectations did you have coming to college? 

When I came to college, I had various expectations. One of my expectations is that all my professors are strict with attendance and grading. Another of my expectations was that the workload given by each class would be abundant. Also, I thought I would be busy doing papers and assignments. One more expectation I had was that I would not get used to the environment of ODU.  

• Have those expectations come to fruition, or not? 

Yes, I believe most of these expectations have come to fruition. 

• How?

The reason is that I have some professors with strict grading and attendance, like Professor Lopez. I am also given a lot of assignments to do from each of my classes, and I spend most of my time in the library completing them one by one. Additionally, I am not fully used to ODU’s buildings and campus. 

• In what way is your college experience different from what you expected?

My college experience differs from what I expected since college contains relaxed or not strict professors with students’ grades and attendance. 

• What has surprised you about your experiences so far this semester?

One thing that surprised me about my college experience so far this semester is that some professors are very understanding if a student is not familiar with a topic or writing format. 

• If you commute to class: What is the toughest challenge with commuting to campus? Easiest challenge to overcome?

The toughest challenge with commuting to campus is the morning and afternoon traffic going to school. However, the easiest challenge to overcome when commuting to campus is the feeling of homesickness. 

Major

• Name something you have learned about your intended major that you did not know at the beginning of the semester.

One thing I learned about my intended major, dental hygiene, that I did not previously know was that it requires the qualifications for X-ray scans of the teeth. 

• Have your feelings changed about your intended major? List some thoughts you are having.

My feelings somewhat changed towards my intended major due to the following thoughts I am having. 

• Am I good enough to get in?
• How will I accomplish my goal of being a dental hygiene student?
• What steps do I need to take?
• Am I doing this right?

• Is there another subject (major or minor) that you are interested in learning more about? 

There are a few subjects that I am interested in learning more about. For example, I would be interested in learning more about dentistry, orthodontics, oceanography, and music.  

Connecting to Campus

• Name one problem or challenge you have encountered this semester, and which resource(s) at ODU you have/can utilize to assist with this situation. 

A problem I encountered this semester is my quiz scores for Sociology. I am unhappy with what I am scoring despite studying beforehand. Resources I can utilize to assist with my situation would be tutoring or attending office hours.  

• Is there a friend, roommate, professor, advisor, or group in the ODU community who has helped you so far this semester? If so, how did they help you? 

Yes, a friend of mine helped me this semester. My friend helped me by explaining concepts I did not understand in our Sociology class. 

• Have you attended an interest meeting for a club? Why did you decide to get involved or not get involved?

Yes, I attended an interest meeting for a club called the Filipino American Society Association, or FASA. I decided to get involved because I thought it would be an opportunity to make new friends and connections with people from my culture.