Surviving dead week: study tips from USU students

Utah State University students are nearing the close of another semester. Whether lacking motivation or still pushing through to the end, every USU student is spending some time studying during dead week.

Students are all given some study tips throughout their time at USU. However, not all of these tips work for each individual student. Although there are some students who choose not to spend their time studying, a great deal make studying their first priority.

Angela Inkley is one USU student who knows how studying can positively affect her.

“I’m one of those people that has to study. I think it is necessary to learning the material. I don’t enjoy it but I do it because I’ve noticed the positive impact that studying has on my grades and my attitude towards college in general,” she said.

Inkley’s two main tips when it comes to studying are avoiding procrastination and limiting distractions.

“Spread out the studying and don’t wait until the last minute. It saves you a lot of stress,” she said. “If you know what is distracting you from studying, get rid of it. If you can turn your phone off, do it.”

Sean McCarrey said that he has a love-hate relationship with studying.

“I sometimes struggle just simply focusing on the task at hand. I haven’t been able to have as much fun necessarily but it sure relieves a lot of stress knowing I’ve studied,” he said.

McCarrey’s advice to other students would be to waste less time on Netflix and do their best to focus.

“Once you start studying don’t stop. Also going over old tests if the teacher provides some is helpful,” he said.

McCarrey also often listens to music while he studies.

“I listen to music. It helps engage my brain and fills the silence,” he said.

Tawney Barfuss is another USU student who thinks that studying is essential to her college success.

“I actually like studying because I just focus on one thing for a couple of hours. However, if it requires more than a couple of hours, it is hard for me to stay motivated without taking a few breaks,” she said.

Barfuss said that her study habits become much more intense during dead week. Any free time she has is spent studying for her final exams.

“I don’t have much of a social life, but I am alright with that because the time I have spent studying has definitely paid off,” she said.

Barfuss said her study habits came from her dedication to completing her homework every night in high school. Since she has done homework and studied consistently for so long, it is now just a normal, daily activity for her.

“Every night I would do my math homework entirely and eventually, I developed the habit of doing that every night with every class,” she said. “If I didn’t have homework to do, I would still look at the material I had learned that day. I did that for six years and I still do it as a freshman in college, but a modified version.”

Barfuss said students should work to build up study habits and study in different ways in order to have the best results.

“Diversify your studying, don’t just do flashbacks. Find other ways to study the material so you don’t get bored,” she said. “Develop habits gradually. Don’t expect yourself to be able to study for three hours straight if you have never done it before. Build yourself up to that and take breaks when needed.”

— shelbstoor11@aggiemail.usu.edu

@shelbstoor11