How Many Hours Should A College Student Study

How long do you usually study? Two hours? Three? Or do you study until your body just can’t take it anymore? How a student perceives studying may be different from one another. 

For some, it is something that they look forward to, while for others, it is a daunting task due to the pressure that goes along with it. Students have different study habits. One differs from another but what we really need is an effective technique that would help you absorb all the information more efficiently. 

Here are some tips on how many hours a college student will study.

The Magic Number

To answer how long should you study, you need to know how many hours are spent in a class. According to a University consensus, for every hour spent in class, a student should spend 2 to 3 hours of studying. 

So let us say your subject is 2 hours long and 3 days per week, you need to study 12 hours to 18 hours per week for that specific subject. So that is roughly two hours of study time every day. Seems overwhelming, right? Goodbye Netflix.

Do I Really Need To Spend That Much Time?

Well, imagine if you will follow this rule and you have multiple courses to deal with. 24 hours would not even be enough to do all of it. So, what do you do? 

You need to evaluate what are the subjects that you are having trouble with. Once you determine this, try to focus on that particular subject and spend more time studying it. We are not saying that if it’s easy, you don’t study, just try to balance the time among all your subjects.

See What Works For You

Now an effective learning does not solely depend on the time you spend studying. Even if you try to study for the next 5 hours and the study technique is wrong, you might end up learning nothing, and you just wasted your time. 

What you need to do as well is find an effective study habit that would suit your learning ability. Some people prefer visuals, while others learn more by listening to the topic. Know what study method is effective for you, and you will see that the study time would start to drop as you are learning quicker and more effectively. We guess there is Netflix time after all.

Time Management Is The Key

Now, here is when most students fail. When they study, they spend more time checking their social media account than actually studying. You need to establish a good study habit in order for you to learn. 

The best way to manage your time is to create goals and use a planner. By using a planner, you would be able to plot the things you need to accomplish at a certain time. And you will also be reminded of the deadlines of your homework and projects. 

In addition, when setting a goal, you need to have both short-term and long-term ones. Let us say you have a project to finish on a certain deadline. Rather than doing everything all at the same time, try to break it down to a more manageable goal. That way, you would be able to gradually accomplish your task by the time the deadline arrives. You will be surprised that your project is already done.

Everything Has Its Limitations

According to a scientific study, our brain takes 30% of our energy each day. So what does this mean? It means your brain also has its limit, just like your phone with its batteries. 

If your brain feels like it had done enough, then it’s time to rest. Even if you try to push it further, your brain won’t process it anymore. So you’re better off taking a break and go back to studying once you have rested.

So remember, studying for longer periods does not guarantee that you will learn. You also need to pair it up with an effective study method and proper time management. 

By effectively combining all of these techniques, you would be able to understand your topics better and perform well in your class.