Study habits

How much time do you spend studying for each class every week?

The amount of time I spend studying for each class comes around to about an hour or two for each. I don’t take as much time studying for classes I don’t have any problems with, such as Sociology, but I do for classes I find harder than the others, like Chemistry.

Do you need to put more time into studying, and for which class or classes?

I don’t think I need to add in more studying time to my study time now. I’m doing well in all of my classes so adding more study time doesn’t make any logical sense. I’m not going to cut back my study time just because I’m doing well, but I won’t be adding any either. If I’m doing well I don’t need to change anything.

Where do you study?

I study at the makeshift desk in the corner of my room. It is the only place in my room that gets Wi-Fi so it is where I study. I could go to other parts of the house to study, but I can only focus in the confines of my own room. My parents are nosy so if I study outside of my room, they’ll end up asking me too many questions about what I’m doing.

Do you often find yourself distracted while studying?

I only find myself distracted when there are other people around me while I study, mainly because the only people I would have around me when I study are people who are also studying but always try to ask me questions about what they’re studying. People like to ask me for help in their assignments and I do help them whenever they ask, just not when I’m doing my own work.

What could you do to remove these distractions?

To remove my distractions, I isolate myself in my room. I don’t usually like people in my room and many people know that, so when I am in my room, people usually leave me alone. People are my distractions.

What time of day do you study?

I usually study at night. During the day time my mind is everywhere but studying, but during the nighttime I can focus really well, which results in my studying at night. During the day I like to do other things to relax myself because relaxation is also a key to success, and during the day time, I can go out and do things. During the night time, I usually can’t leave the house so I am in my room anyways, and the things I did during the day time had calmed me down enough for me to be able to focus on one thing instead of multiple things.

Do you feel focused and alert at this time?

I do feel focused and alert at night time. I am a night owl, I like the night time. I have a lot of energy at all hours, but during the day I’m so full of energy that I can do multiple things in my mind at one time and with no problems whatsoever, but at night time I am calmer and can focus on one thing.

Learning style

What specific study techniques do you think work best for you? How do these vary from class to class?

The type of studying I do involves a lot of repetition. I like to have my notes out, a review guide if there is one, and music. I like to look at my notes and repeat crucial information to myself until I memorize it by heart, then when I have memorized it, I fill out the review guide to test my knowledge. This study style doesn’t really vary from class to class, the only thing that probably changes is the music I listen to when I do study. If it’s a harder class then the music has no lyrics, but if it’s a class I’m fine with then it has lyrics.

What new study techniques have you tried this semester based on what you have learned about learning styles?

I haven’t really tried any new study techniques because the type of studying I do really works for me. I didn’t see the point in changing anything about my study habits if I had a study technique that really worked for me. The only new thing that I have tried is listening to Mario Cart because someone told me that it helps with studying faster and more diligent.

Transition to college

Has college been what you expected?

College isn’t exactly what I’ve expected. I thought college would be harder for me, but college has been surprisingly moderate for me. It’s not too hard but also not too easy. Yet, I know I can’t be totally sure because we are mostly online.

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

I previously stated my opinion in the question before this one, but there are more specific things that I found unexpected. For example, I thought that I would meet all the teachers I had synchronous classes with since they obviously had to teach me, yet I don’t even know what my chem lab teacher looks like.

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

I was surprised to find that the dorms look different than what I expected. I was dropping off my friend at her dorm after class and I was curious to see what it looked like inside, so she let me see and I found the beds to be really high up and spacious, so was the room. They also had to choose between having a microwave and a fridge in their room which made no sense at all.

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

The toughest challenge will always be the traffic of Norfolk. There are cars parked along all sides of the roads so that limits the lanes, increasing traffic. Then there are slow drivers in both the city and the highway, going below the speed limit and it just frustrates me. Probably the easiest part of my commute is parking.

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.

I had a problem with my admissions, where the school had me under out of state, which resulted in problems arising with my GI Bill. So, to fix these problems, I went to the military connections center and they helped me solved my problem.

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?

I have made friends in all my classes and they have helped me really strive in my classes. Sometimes I forget to check my black board for assignments, but the group chat that we made, someone reminds us that there is an assignment due and that results in me not having late assignments. They also help me with questions I have on assignments.

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

I have attended a meeting for the Asian community organizations. I did attend the meeting, but I only stayed for a bit. I had an internet problem and so I just gave up after I kept disconnecting. I also didn’t try going back because I did want to focus on my studies my first year.