Study Habits
My time spent on studying varies. For some classes, I spend more time studying than others. I typically spend the most time studying for chemistry and sociology, this being for like 3 hours in total throughout a week. For stats and history I spend like an hour and a half to 2 hours a week studying. I feel my grades reflect well for the amount of time I study. I have pretty good grades in all of my classes so far. However, towards the end of the semester I feel like I may have to add an extra hour or two of studying for each class a week. Usually, I study at the library or any quiet setting so I can focus and not have any distractions. I feel I am more focused and attentive when studying in the later evening and at night. This is because the environment is more calm and relaxed at this time since everyone is asleep or relaxed.
Learning Styles
So far this semester I have only tried one new studying technique. I have tried standing and pacing while studying. I feel like this technique was successful. It kept me engaged and attentive. To me it also made me feel like I retained the information better. One technique that works the best for me is color-coding. Color-coding my notes make it easier for me to read and swallow all of the information. Memorizing my notes little by little is the most successful studying technique that I have used over the years. I use the same techniques for each class as of now, except for math. I do more practice problems rather than memorizing the information.
Transition to College
Overall, college has not been what I expected. Much of this stems from the alternatives made from Covid-19. For one, I expected to be on campus and living in a different environment after high school, but I am still living at home. Also, the workload is not what I expected. I always heard that you are assigned less assignments in college, but I feel like I have more work now than I did in high school while taking 8 classes. One thing that has surprised me the most about college are the professors. In high school, my teachers always painted professors to be very uncaring people when it comes to students and personal situations. However, the professors I have currently are in fact caring and offer extra help if needed.
Connecting to Campus
Thankfully, I have not truly encountered a problem or challenge this semester. However, recently I have been gradually getting more and more confused in my stats class. Therefore, I might use the tutoring resources provided by ODU to help me. Throughout the semester multiple friends have helped me out. Since I have classes with the same people, it is easy for us to get together and help each other out on a subject one or all of us are having difficulty with. Lastly, I have not joined any interest groups at ODU yet, but I definitely will in the future.