While virtual learning has become the new normal in the past couple of months, this doesn’t mean that it’s any less of a time to catch up on schoolwork. With that said, some classes prove challenging and demanding, and many students struggle to keep up with the content given, but by learning how to study in the best way possible, students will be able to improve grades and ace classes. 

“I think it’s actually very important to continue studying, not only are we still going to have the ACT but a lot of us are still heading to college. We can’t act like studying doesn’t matter this year, the classes we take now could come in handy next year or further down in our school careers,” says junior, Genesis Villegas. 

With tests such as the ACT and SAT that help determine what kind of colleges students are able to attend, developing good and effective study habits is especially important for juniors and seniors. Since studying can often be a time consuming and dreaded task, it’s necessary to be able to find out how long a student should study. Studying too much isn’t beneficial, so studying in moderation is best. 

“It depends on how well the student knows the subject. If you know the subject well and you understand what to do, I’d suggest just practicing whatever that is for about an hour. If you don’t really feel like you understand a concept or how to get to the conclusion of things, I’d suggest putting a lot more time into it, about 5 hours or so,” Villegas states. 

With that in mind, figuring out which method works best can be a challenge for many. Trial and error is seemingly what many people go for, but that can be costly when studying for an important exam or test. A solution would be to use multiple different methods to practice the work and to use consistent repetition of the material over a period of time to truly make it stick in the mind. For students who struggle with schoolwork, there are multiple resources to help them succeed. 

“I would recommend other struggling students to go on Quizlet to make a quiz and then answer the questions until they have every answer correct. The other recommendation is to do flashcards,” says Stacie Stradling, junior. 

Using flashcards and websites such as Quizlet are both

great ways to improve grades and help attain a desired GPA. But if these two methods still don’t work, there are other ways to increase low grades and a struggling GPA. 

“For students who are struggling, I highly suggest getting some friends from that class and having little study groups, not only will they take your mind off things for a while but you can associate this stressful class with smiles. I’d also suggest taking a lot of time to yourself to really indulge yourself in the classwork, sometimes it’s extremely boring and gives headaches, but in the long run, it’ll really pay off. I also suggest flashcards or sticky notes for things that don’t seem too important but also sound like they could come back in a test or class discussion,” states Villegas. 

With all these studying habits that were provided, these are sure to help any student having difficulty learning or excelling in a difficult subject. But if all these options still aren’t appealing, there’s always teachers and tutors who are there to help those who need it.