UCF ranked No. 4 for ‘students who study least’

UCF has been on the receiving end of many oddball Princeton Review college rankings, but the latest is no joke. UCF was ranked No. 4 in the category "Students who study least," and was higher on the list than other Florida colleges like FSU, UF and USF.

"Maybe our students who pack the library every day didn't have time to fill out the Princeton Review survey," said UCF spokesman Chad Binette.

Binette said that UCF offers many resources to enforce strong study habits, listing the Student Academic Resource Center as a main provider of these services.

SARC offers workshops and one-on-one tutoring sessions for students looking to establish better study habits. One of their main workshops is a freshmen-centered program known as the Game Plan Seminar. The $10 workshop reinforces study habits along with practical college skills, such as effective note-taking, time management tips and textbook reading skills, said SARC coordinator Natasha Ford.

"I think a big part of studying is organization and doing that prep work so when you get to that studying time, it's not so stressful," Ford said. "We want to bridge that gap for students; this isn't something that students automatically know how to do."

Ford also said that SARC would be branching out onto regional campuses with more workshops and be hosting a learning fair this fall where students can interact with academic organizations.

In addition to SARC's recent renovation, which included more white board space and a fresh coat of paint, the center anticipates new furniture and new technology to make the center more appealing and efficient.

Senior Alana Persaud, a micro & molecular biology major, said that she is not surprised by UCF's Princeton Review ranking. She does not discredit the teachers, but she has encountered a lazy work ethic in her peers.

"If students can see what their future might look like, they may be more motivated to get there and study harder," Persaud said.

She is at the higher end of the studying spectrum, logging 40-50 hours in the average school week. She credits her family as the main motivators behind her academic success.

As an idea to spark better studying habits, Persaud thinks that if more career-centered workshops were offered on campus, students may be inspired to spend more time hitting the books.

During her freshman year, Persaud attended both Student Instruction sessions and SARC workshops. As classes got more involved, she stopped attending, but she did find the information extremely helpful and the attendees more focused on the course subject.

Cassidy Harpster, a recent UCF graduate, is not surprised by the ranking either. While he admits UCF has a party scene, he says he knew plenty of students that could balance a full social life and full course load.

While attending UCF, the political science major studied collectively around 20 hours a semester. He said that he did not feel the need to study on a regular basis.

"If the classes had been more difficult and some topics more interesting, I would have studied more," Harpster said. "Some classes are very dull and dry, usually because of the professor and not the material, and it does not inspire someone to study much."

While Harpster admitted that he would have not changed his study habits drastically while attending UCF, he said that more study-related events at the Student Union would have motivated him more.

As the fall semester begins, SARC anticipates a busy season.

Whether a student spends 50 hours a week or 20 hours a semester with their notes, attending tutoring sessions or workshops could be the formula for a fail-proof semester and the key to getting UCF off of one of the Princeton Review's dreaded lists.