Here’s an old, but very relevant quote about college written by a former president of the University of Chicago:

“Because the colleges of the United States have allowed themselves to be used for purposes other than education, it has never been easier than it is today, for those who can afford it, to get into college. Nor has it ever been easier to stay in college and be graduated. The only thing that is really difficult to do is get an education. … You can get an education in college if you try. But you must bring three things with you: A certain minimum of intellectual equipment, habits of work, and an interest in getting an education. Without them, you can still get into college and stay there for four years. You can have a good time; you can keep out of trouble; you can get a degree and become a full-fledged alumnus with a proprietary interest in all subsequent football scores; but you cannot get an education.”

From: Robert M. Hutchins, “Why Go to College?” The Saturday Evening Post, 22 January, 1938, pages 16-17, 72-74.

On 31 March, 2017, I mentioned in class that struggling to remember is one way to help you retain things in memory longer. You have to almost forget – then struggle to remember. The book in which I read that is Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, Mark A. McDaniel.

Here’s the quote that I remembered:

“When you space out practice at a task and get a little rusty between sessions, or you interleave the practice of two or more subjects, retrieval is harder and feels less productive, but the effort produces longer lasting learning and enables more versatile application of it in later settings.” Brown, Peter C. (2014-04-14). Make It Stick (p. 4). Harvard University Press. Kindle Edition.

With all analyses of learning, you have to be careful because understanding how humans learn is a complicated business (humans are complicated). Sadly, this is just the way it is.

“Learning is deeper and more durable when it’s effortful. Learning that’s easy is like writing in sand, here today and gone tomorrow.” Brown, Peter C. (2014-04-14). Make It Stick (p. 3). Harvard University Press. Kindle Edition.

Even if you don’t have time to read a book about learning, as a college student, you should spend some time thinking about how you learn and try to identify the approaches that work best for you.  I expect that effort is part of any successful approach.