Studying Alone Vs. Study With A Group: What Works Better?

Everyone has their own capacity for information retention, as well as study habits that work best for them. Sometimes, your study habits might change depending on the subject matter or even different points in your life. What worked for you in high school might not work for you in college or adult life. However, before studying for any exam, it’s essential to identify what studying style fits you best.

You can either study alone or with friends or peers. Each form has its advantages and disadvantages. We’ve compiled a list of benefits of each to help you identify which type of studying will benefit you the most.

Solo Studying

Fewer Distractions

If you prefer to study by yourself, that’s okay. After all, who understands what works for you better than, well, you? Many individuals with ADHD think it’s more comfortable to learn by themselves than with other students. They find the extra company draws them to talking and wasting time. That’s always a risk when it comes to studying with friends. You can quickly lose track of time and end up procrastinating. When you study alone, you might still be susceptible to procrastinating, but at least you only have to stop yourself, and not four other people!

Easier Pacing

Many students understand concepts slower than others, and that’s completely okay! Learning is all about understanding at your own pace and should not be treated like a race.

You might find it challenging to convince your friends or peers to match your pace when studying. It might even push you to pretend to understand concepts to carry on with your friends, which can be very counterintuitive.

The entire point of studying is to understand the material, and pretending to understand will just set you back. When alone, you can dedicate time to the subjects you prefer without any hesitation.

Study Anytime, Anywhere

One of the most significant advantages of studying solo is that you can set the rules. You can study whenever, wherever, and however you like. If you struggle to study in the morning, you can study late at night without the worry of matching your schedule with someone else.

However, if you struggle to follow through with self-appointed plans, then having that freedom might be your downfall. You might convince yourself to study at a later time and never follow through. This could be detrimental to your study plan.

Group Studying

Better Accountability

One of the main reasons people work in groups is due to increased accountability. Whenever one member begins to drift, the other members can bring them up to speed and get them back on track.

It’s an excellent strategy for anyone who may not be able to keep their morals high from preparation to test day. It’s often a long journey to the end line, and having a support system can help make things easier.

Crash Courses

When you study solo, the chances are that you’ll give yourself an allocated time every day. While it can help, it’s also just simpler to study for extended periods once a week.

With a group, you can extensively cover larger amounts of material for extended periods. This way, you learn more than if you went chapter by chapter every single day. This is especially beneficial for students who are studying closer to the exam date.

Having multiple people go over material together could help you study better than struggling to cover it alone at home.

Teach to Learn

Do you know about the protégé effect? It’s a psychological phenomenon where, through teaching others, you can retain information for a more extended period. It’s quite fascinating and effective. And you can give it a test drive yourself by teaching your peers in your study group. If you understand a concept well, take the initiative of teaching the rest of the people to etch it into your memory permanently!

Clear Your Doubts

When you study alone and come to a concept you don’t understand, there ensues a moment of panic and frantic Googling till you find a video that explains things perfectly. Unfortunately, finding help on the internet means you can’t subject an expert to cross-questioning.

However, you never have to worry about that with group study sessions! All your peers work together with you to move forward with the course material. If there ever is a difficult section you come across, you can simply ask your friends to help you understand things better.

The best part is that they can help you understand by contextualizing the explanation. This will help you understand things at a much faster rate.

Study In A Classroom

We understand that it can get challenging to choose one sure-fire studying style that best fits you. There might be some advantages of a solo study session that you prefer over group study and vice versa. So, to get the best of both worlds, you can always sign up for classes!

Classrooms give you the advantage of studying in a group session and grant you the freedom to expand your study to a solo style after class. This way, you can maintain a balance that works best for you. You can work together with instructors and peers in a classroom and then go home to study more alone. And the extra study time could help you do exceptionally well in your examination!

If you are looking to study for the civil service exam, then the preparatory classes at Civil Service Success could be a great place to start. We offer extensive exam guidance and study workshops for students to equip them with all the resources they need to score high in their exams. With the right amount of effort from you, you are bound to get the civil service job of your dreams in Nassau County!

 

Register with us today to start studying for the upcoming Suffolk County Exam!