Effective Study Methods for College Students: A Research-Based Guide

Many students find that the study habits they developed in high school aren’t as effective in college. The college environment differs significantly, with less personal involvement from professors, larger classes, more rigorous coursework, and exams that carry greater weight. Fortunately, there are numerous active and effective study strategies that can significantly improve your learning and performance in college. This guide offers several tips on effective studying, informed by research and designed to help you learn more efficiently and effectively. Experiment with these strategies to find what works best for you.

Understanding Active vs. Passive Studying Techniques

It's crucial to distinguish between active and passive study methods. Simply reading and re-reading texts or notes is not actively engaging with the material. It is simply re-reading your notes. Only ‘doing’ the readings for class is not studying. It is simply doing the reading for class. Think of reading as an important part of pre-studying, but learning information requires actively engaging in the material (Edwards, 2014). Active engagement is the process of constructing meaning from text that involves making connections to lectures, forming examples, and regulating your own learning (Davis, 2007). Active studying does not mean highlighting or underlining text, re-reading, or rote memorization.

Key Strategies for Effective Studying

1. Active Studying Techniques

Active studying involves engaging with the material in a way that forces you to think critically and apply what you're learning. Here are some effective active studying techniques:

Create a study guide by topic: Organize your materials by subtopics provided in the syllabus. Gather all relevant materials for one topic (e.g., PowerPoint notes, textbook notes, articles, homework) and compile them together.
Formulate questions and problems and write complete answers: This forces you to think deeply about the material and articulate your understanding.
Become a teacher: Explain the material in your own words, as if you are teaching it to someone else. This will highlight areas where you are confused and need more information. As you explain, use examples and make connections between concepts. It is okay (even encouraged) to do this with your notes in your hands.
Study in terms of question, evidence, and conclusion: Identify the question posed by the instructor/author, the evidence presented, and the conclusion drawn.

2. The Study Cycle

The Study Cycle, developed by Frank Christ, breaks down the different parts of studying: previewing, attending class, reviewing, studying, and checking your understanding. Understanding the importance of all stages of this cycle will help make sure you don’t miss opportunities to learn effectively. For example, you may skip a reading before class because the professor covers the same material in class; doing so misses a key opportunity to learn in different modes (reading and listening) and to benefit from the repetition and distributed practice (see #3 below) that you’ll get from both reading ahead and attending class.

3. Distributed Practice (Spaced Repetition)

One of the most impactful learning strategies is “distributed practice”-spacing out your studying over several short periods of time over several days and weeks (Newport, 2007). The most effective practice is to work a short time on each class every day. The total amount of time spent studying will be the same (or less) than one or two marathon library sessions, but you will learn the information more deeply and retain much more for the long term-which will help get you an A on the final. The important thing is how you use your study time, not how long you study.

Read also: Comprehensive Work-Study Info

Implement a daily study schedule: Keeping a list of tasks to complete on a daily basis will help you to include regular active studying sessions for each class. Try to do something for each class each day. For example, you may do a few problems per day in math rather than all of them the hour before class. In history, you can spend 15-20 minutes each day actively studying your class notes. Thus, your studying time may still be the same length, but rather than only preparing for one class, you will be preparing for all of your classes in short stretches.
Combat procrastination: Spacing out your work helps stave off procrastination. Rather than having to face the dreaded project for four hours on Monday, you can face the dreaded project for 30 minutes each day. The shorter, more consistent time to work on a dreaded project is likely to be more acceptable and less likely to be delayed to the last minute.
Use flashcards for memorization: If you have to memorize material for class (names, dates, formulas), it is best to make flashcards for this material and review periodically throughout the day rather than one long, memorization session (Wissman and Rawson, 2012).

4. Intensive Study Sessions

Not all studying is equal. You will accomplish more if you study intensively. Intensive study sessions are short and will allow you to get work done with minimal wasted effort. In fact, one of the most impactful study strategies is distributing studying over multiple sessions (Newport, 2007). Intensive study sessions can last 30 or 45-minute sessions and include active studying strategies. For example, self-testing is an active study strategy that improves the intensity of studying and efficiency of learning. On the other hand, if you plan to quiz yourself on the course material for 45 minutes and then take a break, you are much more likely to maintain your attention and retain the information. Furthermore, the shorter, more intense sessions will likely put the pressure on that is needed to prevent procrastination.

One effective method for maintaining concentration and avoiding burnout is the Pomodoro Technique. This time management method breaks your study sessions into 25-minute intervals, separated by short 5-minute breaks. After four sessions, take a longer break of 15-30 minutes to recharge.

