- Eric Ziccardi
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 2 hours ago
Success, help, and community.
There are numerous reasons for a new college student to drop out or fail out of college. Most of the time, it is because they do not have the necessary studying skills to help them be successful. The majority of college dropouts have a low GPA. The majority of successful college students have a good GPA, good studying skills, and great community support.
Procrastination rates
The first research article that was discussed went over procrastination rates for college students. The research study found that students lacking studying skills were more likey to procrastinate and have a lower GPA. The lower the GPA the more likely a student would not graduate and drop out of college. The study suggested more classes and campus support to help address the lack of studying skills.
Studying skills using a study guide checklist
The second research paper focused on using a studying guide checklist to help college students struggling in a certain subject. The research found that all of the students showed improvement in the subject they were struggling with while using the studying skills checklist. The partciptes also reported an improvement in their studying skills, while using the studying checklist.
SCT has a correlation with poor studying skills.
The third research article found that students suffering from sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) had substandard studying skills. The research article concluded that college students suffering from SCT often had a low GPA and were suffering from another mental health issue. The study recommended that more research and data needed to be collected on college students suffering from SCT. The research also concluded that colleges needed to offer services to students suffering from SCT in order to minimize the negative effects of the disorder.
Summing-up
The research on studying skills shows that students with good studying skills have a higher GPA and better college retention rate. However, a substandard GPA for a college student decreases their retention rate. All of the research articles recommended more data and more student support on campus. All three of the research papers concluded that better support can help improve studying skills for college students.
In retrospect
After completing this review, I became keenly aware of how much support UCF has on campus to help students become successful on their college journey. All of the articles suggested better studying skills led to a better GPA and a higher retention rate. All three of the articles suggested colleges have more support for college students to help improve their studying skills. After the research, I found UCF has the necessary support to help out any student that needs improvement. If you need help with math, you can go to the Student Academic Resources center and get a one-on-one tutor. Don't like one-on-one settings? Fine, you can get help in a group tutoring session. Don’t like going outside? That is fine as well; the Student Academic Center has videos you can watch to help you in any subject. If you need help with writing, UCF has the University Writing Center as well. UCF also has the Student Care Center for students facing other changes as well. In short, I did not think studying skills or support from the college I was attending was important. After doing the research, I can safely state that I was wrong, and UCF is one of the best places for student support.
References
Steel, P. (2007). The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychological bulletin, 133(1), 65–94.
Hailikari, T., Katajavuori, N., & Asikainen, H. (2021). Understanding procrastination: A case of
a study skills course. Social Psychology of Education, 24(2), 589–606.
Kong, S. T., & Stocco, C. S. (2022). Teaching study skills to college students using checklist
training. Behavioral Interventions, 37(4), 1149–1165. https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.1897
Austin, J. L., Lee, M. G., Thibeault, M. D., Carr, J. E., & Bailey, J. S. (2002). Effects of guided notes on University students’ responding and recall of information. Journal of Behavioral Education, 11(4), 243–254. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021110922552
Williams, R., Smiley, E., Davis, R., & Lamb, T. (2018). The predictability of cognitive and non-cognitive factors on the retention rate among freshmen college students. The Journal of Negro Education, 87(3), 326–338. https://doi.org/10.7709/jnegroeducation.87.3.0326
National Center for Education Statistics. (2020). The condition of education 2020: Undergraduate retention and graduation rates. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_ctr.asp
Flannery, A. J., Luebbe, A. M., & Becker, S. P. (2017). Sluggish Cognitive Tempo is Associated
With Poorer Study Skills, More Executive Functioning Deficits, and Greater Impairment in
College Students. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 73(9), 1091–1113.
Langberg JM, Becker SP, Dvorsky MR. The association between sluggish cognitive tempo and
academic functioning in youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Journal of
Abnormal Child Psychology. 2014; 42:91–103. doi:10.1007/s10802-013-9722-3. [PubMed:
23359145]