BY ANDREW KRUSZKA, STAFF WRITER
Here’s an actual stat for you, and no, it’s not “fake news.” I’m not quite sure if that phrase is being used anymore, but it will forever live in our heads, rent-free, of course. On average, you will perform one-third of a letter grade better on an exam if you study. That one-third number is seen to exemplify a percentage difference of three to four percent.
This study was performed by psychology scholars at Stanford University. If you don’t believe it, please indulge yourself with the research to know. I don’t just come up with theories. The website is news.stanford.edu. See for yourself.
Now, it’s understandable that putting in a few hours to study might not be worth three to four percent on a random exam that might not mean anything in your future. Especially when you could be watching your favorite television show or playing a game on your phone. Though I’ll argue, it might.
We, as students in college, want to have fun. We want to make the most out of our experiences here at St. Bonaventure, especially. As we see, though, being a college student that performs well on exams, hard course work and presentations does not come from partying 25/8. I understand I sound like a nerd right now, but listening to that Stanford study, is probably your best option.
I’ll say this. I’m not telling you that all you have to do in college is study. That’s exactly what I’m not saying. What I am saying is just as you pay all of this money to attend a university like St. Bonaventure, to get an experience and to be extraordinary here, you also pay to get this glorious education that is provided. Use it, don’t abuse it.
Even if you’re not paying for your own education. Maybe you have scholarships, or you get help otherwise. The money is still getting paid to St. Bonaventure so you will be provided with this education. As my famous (they’re not so famous) 7th grade Science teacher said to me many years ago, “most of the time, the education is there for you to take it. Do with it what you would like. I’ll lead the horse to the water, but I cannot force that horse to be thirsty.” This is wisdom that we, as students, should take with a grain of salt but also seriously as well.
I’ll close with this story that has recently happened to me and is the reason this magnificent idea came to my head. I have not taken an exam in a course here at college in over three semesters. Most of that reason is that when you’re an Education and History major, you do a lot more research-based work such as writing papers, doing lesson/unit plans, and making presentations rather than taking tests.
This being my last semester, I am enrolled in a Biology course. This is the first science class that I’ve taken since my junior year of high school and my first Biology class in eight years. That being said, I knew that I would have to study a lot because, like many of you, I’m paying to go to school. I would like to do the best that I can. The time came when I had to take my first Biology exam, like some of you did this past Friday. I ended up spending most of last week studying for this exam, and with a lot of studying, although I have not got my score back, I believe that I did really well, and I got an even higher score than the 3-4% difference that the study from Stanford showed.
Some of you may be struggling with a class and wondering whether to withdraw or not. My advice to you is: talk to your instructor, seek a tutor, ask other classmates and, oh yes, in conclusion, study.
