The Top Three Reasons College Students Don’t Study

As a college dean, the number one complaint I hear from college instructors is that their students do not study enough. There are three main reasons. Students lack study skills, they lack motivation, or they lack the self-discipline and procrastinate.

Many, many books have been written about study skills. A recent Barnes & Noble search for “study skills” identified 7,164 books. The same search term on Amazon.com came up with 68,202 books. With all that has been published on this topic, why do so many college students lack study skills?

Before I answer that question, let me refer to the study skills course I taught at my previous college. Over a 3-year period, only one student told me she got a lot out of my class. She was the only one who ever thanked me! Yet Ireceived extremely good student evaluations, so how could this be? This returning adult student had a perfect 4.000 Grade Point Average. The reason she appreciated the course was because she learned techniques to help her study more efficiently.

That’s right. Study skills books are not helpful! And this statement is coming from a college educator who is building a website entitled Keys for College Success. Am I wasting my time?

Study skills books are not helpful to the students who need them the most. These are the students who do not know how to study books! Think of it this way. Can a student learn Arabic by reading a book written in Arabic? I think not!

There are alternatives. Most colleges offer study skills tutoring. Courses like the one I taught help students gain study skills. They should be required for students who lack study skills. Still, students must be motivated to seek this help.

The best way to teach young people is to teach them in their world. Smart phones are a big part of their world. I am not aware of any study skills smart phone apps, but there are apps that help students schedule their study time and track their grades.

Another alternative is videos. Videos like The 5 Steps to Study Skills Success Series is one such option.

Another alternative is videos. Videos like The 5 Steps to Study Skills Success Series is one such option.

This is a broad and encompassing topic, one of great significance. There are many reasons many college students lack motivation. However, this issue extends far beyond the scope of this article, so I will not attempt to address it.

If you are interested in student motivation, leave me a comment to that effect. I will do my best to condense the volumes written on this topic to a few useful facts.

If students possess basic study skills, and if they are motivated to learn, there is hope. A motivated student can overcome procrastination. I have shared these five techniques with my students.

The key to overcoming procrastination is to GET SMART.

1. Start Small – Schedule study time and commit to 5 or 10 minutes. Don’t make firm commitments beyond that time, but strictly adhere to your schedule. Getting started is the hardest part of studying. If you can get started, you can often continue. The key is to only commit to 5 or 10 minutes. This was you do not feel guilty of you opt out after a few minutes. No one likes to fail at their goals. Students should not set goals they know they cannot meet. But everyone can promise themselves to study just 5 or 10 minutes. That is not a difficult promise to keep.
2. Be Your Own Mother – Times have changed, but when I was a kid the first thing mom would ask when I got home from school was, “Do you have any homework?” I had to complete my homework before going out to play. In college, mom is not around. College students should be their own mom. They should ask themselves if they are pleasing their self-surrogate mother.
3. Choose the Right Atmosphere – Study in a quiet location without distractions. Many will be tempted to listen to their iPod. Hopefully, the first tip, start small, will help them turn off the music for a few minutes.
4. Give Yourself a Reward – Diligent study time is worthy of a reward. Reward yourself with things you value. During my doctoral program I had many boring books to read. On Saturdays I also had personal plans. I would reward myself for completing one chapter of a reading assignment by checking my email. I would reward myself for completing a draft of a paper by going the Lowes to buy that new tool I wanted. I would junk out my assignments and my rewards so I got several rewards during the day and did not force myself to study continuously throughout the day.
5. Tell a Friend – Make a commitment to a friend. It does not need to be a study partner, just someone with whom you have a close relationship. When I ran my first marathon, I told my work colleagues that I was going to complete the Chicago Marathon. Some laughed. Others were encouraging. Bottom line: I could not look any of them in the face again if I failed my goal.