4A - Forming an Opportunity Belief

Assignment 4A - Forming an Opportunity Belief

1) I do have an opportunity belief, being that college students either do not know how to study efficiently or they often procrastinate when it comes to studying for exams, leading them to do poorly. This can also be because of the overwhelming schedule that students have, when it comes to doing extracurricular activities, holding a job, engaging in a social events, or maintaining a healthy lifestyle. This is an issue that I have been dealing with myself, and coping with extraneous amounts of stress can be difficult. This leads people to study very little for exams or not study at all, however, procrastination in all areas seems to be a common theme for many college students. People need to have a better, more organized way to study for their exams so that they can do well. I am very sure (99.99999%) that this opportunity exists.

Interview 1: A college freshman who is in their second semester at UF.

Question: How many days before an exam would you say that you start studying?
Answer: "I tend to study a few days before an exam, typically 2 - 3 days".

Question: What is your major that you are undertaking currently?
Answer: "Currently, I am a computer science major."

Question: How many hours a day do you dedicate to doing work outside of lecture?
Answer: "I try to spend at least 1 - 2 hours a day studying, depending on my homework load".

Question: Are you aware of any websites that help you with studying?
Answer: "Yes, I have heard about Study Edge and there are some helpful YouTube videos that I use to help me with studying".

Question: Would you classify yourself as a procrastinator?
Answer: "I don't think so - depending on what you mean by that really. I don't like to leave things last minute because it can be highly stressful".

Question: Do you participate in any other outside extracurricular activities?
Answer: "I am in a few clubs and I enjoy playing basketball when I get the chance".

Question: Do you have a job?
Answer: "No, not currently."

Question: Do you think it would be beneficial if there existed a website that allowed you to both manage your time especially when it came to the days leading up to an important exam?
Answer: "Of course, that would be incredibly helpful."

Reflection 1: After interviewing a freshman who is still particularly new to how the college experience is, I have realized that there is a need for a method of making studying more efficient. College students place a lot of importance on exams in particular because they make up such a large portion of grades, and it can be extremely harmful to procrastinate and do poorly. Just messing up on one exam can drastically change the outcome of your grade.

Interview 2: A junior in college who is studying chemical engineering.

Question: How many days before an exam would you say that you start studying?
Answer: "About a week or two, depending on how comfortable I am with the content."

Question: What is your major that you are undertaking currently?
Answer: "Chemical engineering"

Question: How many hours a day do you dedicate to doing work outside of lecture?
Answer: "I would say about 3 hours a day including any homework assignments. If I am just studying, then maybe a couple extra hours."

Question: Are you aware of any websites that help you with studying?
Answer: "Oh yeah plenty...I use Chegg for homework, Study Edge, Smoking Notes, YouTube, and much more."

Question: Would you classify yourself as a procrastinator?
Answer: "Yes, but I can manage with my workload."

Question: Do you participate in any other outside extracurricular activities?
Answer: "I play Tennis on the weekends and I also love to play guitar."

Question: Do you have a job?
Answer: "Yes, I am a tutor on Chegg."

Question: Do you think it would be beneficial if there existed a website that allowed you to both manage your time especially when it came to the days leading up to an important exam?
Answer: "Yeah, a time management app, or a way that would allow me to organize a study schedule would be highly beneficial for me."

Reflection 2: After interviewing this student, I found that they studied a bit more than the freshman student. This goes to show just how important exams are and how the content gets much more difficult as you progress through college. This student was more concerned on a way to manage time, and it also allowed me to realize just how much competition there already is when it comes to apps or websites used for studying.

Interview 3: A graduate student who is currently undertaking classes to get their MBA.

Question: How many days before an exam would you say that you start studying?
Answer: "For major exams, I usually start studying right away as soon as we begin. About a week before, I will look back and review things that I had particular trouble understanding the first time around."

Question: What is your major that you are undertaking currently?
Answer: "I am in the graduate program trying to get my MBA."

Question: How many hours a day do you dedicate to doing work outside of lecture?
Answer: "About 4 - 5 hours on days that I don't have work. If I do, then 2 or 3."

Question: Are you aware of any websites that help you with studying?
Answer: "Oh yea plenty. Quizlet, Chegg, Study Edge - that was life saver - and I utilize YouTube a lot as well."

Question: Would you classify yourself as a procrastinator?
Answer: "No, definitely not. That's way to stressful for me."

Question: Do you participate in any other outside extracurricular activities?
Answer: "I do, I love making music, playing guitar, playing golf, watching Netflix - if you consider that an extracurricular activity."

Question: Do you have a job?
Answer: "Yes."

Question: Do you think it would be beneficial if there existed a website that allowed you to both manage your time especially when it came to the days leading up to an important exam?
Answer: "Oh for sure. Time management was something that I struggled a lot with especially when I was an undergraduate student. I remember that I had really bad study habits and actually almost failed my first round of exams freshman year just because I neglected to study."

Reflection 3: This student too sees the importance of an app that would allow her to manage her time more efficiently. However, like the chemical engineer, there already seems to be a plethora of website available that allow people to better understand certain school topics.

Summary: After conducting my interviews, I still have the opportunity belief that there is a need for an app or website that would better allow students to manage their time and their levels of stress. Exams are such an important aspect of college because they make up so much of your grade and often determine your level of success. However, after talking to potential customers, I have found that competition is very high for a website / app that would provide content to help people study, and that I should probably focus my attention solely on a method that would allow people to organize their workload and would allow them to officially student and manage their time properly that would be best suitable for their success. It is always important that an entrepreneur adapt their ideas based on what customers want because after all, you have to create something that people would actually want and could utilize.