Almost every time I ask someone what topic they would want to read about on a college blog, they mention studying. If you’ve thought things like this before:
"I don't have time to study." "I spend too much time studying and still don't do well on tests." "I didn't really have to study in high school, so how am I supposed to know how to study in college?"
You are not alone!
This is MY 20TH BLOG POST and I wanted to do some sort of fun list of “20 somethings”, so I thought what better list than 20 studying tips!
I reached out to my friends in college and asked them for a studying tip they would give to college students and compiled this list. Many of my friends had lots of good advice to share, so this is 20+ studying tips from roughly 20 college students 😉
Without further ado (in no particular order)… here are 20+ study tips from 20 college students:
LOCATION IS EVERYTHING
1. “Finding places outside of my dorm room to study was huge because I get easily distracted by other things I could be doing like cleaning something or watching TV. Find somewhere else to work like the library or a coffee shop where you won’t get distracted.” – Shelby, Missouri State University student
2. “Rotate study locations to see different people, find new inspiration, and learn something new!” – Aubrey, Missouri State University student
3. “Going to the library to get work done helps you lock in way more. Find a good spot and focus on what you need to get done.” – Jackson, Tarleton State University student
KEEP TRACK OF EVERYTHING
4. “Create a calendar/list system with all of your assignments due each week at the beginning of the semester when you receive your syllabus and class schedule. This way you know what is due each week and you’re able to visualize when you should start working on each assignment given the intensity of the assignment. You are able to save time and your sanity by doing this advance.
Along with that, I have found it incredibly helpful to delegate your commitments on a weekly schedule. I add events for classes, social activities, and homework time. This helps me know where I should be and when.
I also highly suggest to add a block of time to work on any online classes! Since you don’t have to be anywhere at a certain for online classes is can be easy to forget about them. By making a specific time each week you are able to have the self-discipline to keep up with it.” – Hannah, Missouri State University student
5. “Have a calendar system to write important dates down. iPhone calendar, physical copy of a planner, whiteboard calendar, google calendar, to-do list, etc.” – Maddie, Missouri State University student
6. “Look ahead and plan out your semester. chances are you have a big paper at the end of the semester. start writing it early!!! You’ll thank yourself later. Be disciplined!” – Moriah, Regent University student
7. “Lists lists lists. Make a to do list for you weeks/days to stay focused.” – Moriah, Regent University student
8. “Use an assignment tracker!!! There’s google sheet and excel templates you can download and put all your assignments into. You can choose to organize by class, due date, etc. And it’s cool to see how many assignments you have completed in the semester so far!” – Jaylen, University of Texas student
TIME MANAGEMENT
9. “If there's ever down time during class or between classes, use it to just go ahead and knock out some work! Even if it's only a paragraph! Then you don't have to add on more to that evening.” - Emily, Texas A&M University student
10. “My classes start early in the morning and go late into the evening, so taking advantage of my time between classes is crucial. I don’t like walking from place to place to study, so I’ll just find a spot outside the classroom I’m about to go into and get stuff done before class starts.” – Jaylen, University of Texas student
11. “Always expect things in your schedule to take longer than you anticipate. I try to plan out my days and get frustrated when they don’t go exactly how I planned them, so just alot more time than you think you need. Things always last longer or are slower than you think.” – Sarah, Missouri State University student
12. “Assign each day of the week to a specific course. This helps me focus on one subject, not get confused and gives me a realistic expectation of finishing my work for a specific class each day.” – Moriah, Regent University student
13. “Get into the habit of not procrastinating, and put your phone on “do not disturb” when you’re working. It’s rewarding to build new habits for college and kill old, bad ones from high school.” – Julia, Tarrant County College student
14. “Take effective breaks. There’s so much I have to do, sometimes a “break” looks like meal prepping for the week or doing laundry. Just do something that stimulates a different part of the brain.” – Jaylen, University of Texas student
15. “Actually schedule time to do homework/study like it’s any other obligation you have (class, a meeting, church, etc.) and treat it as such. This means you might have to say no to some things if it’s during your “study time”. If you know you’re productive in the morning, plan to get work done then!” – Emma, Missouri State University student
16. “Study for 45 minutes then take a 15 minute break.