5. Effective Learning Environment

Know where you study best: The silence of a library may not be the best place for you. It’s important to consider what noise environment works best for you. You might find that you concentrate better with some background noise. Some people find that listening to classical music while studying helps them concentrate, while others find this highly distracting. The point is that the silence of the library may be just as distracting (or more) than the noise of a gymnasium. Switch up your study environment: This might not seem like a promising strategy for how to study effectively, but studies show that switching up your environment can increase recall performance.2 Instead of studying at home every day, try checking out a new coffee spot each week or heading to your local library.
Eliminate distractions: In order to study smarter, not harder, you will need to eliminate distractions during your study sessions. Social media, web browsing, game playing, texting, etc. will severely affect the intensity of your study sessions if you allow them! Eliminating the distractions will allow you to fully engage during your study sessions. If you don’t need your computer for homework, then don’t use it. Use apps to help you set limits on the amount of time you can spend at certain sites during the day. Turn your phone off.
Know when and where you study best: It may be that your focus at 10:00 PM. is not as sharp as at 10:00 AM. Perhaps you are more productive at a coffee shop with background noise, or in the study lounge in your residence hall. Have a variety of places in and around campus that are good study environments for you. That way wherever you are, you can find your perfect study spot.
Find a space that is free of distractions and has all the materials and supplies you need on hand.

6. Self-Testing and Retrieval Practice

Creating a quiz for yourself will help you to think like your professor. What does your professor want you to know? Quizzing yourself is a highly effective study technique. Make a study guide and carry it with you so you can review the questions and answers periodically throughout the day and across several days. Identify the questions that you don’t know and quiz yourself on only those questions. Say your answers aloud. This will help you to retain the information and make corrections where they are needed.
Active Recall: Instead of passively re-reading notes or textbooks, active recall forces you to retrieve information from memory. By actively testing yourself on the material, you strengthen neural connections, which makes it easier to recall information during exams.
Retrieval practice is a studying technique based on remembering at a later time.5 Recalling an answer to a question improves learning more than looking for the answer in your textbook. If you practice retrieval, you are more likely to remember the information later. Craft unique questions: Be your teacher and create questions you think would be on a test. Use flashcards: Create flashcards, but practice your retrieval technique.
The Leitner System is one of the best study techniques based on flashcards.9 Ideally, keep your cards in several boxes to track when to study each set. Every card starts in Box 1. If you get a card right, move it to the next box.

7. Techniques for Technical Courses

Working and re-working problems is important for technical courses (e.g., math, economics). In technical courses, it is usually more important to work problems than read the text (Newport, 2007). In class, write down in detail the practice problems demonstrated by the professor. Annotate each step and ask questions if you are confused. When preparing for tests, put together a large list of problems from the course materials and lectures. For technical courses, do the sample problems and explain how you got from the question to the answer. Re-do the problems that give you trouble.

8. Planning and Organization

Calendar Control: If you are in control of your calendar, you will be able to complete your assignments and stay on top of your coursework. Determine whether your list can be completed in the amount of time that you have available. (You may want to put the amount of time expected to complete each assignment.) Make adjustments as needed. For example, if you find that it will take more hours to complete your work than you have available, you will likely need to triage your readings. Completing all of the readings is a luxury. You will need to make decisions about your readings based on what is covered in class. You should read and take notes on all of the assignments from the favored class source (the one that is used a lot in the class). This may be the textbook or a reading that directly addresses the topic for the day. Before going to bed each night, make your plan for the next day.
Beware of ‘easy’ weeks: This is the calm before the storm. Lighter work weeks are a great time to get ahead on work or to start long projects. Use the extra hours to get ahead on assignments or start big projects or papers. You should plan to work on every class every week even if you don’t have anything due. In fact, it is preferable to do some work for each of your classes every day. Spending 30 minutes per class each day will add up to three hours per week, but spreading this time out over six days is more effective than cramming it all in during one long three-hour session.
Having a study plan with set goals can help you feel more prepared and can give you a roadmap to follow.

9. Interleaving

Instead of studying one subject for a long period, try interleaving, which involves switching between different subjects or topics during a study session. The brain does, however, benefit from novelty. "This is what's called interleaving," Mauk said. "Spend 40 minutes on one subject, then take a little break, 40 minutes on the other and take a little break. Or, if a student doesn't interleave, they can study for 40 minutes, take an hour and 40-minute break, and study again for 40 minutes.

10. The Feynman Technique

Named after the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, the Feynman Technique is a method for deepening your understanding of difficult topics by teaching them. The process involves breaking down complex ideas into simple terms that even a beginner could understand.

