I believe that you’ve been dreaming about this moment at least a year ago. Finally say goodbye to high school, be accepted by a college, meet new people… but it’s going a little bit different from Rory Gilmore’s experience, and it’s all because of Covid19.
“I can’t concentrate in what I’m doing, I lose focus quickly and I have no motivation to study, which is harming my academic performance”, said Giulliana Mazzalli student of Journalism at Cásper Líbero. Starting college during a pandemic is being difficult for many students, so we made a research through a form asking freshmans from 6 different universities (Cásper Líbero, ESPM, PUC-SP, UNINOVE, UNIP and FATEC) about their personal experiences.
All of the 80 freshmans that answered the form said that they´re having online classes, with 93,8% preferring face to face classes. About the biggest difficulty that they’re having, most of them said: focus. Larissa Linhares, who does Biomedicine at Grupo Anchieta, told us about her trammels: “I get distracted without a teacher supervising me” .
Besides that, 44,4% of them are having problems socializing with their classmates and teachers. For Laiana Migliorini, freshman of Environment and Water Resources in FATEC “The biggest difficulty is not having contact with colleagues and teachers.” , but how every cloud has a silver lining, Giulia Howard, student of Journalism at Cásper Líbero, has a solution for this! “Be shameless, take a risk and talk with your classmates. Join the college institutions to make more friends and contacts.”.
Some other freshmans told their tricks that can help you too!
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Leave your phone away or put in silent mode. Notifications can take your concentration away;
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DO NOT watch the classes on your bed (a lot of temptation). Instead, turn the lights on, have breakfast and try to create an atmosphere of study!
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If you can, turn your webcam on, when you know that you are being observed is easier to keep focused!
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Be organized and make notes.
Plus, there are some Apps that you can use to improve your studies beyond the tips spoken:
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MyStudyLife: It’s like a planner where you can put in order your classes, exams, and tasks, you can use both on your desktop and on your phone. Personally, I’m using this and really helped me to be more organized!
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Flat Tomato – This app uses the Pomodoro Technique (25 minutes of study and a five-minute break) to improve productivity;
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Freedom – You’ll be able to block websites and apps that are distracting you, and focus on the things that really matters!
As a freshman I know that it is a little frustrating to pass the first year at home, with remote learning and social distancing. So I asked the other freshmans to say some encouraging words to inspire you! :)
Thais Bueno (Cásper Líbero, Journalism): “Enjoy everything you can enjoy, even if you are not in person and try new things because, after all, you only live once.”
Ana Laura Cavalcanti (UNIP, Architecture and Urbanism): “Don’t be discouraged and don’t give up!”
Guilherme P. Martins (ESPM, Marketing and Advertising): “Try to take as a new experience for your life, as many companies are likely to start using home office more and more.”
Pedro Angulo (Fatec, Environment and Water Resources): “Everything passes and this pandemic will also end, have positive thoughts!”
And last but not least, keep safe and protect yourself, you can save other lives too!
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The article above was edited by Lívia Carvalho.
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