We Asked Y(O)U Answered: What are Your Study Habits?
Being a student in school looks different for everyone. Some students thrive as night owls, as they stay up late to study or complete assignments. Others are early risers who thrive on getting their work done in the morning. Many hope to be those students who complete their work well in advance but ultimately get stuck in the procrastination cycle (it happens to the best of us!) From color-coded review sheets to last-minute cram sessions, every student has their unique methods to success. With so many different approaches, The Commentator asked students what their go-to study habits are.
Monica Sonbolian (SCW ‘27)
Major: Childhood Education
“I am a morning person and prefer to get as much work out of the way then, so that at night I can focus on studying. For classes that are heavy in memorization, I always make a review sheet and break it up over several days to memorize in small chunks while highlighting and annotating. When it comes to more conceptual classes, I take the time to try and understand the material and then I review the information out loud with a friend. Doing that is always so helpful and a fun way to study! I believe it’s so important to start studying well in advance of the exam to avoid feeling overwhelmed at the amount of material one needs to know. My go-to study spots at Stern are the downstairs library in a study room with friends or in the Writing Center in 215!”
Uriel Sussman (YC ‘25)
Major: Philosophy
Minor: Math and Jewish Studies
“As the President of Yeshiva College Student Council, I tend to be pretty busy with my schoolwork and other responsibilities and I’m typically at night seder until 11. I try to get most of my work done on the weekends, but when that fails (which is often) you can usually find me on the fifth floor of the library whenever I’m not in class or morning/night seder. During finals, I often spend the whole day in the library doing research (with real books!!) and writing papers.”
Aviva Schreiber (SCW ‘27)
Major: History
Minor: Psychology
“My study habits have changed a lot since starting Stern. My study strategy is to begin work almost immediately after getting an assignment and to make sure I never save studying for the day before an exam. I use Google Calendar to map out all of my due dates and exam dates. I also use it to help me allot time to spend studying for each class. It’s not always a perfect system but Baruch Hashem it has been working so far! I am definitely a night owl but I feel most productive in the mornings, so I try my best to get work done in the mornings. I spend a lot of time studying in my room but I am also a big fan of the 245 library!”
Tani Lewis (SSSB ‘25)
Major: Finance
Minor: Strategy
“My study habits consist mostly of studying on the way to the test. If you do it at the last minute, it only takes a minute. This is because I was fortunate enough to land finance related internships where I learned how finance is practiced. The knowledge I gained has been very helpful for the classes that I'm taking. I am both a night owl and a morning owl depending on the day/workload. One study tip I learned from my rabbi is to actually stop taking notes in class because then you’re just doing two things with half a brain. Therefore, I normally just sit and listen. One thing that really drives my approach to studying is my belief that your GPA is just one metric of many that reflect your performance. Although you do need that objective quantitative metric, it's not what ultimately helps you land a job. Therefore, during my last semester here, instead of prioritizing my GPA, I’ve been making sure to have fun, give back, and go on fun adventures!”
Samuel Halpern (YC ‘27)
Major: Philosophy
“The majority of classes I take revolve around a final paper and a final that usually allows for open notes, which normally means I don’t have to study. For the classes that don’t allow open notes, I usually only really study a little the day before and also on my train ride to school on the day of the exam. I find that studying largely doesn’t help me improve my grade compared to the amount of time I’d have to put in, so I avoid it if I can.”
Joelle Dayan (SCW ‘28)
Major: Biology
“Ideally, I like to study in the daytime when I have the most energy, but I always go over the material at night and in the morning before the test. I believe that the smartest way to study is to use active recall. Testing yourself is the best way to know if you actually remember the material (instead of just telling yourself you know it so that you can stop studying). For STEM classes, the best method is practice questions. My favorite study spot tends to change often, but for now I love the cubicles on the second floor of Hedi Steinberg Circulation Library.”
Photo Caption: The Spring semester has recently begun, and YU students are sharing their study habits.
Photo Credit: Jaeyoung Geoffrey Kang / Unsplash
