Esmerelda Cuevas
First-year
Biology
“My workspace has changed from studying on campus in the Multicultural Center to now studying in my apartment. Alongside it went from studying with a group of other students in similar classes with me to studying mainly alone.”
“I’ve adjusted pretty well to online classes so far, I’ve managed to have a routine and stuck to it. But many of my classes have quizzes and assignments due in between other classes and it gets very frustrating.”
“[My study habits] have stayed pretty much the same. Only difference is it’s a lot harder to get help when I'm stuck on something. The TAs always have a lot of people in the Zoom trying to ask questions and it takes too long. So a majority of help I get now is from Chegg instead of the TAs or professor.”
Leo Spencer
Third-year
Geology
“My room is a much bigger mess because all my notebooks are scattered around and an overall sense of lethargism fills my heart. I've neglected my workspace. Taking notes at my desk is the only way to go. Couches and beds don't cut it for me. My apartment [complex] shut down its little study room, so that sucks. I need to move around, you know? I need a change of scenery. Being stuck at home without the physical movement to think about things from another perspective is really damaging. Usually in geology there are big mysteries we have to solve as part of our assignments and thinking about those things on my way back from class really helped. It makes me frown that I don't go outside and continue that routine anymore.”
“I've adjusted to online classes decently. Definitely a lot lazier than I usually am. I think professors are going a lot easier, and boy, oh boy do I need those soft pitches. I only have one Zoom meeting once a week where I work with three other students. It's a Physics 162 lab. Everyone tries their best, but you can tell nobody wants to be doing the lab. It's no way near as effective as labs in the flesh. Some professors try to get a sense of community going, but there's only so much you can do. I feel isolated from everyone in my classes. I don't get to bounce ideas off of them or ask them for help. It's rough, man.”
“I've found putting on a flannel when I'm doing work helps me stay in the zone. Too often I find myself wasting time on my phone as I lay on my bed with my gut hanging out like the Creeper character from the second Scooby-Doo live-action movie. I lose focus. If I leave my pajamas on, I don't get anything done. I need to dress like I'm going to class. My study habits themselves have stayed the same. I don't know if they're as effective as they used to be. I've felt busy when there really isn't much to do. I've been getting worse about setting time aside for school. So many distractions.”
Morgan Prutsman
Second-year
Business Management
“I normally study in the space outside Zoe’s Bagel[s] or in the Underground Coffeehouse in the VU. Now I have a folding table with my five other roommates.”
“It took about a week to get used to online classes but with professors that know how to use technology it is great. I enjoy being self-paced in most classes. It is difficult though with professors that don’t know how to use technology or when you have questions about something and have to email them because there are very little office hours.”
“I think during quarantine I do school work for maybe three days and am done, there isn’t a ton of extra studying because the pressure and stress of school is pretty much gone. I am actually liking it because I am a student that would skip class to sit and work on all the things that I had for all my classes. Now I don’t have to miss lectures because it’s all videoed and available for whenever I am.”
Darrin Gordon
Fourth-year
Business
“My workplace has shifted online. It is interesting because I was previously the online employee in my department. Last year, I was studying abroad in France. It was ended by the COVID-19 pandemic. So switching since [the stay-at-home order] has been easy but now interactions are increased. Since everyone else is online there is a lot more emails and some miscommunications.”
“Online classes for me have not been that bad. I am a student that prefers to have their own personal work and not group work so it’s been fine for me. I usually make coffee and sit down at my coffee table on the ground and work. Helps me get in the zone.”
“I would say [my study habits] have changed because it’s been hard for me to keep a steady schedule. Sleeping in and staying up late are not the best for homework thinking.”
Hannah Sacks
Second-year
Finance
“I moved back to my parents’ house down south and had to buy a desk for my room since I couldn’t study anywhere else. I liked to work in the library since there were little distractions there, but what can you do now with all this going on?”
“I’m taking 16 credits but my workload has been really lax. I feel that professors are intentionally making what we are expected to do a little easier since we are really being put at a disadvantage. There also isn’t much incentive to study crazy hard for quizzes or exams since most are open-book and ctrl + f is one hell of a drug.”
“I have been studying considerably less. My first round of midterm exams I studied a bit the few days before and I got low As. This most definitely will set the precedent for my motivation seeing I can put in extra low effort and still produce decent grades. I’m hoping my lack of motivation doesn’t get the best of me going forward.”
Cade Glauser
Second-year
Electrical Engineering
“My work space is smaller and now confined to just my room instead of using the library or other campus buildings.”
“With online classes I’ve been putting a lot less effort into schoolwork because of a lack of motivation mainly, just doing the bare minimum to pass.”
“My study habits have changed a good bit in the way that I’m just doing the bare minimum as I said earlier. I just focus on doing the graded quizzes instead of homework, but it is nice to have an asynchronous school schedule so I can study at whatever time I am available.”
