Study Groups

It’s the first Friday of the semester/quarter, and you’ve just had a long week of very boring classes all repeating the same syllabus information for hours. You want to take a nap, maybe finish unpacking, and go home. But instead, you’re going to take a few small steps and set yourself up for success for the semester.

Caveat, if this is your first semester at this school, ie, you don’t know anyone, then you need to start getting phone numbers on day two for study groups.

Study groups. They’re a a group comprised of a small number of students who are in the same class (preferably multiple same classes) who group think through assignments and term projects, support each other through reports, and help each other study. They meet regularly, are fun, and ensure that when finals week comes, everyone’s term papers are already done a month ago and you’ve been studying for the finals for the last 3 weeks. They’re one of the best things you can do to ensure success academically.

Most individuals wait until the first exam to start/join a study group, and some never do. However, that is wasting one of the most valuable things you can have, when used correctly, peer pressure. In particular, peer pressure to study.

When you’re in a study group, you regularly meet with individuals at the same time and same location every week to get homework done, study for exams, or just study the concepts. Everyone else is finishing the homework so you’ll finish yours, everyone else is finishing up their term papers, so you might as well, and finally, everyone else is getting 90+% on their exams so you better do well too.

I love study groups. I find people who have a lot of the same classes as me, so we’ll have similar schedules, and who seem like dependable and smart people. I’ll keep it small, maybe 2-3 people max initially, and let them know on which days we’re meeting up to do homework and work on term projects. If they’re not interested in meeting weeks 1 or 2, I’m not interested in them coming. I need people with matching energy for study groups.

When I’m in a study group the main goal is to get the assignment or objective done. We can talk, chat, and even pause, but, if at the end of our 2 hour session that homework is not done, now we have to stay overtime or I have to try to complete it at home and it’s due tomorrow. I have met my fair share of individuals who did not mesh well with the study groups and if they did not self-elect to stop coming, I did not extend them an invitation the next semester. I kept my groups small, tight, structured, and effective.

I’ve had people come up to me asking why they didn’t get an invite to my study group but either they didn’t show up to class so I didn’t know who they were when I was forming the groups, or I knew they always showed up late.

People would show up two hours late, because they knew where we were meeting, and suddenly we’re pressured to stick around and drag them through homework and concepts that we’ve already group thought through. This behaviour was rude and cut into our break time. Often on Fridays, I would start my day with a quiet study period from 9-10, then have study groups 10-12, with a 1 hour break, 2-3, 1 hour break, and finally, 4-6. If someone was consistently late, that meant none of us got our break before the next assignment was going to be worked on. Sometimes, on days when they were really late, it felt like it could end the group. However,, none of the study groups ever broke up because I would elect to stay behind with the late comer and help them through but it was tiresome and rude. Don’t be rude to your study group.

Also, sometimes you don’t meet the right person in a class. In that case, I’d study alone. I’d schedule the time in my calendar like a study group and show up at that time. It works but I prefer having the different perspective, strengths, and group thinking that study groups offered.

If you can, I suggest starting a study group with a couple of people who seem like they study and work similarly to you. Get their numbers and set up a time. If they don’t show, don’t cry about it, move on and get better grades. Also, don’t schedule it at someone’s home, there’s too many distractions. The library, a quiet unused classroom, a corner, or really anywhere with an outlet will work better.

Study groups are great. They’re not just for studying, they’re for homework, setting aside time to work on big projects, and socializing. They’re also great if you need backup for asking the teacher questions about some wacky questions they assigned. When you’ve got a great study group, it shows and people will want to join. Be generous with your time and energy and let a few people join but don’t start teaching the class.

If you’re invited to a study group, understand that it is a privilege you’re always on a trial basis. Don’t screw it up. Ask questions, answer questions, and show up on time. However, if you notice that you’re not contributing, only taking, schedule some extra time to get a head start on your assignments so people don’t get frustrated with you and remove you from the group.

If you’re the planner of the study group, always show up 10 minutes early, and I always reviewed the assignments before people got there, either the day before or during the 1 hour break, so that we could start out in the right direction.

Being in a good study group, or establishing a good study group, is one of the best things you can do to make each semester easier and ensure you never fall behind. I know that it can be annoying to meet on the weekend so try to plan all your study groups for Friday so your weekend can be for relaxing and fun. Good luck.