Pre-Semester Reflection

I am excited to meet new people and collaborate with students who share the same major as me. Challenges for me are going to be: not expecting the professor to remind the class of when we are approaching a deadline for an assignment or reminding us what homework needs to be done before the next class. I have applied for a work study position at ODU, so I expect it to take some time out of my schedule. I will spend at least ten hours each week with this commitment. I plan to balance it by doing some school work when I can get some down time at work or using my free time during the weekend to not fall behind. In my Academy class I was the HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) president for my class, I was concertmaster for my orchestra class, and I did indoor track my freshman year.

My intended major is dental hygiene. I chose this major because I had a positive experience as a patient from a young age. I am a good organizer and good at time management. I also have background knowledge, and experience, of dental assisting. I have obtained my national radiology certification this past summer. My plan is to graduate with a bachelor of science in dental hygiene.

The biggest difference I expect is the load or course work and amount of time taken to learn the material. There is a difference between studying and homework. Homework is getting an assignment done. Studying is taking the time to review material to understand the topic. For chemistry, I anticipate studying 7-8 hours per week. I plan to study English 4 hours per week. I will study history 5-6 hours per week. For sociology, I anticipate studying 4-5 hours per week. I plan on studying in a study room. I anticipate loud people coming down the hall as a distraction. I will try to zone them out and put my phone on do not disturb. I can work during any time of the day, just not really late at night because it gets harder for me to concentrate. Study techniques that work for me are going over the notes, reteaching myself the material, using flashcards, and sometimes practice quizzes/tests.