How to Study

Study Groups: What Are Friends For?
I never got invited to join a study group while I was in college and 
didn’t think of forming one myself. If I had thought of it, even while 
I was in high school, I would have probably started one.
The idea is simple: Find a small group of like-minded students 
and share notes, question each other, and prepare for tests together.
To be effective, obviously, the students you pick should share all, or
at least most, of your classes.
Search out students who are smarter than you, but not too much
smarter. If they are on a level far beyond your own, you’ll soon be left
in the dust and be more discouraged than ever. On the other hand, if
you choose students who are too far beneath your level, you may
enjoy being the “brain” of the bunch but miss the point of the group—
the challenge of other minds to spur you on.
Study groups can be organized in a variety of ways. Each member
could be assigned primary responsibility for a single class, such as
preparing detailed notes from lectures and discussion groups. If sup-
plementary reading is recommended but not required, that person
could be responsible for doing all such reading and preparing detailed
summaries.
How to Study
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Alternatively, everybody can be responsible for his or her own notes,
but the group could act as an ad hoc discussion group, refining under-
standing of key points, working on problems together, questioning
each other, practicing for tests, and so forth.
Even if you find only one or two other students willing to work with
you, such cooperation will be invaluable, especially in preparing for
major exams.
Tips for Forming Your Own Study Group
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I suggest four students minimum, probably six maximum. 
You want to ensure everyone gets a chance to participate as
much as he or she wants while maximizing the collective
knowledge and wisdom of the group.
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While group members needn’t be best friends, they shouldn’t
be overtly hostile to one another, either. Seek diversity of
experience and demand common dedication. 
■
Try to select students who are at least as smart, committed,
and serious as you. That will encourage you to keep up and
challenge you a bit. Avoid a group in which you’re the “star”—
at least until you flicker out during the first exam. 
■
Avoid inviting members who are inherently unequal into the
group—boyfriend/girlfriend combinations, in which one or the
other may be inhibited by their amore’s presence; situations
where one student works for another; situations where under-
classmen and upperclassmen may stifle one another—you get
the idea. 
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Decide early on if you’re forming a study group or a social group.
If it’s the latter, don’t pretend it’s the former. If the former, don’t
just invite your friends and informally sit around discussing
your teachers for an hour each week. 
Chapter 2
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How to Organize Your Studying
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My suggestion is to assign each class to one student. Each 
student must master his or her assigned class, completing 
any supplemental assigned reading, taking outstanding notes,
outlining the course (if the group so desires), being available
for questions, and preparing various practice quizzes,
midterms, and finals as needed. 
Needless to say, all of the other students should still attend
class, take their own notes, and do their own reading and
homework assignments. But the student assigned a particular
class should attempt to actually become the “substitute 
professor” of that class in the study group.
So if you have five classes, a five-person study group is ideal.
■
Make meeting times and assignments formal and rigorous.
Consider establishing rigid rules of conduct. Better to shake
out the nonserious students early. You don’t want anyone who
wants to work as little as possible to take advantage of your
hard work.
■
Consider appointing a chair in charge of keeping everyone to
schedule and settling disputes before they disrupt the study
group. 
■
However you organize, clearly decide—early—the exact
requirements and assignments of each student. Again, you
never want the feeling to emerge that one or two of you are
trying to “ride the coattails” of the others.