The 45 minutes of studying is with your undivided attention on the course work at hand. No phone, no music, no distractions. Just you reading and going over the course material for 45 minutes. Set a timer and display it on your computer so you can watch the count down.
Once the 45 minutes is up, start your 15 minutes of break time. During this time do something that your mind will find rewarding. Going for a walk around the library. Treating yourself to a snack. Watching tik tok. Whatever it is, it needs to be a reward so your mind knows that studying pays off!!!!!” – Lexi, Missouri State University student
USE WHITE BOARDS!
17. “The study method that I’ve been loving lately is using my library’s white boards and writing out a summarized version of my notes (usually based on a study guide) out on the white board.
Writing is remembering a lot of the times and putting things on a board makes it feel like it’s important, so I take extra effort looking through my notes to come up with a short but effective way to make the point, which also helps me remember it.” – Katelyn, Lubbock Christian University student
18. “White boards are such a valuable thing when studying! You can word dump all the things you know on the white board then visualize what you don’t know. You can utilize a whiteboard as a checklist of things you need to complete before leaving. You can form studying groups and all work together on solving a problem/question. You can color and draw when you need a break. Expo markers and white boards are so helpful when studying.” – Lexi, Missouri State University student
NOTE-TAKING
19. “Find the best way for note taking (iPad, physical notebook, computer…) Everyone prefers something different. Choose which one helps you the most!” – Maddie, Missouri State University student
20. “This semester I’ve started printing out my notes. I used to copy down slides before class and I realized it was a waste of time so now I print slides out before class. I always thought I wouldn’t retain the info as well if I didn’t hand write stuff, so I never printed slides. But it’s much more efficient and then you can catch the extra important info the professor says.” – Sarah, Missouri State University student
PREPARING FOR EXAMS
21. “Physical or digital flashcards are a great way to study vocab terms! I’ve also found printing out study guides helps me write down more important information and study before an exam.” – Maddie, Missouri State University student
22. “Teach the content to someone else! If you can explain it, you really know it!” – Jayne, Florida State University graduate
USE YOUR RESOURCES!
23. “Take advantage of every study resource! Every university is going to have different resources open to their students but there’s often more help out there than you think! Check with your advisor or professors for any additional resources such as out of class study sessions, free tutors, subject specific help centers, and don’t be afraid to reach out to classmates for help too!” – Lilly, Samford University student
24. “Going to office hours really helps. For my science classes, some people say to go to all the office hours, but I say go to the office hours with the professors that you admire or if you want to be in their research lab. If you want to have a connection with them and value their opinion, or maybe want to model your career path off of theirs, then going to office hours is worth it.
And, if you’re struggling, office hours are helpful because the professor will actually explain things. It may not be like high school where you can get points back for going over questions you missed on a test, but it’s still so valuable to know why you got something wrong.” – Jaylen, University of Texas student
Find What Works for YOU!
25. “Figure out your most efficient study method for each subject early on in the semester and stick with it. Since everyone takes different classes that vary in skills and content, there’s no one-size-fits-all method that you can apply for every subject.
I’ve found that the most efficient way for me to master content in calculus and physics is to do practice problems over and over, but for more literary subjects like history or architecture, I use different memorization methods.
Along with this, being in study groups can be great for those math/science classes where you can check each other’s work and discuss, but you may need to study independently for subjects where the assignments are based on your individual interpretations of the text.
It may take a while to figure out what strategies work best for you, but doing so will yield more consistent results and save you time studying in the long run.” – Sofia, University of Texas student
And there you have it, folks! Over 20 study tips from college students!
A huge THANK YOU to everyone that contributed to this list: Aubrey, Emily, Hannah, Jackson, Jaylen, Jayne, Julia, Katelyn, Lexi, Lilly, Maddie, Moriah, Sarah, Shelby, and Sofia.
Test out one of these tips this week and leave a comment explaining how it worked for you. What are other things you have found helpful for studying?