Practice makes perfect.
It’s an expression we’ve heard throughout our lives — whether we were plodding through sheet music during middle school band or running through drills at a high school sports practice. The same notion applies to college coursework. To be successful, studying is essential.
“Being a student is a full-time job,” says Kelley Tiarks, interim director of Bryant’s Academic Center for Excellence (ACE) and the Writing Center. “You have to set aside time to master the material faculty members are teaching. The more you practice and make mistakes, the more you learn and adjust your approach.”
ACE is Bryant’s academic support hub — a one-stop shop for any resources students need to do well in their College of Business, College of Arts and Sciences, and School of Health and Behavioral Sciences courses. The office consists of 75 peer tutors, 10 peer writing consultants, as well as professional math, writing, and learning specialists The aim is to have students come early and often.
Good study habits start with thinking about what you need in a study space and what time of day you are most productive. Tiarks recommends investing in a paper planner or online organizational system, like Outlook or Google Calendars, to build time management skills. Additionally, course-specific binders that keep handouts separated are a must.
“You want to be able to easily access these papers throughout the semester. Don't throw quizzes and other assessments away because you can learn so much from them,” Tiarks says.
Whether you just stepped onto campus this fall and are trying to find a spot that speaks to you or you’re trying to level up your studying game, hear from six Bulldogs who share their go-to study spots across campus:
“I like studying on the first level of the library where the tables are,” says Finance and Global Supply Chain Management major Valeria Santoni ’26. “I also really like the breakout rooms in the BELC. They’re very comfortable, big, and mute the sounds from the hallways.”
“My friends and I love the second floor of Fisher just outside the Bryant Bookstore,” says Health Sciences major Olivia Stephenson ’25. “Personally, I don’t like the quiet because I’ll fall asleep, so I look for somewhere where there’s a little bit of background noise — but not much.”
“I’m a commuter and live eight minutes from campus, so I have a nice quiet room upstairs to study in. Because of the way my schedule works out, I find myself on campus a good amount during the day without heading home. If I’m on campus, my go-to study spot is usually one of the corner chair areas in the halls of the Unistructure,” says Actuarial Mathematics major Aleksander Reilly ’26. “A big thing for me is having a lack of distractions. I find that as long as my phone is in my backpack or somewhere away from me, I’m able to keep myself focused.”
“I like to go sit in one of ACE’s labs. It motivates me because everyone in there is so smart, and there are whiteboards so I can draw on them too,” says Environmental Sciences major Sydney Barnett ’25, who’s a member of the women’s Swimming and Diving team. “In ACE, if you’re a student-athlete, we have athlete advisors who work with you. Being a student-athlete, the time balance can be very overwhelming, but I sat down with one of ACE’s learning specialists and we went over my whole schedule, and she helped me plan it out.”
“I usually go to the library,” says Financial Services major Ryan Hayes ’27. “Depending on the importance or timeframe, I’ll either be on the first or second floor. For instance, if I’m reading a textbook or working on something that’s not due tomorrow, then I’ll go to the first floor. If I have a huge essay due, I like to go to the second floor and really lock in.”
- “I’m usually in my dorm, sometimes the library if my roommates are being loud. I look for a nice quiet environment where I can put some earbuds in, zone the world out, and get my stuff done,” says Applied Economics major Tyler Nelson ’26.