11. Cornell Note-Taking System

The Cornell Note-Taking System is a highly effective way to organize lecture notes in a way that improves comprehension and makes review easier.

12. SQ3R and PQ4R Methods

The SQ3R method can be one of the best studying techniques to help students identify key facts and retain information within their textbook. Question: Formulate questions around the chapter’s content, such as: What is this chapter about? Recite: After reading a section, summarize in your own words what you just read. Review: Once you have finished the chapter, review the material to fully understand it.
Similar to the SQ3R method, PQ4R is an acronym that stands for the six steps in the process.7 It’s one of the best study methods because it takes an active approach to learning. Preview: Preview the information before you start reading to get an idea of the subject. Question: Ask yourself questions related to the topic, such as: What do I expect to learn? Reflect: Did you answer all of your questions?

13. Assess, Organize, Convey & Review

Assess & Study: Review what you wrote and identify areas where you were wrong.
Organize, Convey & Review: Lastly, if there are any areas in your writing where you used technical terms or complex language, go back and rewrite these sections in simpler terms for someone who doesn’t have the educational background you have.

14. Mind Mapping

Messy notes can make it hard to recall the critical points of a lecture. Writing in color is one of the best study methods because it’s a dynamic way to organize new information.
If you’re a visual learner, try mind mapping. It’s one of the most effective study techniques because it allows you to visually organize information in a diagram.11 First, you write a word in the center of a blank page. From there, you write main ideas and keywords and connect them directly to the central concept. The structure of a mind map is related to how our brains store and retrieve information. Connect sub-branches of supporting ideas to your main branch. This is the association of ideas.

15. The Importance of Sleep, Exercise, and Nutrition

Before you experiment with any of the different studying methods we discuss, create the conditions in your body and external environment to learn and retain information.

Get a good night’s sleep: A 2019 study found a positive relationship between students’ grades and how much sleep they’re getting.
Sleep is crucial for brain function, memory formation, and learning. “When you are awake, you learn new things, but when you are asleep, you refine them, making it easier to retrieve them and apply them correctly when you need them most. When you’re asleep, the brain organizes your memories.
Exercise fights fatigue and can increase energy levels.13 If you’re struggling with how to study effectively, consider adding an exercise routine to your day. It doesn’t have to be a full hour at the gym. It can be a 20-minute workout at home or a brisk walk around your neighborhood. Anything to get your heart rate pumping.
Snack on smart food: Coffee and candy will give you a temporary boost, but then you’ll have a blood sugar crash.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Cramming: Some students believe in cramming - long study sessions the night before an exam that involve reviewing as much material as possible. "Cramming is fine if you need to remember it for about three hours," Mauk said. Instead of cramming, students should study every night using recall techniques. These recall-focused study sessions, done the day of learning material, cut off the process of forgetting.
Multitasking: Junco, R., & Cotten, S. R. (2012). No A 4 U: The relationship between multitasking and academic performance.
Rereading: "The problem with repeated rereading, which is what most students do to study, is that it gives you a false sense of familiarity.
Studying in the same quiet location: Research has shown that some "common sense" study techniques - such as always reading in the same quiet location, or spending hours at a time concentrating on one subject - don't promote long-term learning.

Additional Tips for Success

Online Exam Checklist: Online exams present a unique set of logistical challenges, whether you are home or on-campus. Be prepared!
Learning from Online Lectures and Discussions: Successful online learners, like all learners, have a growth mindset!
Online Group Work: Just because you aren’t in the same room (or country!), doesn’t mean that you can’t collaborate effectively. Just like with any kind of group work- for online group work to be successful it helps if you think through, in advance, the ground rules for how you will work together.
Seek Support: You don’t have to struggle through difficult material on your own. As our guide to pursuing a biology major explains, “Be proactive about identifying areas where you need assistance and seek out that assistance immediately. There are multiple resources to help you, including your professors, tutors, and fellow classmates. Your fellow students are likely going through the same struggles that you are.
Metacognition: It might take a bit of time (and trial and error!) to figure out what study methods work best for you. Schwab recommends trying different strategies through the process of metacognition. As you read or listen, take additional notes about new information, such as related topics the material reminds you of or potential connections to other courses.
Realistic Goals: Setting specific goals along the way of your studying journey can show how much progress you’ve made. Realistic: It’s important that your goals be realistic so you don’t get discouraged.

Learning from Graded Work

What to do when you get your graded test (or essay) back: Whether the score you earned makes you want to jump for joy or curl up into a ball, learning from your graded work is an incredibly valuable opportunity. Do not, repeat DO NOT, immediately toss or file away the test or essay you just got back!

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