1. Decide if your friends are good study buddies
Obviously, your friends are going to be the people that come to mind when you ask yourself, who should I study with? This can be a problem, because a) being surrounded by people that you like to talk to is fundamentally distracting, b) having too many friends studying with you is also an issue, and c) friends are not likely to hold you accountable when you’re distracted.
Instead of jumping straight to your friends, reflect on whether or not the friends you hang out with are good study buddies. It’s more important that you study with people who:
- can help you out with certain subjects
- are willing and eager to learn
- take their studies seriously
- bring something valuable to the study group
- have different strengths and weaknesses than you
In many cases, your friends are just that: your friends. And there’s nothing wrong with that – you want what’s best for yourself, obviously. It could be that your friend group knows how to separate their social lives from their academic lives, in which case you’re lucky.
2. Don’t study with too many people
I usually study with my friends – typically, a group of five people (yes, I’m quite lucky). However, at times, it does feel as though five is a crowd, so make sure you’re not inviting too many people to study with you. It’s a study session, not a lecture. Every person has their own, unique needs, and a good study group will take these needs into account and go over them for the individual. If you have too many people, this quirk is pretty much lost – that’s why you should aim for at least one other person, up to four other people. Five is a crowd, but with some direction, can be a great study group. Any more than that and it becomes hard.
3. Don’t be afraid to test the waters with people
If you’re just starting out studying with other people, then be prepared to either tell people you don’t like studying with them or have the same happen to you. Don’t take it personally – people have different study habits, and yours don’t always align with everybody else’s.
One good way to check if you’re compatible is to go to your tutorials and see who’s working on the problems and who’s just talking to their friends. If you see someone trudging through their problem set alone, then it might be a good idea to ask them to study with you later. On the other hand, if you’re sitting close to a group of people who are talking about things that, conveniently, have nothing to do with what you’re studying, then it might be in your best interests to skip them (for now).
Another quick way of checking is to compare notes. This can also mean looking around the lecture room and seeing who is actively listening and taking notes, and who is not paying attention. Someone who takes good-written, comprehensive notes is probably organised themselves, and will likely contribute to a group study session.
4. Decide on the best method of studying with your group
If you’ve already got a group of dedicated people studying with you, now you’re onto the next step: actually deciding how you want to study. If you want an active study group, then look into active studying methods, such as making flashcards to memorise concepts and taking turns to teach a part of a subject to the other members of the group. However, if your group wants to study by themselves, but with some company, that’s also no problem.
Remember that your study group has one goal: to study. If you’re stuck on something, or don’t understand a concept fully, don’t be afraid to ask your study buddies for help. That’s why it’s so important to study with people who have different skill sets – one person might be freakishly good at Calculus and another might be amazing at Dynamics, for example. Regardless of how you study, be it active or passive or everything in between, you can and should be asking questions to help you better understand what you’re studying.
5. Choose where to study
The University of Twente has many study spots, with some being perfect for group sessions. It’s important to choose where you’re studying with your group because this can limit your distractions. Choose a place that allows you to talk to your study group, somewhere removed from other study spots (if possible), and somewhere that has a clear intention attached to it. For example, if you (for whatever reason) decide to study in the little area in front of Subway in Bastille, then you’ll obviously get distracted because that’s not what most students use the place for – it’s a place to eat! However, if you go a little further from that and study in the dedicated studying spaces in Bastille (where you can talk), then everyone will know that you mean business and that you want to get work done.
It’s also important to mention that you and your group will probably want some sustenance to help you get through those sessions. Get a couple of healthy snacks, such as nuts and fruits and of course some water or energy drinks, but NO BEER OR ALCOHOL. I’ve seen someone chug down a can of Bacardi at two in the afternoon on a Tuesday after they had just sat down, books and all, and let me tell you that I think it had something to do with them promptly leaving ten minutes after that.
6. Ask yourself if studying in a group is for you
If you’ve read this far and are nodding to yourself, saying, "Yes, I’ll find people right away!", then it might be too late to ask this of yourself. Regardless, do you know if studying in a group is beneficial for you? Do you get distracted easily by other people when you’re working? Some people just work better alone, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Other people work better alone, but also like the company of their friends or other people, and there’s also nothing wrong with that. You don’t always have to study with a group, and it’s definitely recommended to get work done by yourself for the best results, but there’s no harm in meeting up once or twice a week to review what you’ve done and see if you missed anything. As long as you’re aware of the limitations of being in a group setting, and take the necessary precautions to even out those limitations, then you’re set.
