Neither is it readily available as eggs or cheese in a grocery shop.
In fact, securing the right study pals is an herculean task for many students across the world.
But one great way to stay on target and earn better grades is to pair up with a good study partner.
Study partners offer personal and academic support: you learn together while also offering each other mutual support when things get tough.
It is not necessary that your reading partner should be your best friend. The study partner should be a person who complements your skills and other attributes.
Questions have been asked on how one can find study partners, where to find them and character traits to look out for in such partners.
A student counselor, Femi Adeyemo, blamed students for taking several factors for granted while choosing study partners and paying the price for wrong choice of buddies.
“ To pick a study partner, you start by looking at your own study habits, especially with regard to your strengths and weaknesses. For example, how strong are your note-taking skills, how strong is your self-discipline, how good is your time management, and what learning styles suit you best?
“ Your choice depends on what you want from a study partner. For example, do you want someone who will remind about homework assignments and test dates, and who will sit down with you and keep you motivated to make sure that you actually get things done? Or do you want someone who will help you understand the material better, who will challenge you to go beyond the textbooks and homework?,” the CEO of Femo Consult stated.
To save students the agony of wrong choice of study partners, here are few tips to guide them in such quest.
- Pick somebody that fits your profile: Two similar birds they said flock together. If your study habit is impressive, you are advised to look for a study buddy that matches your profile. Taking somebody known for lateness and missing classes or other forms of truancy is akin to sitting on a time bomb waiting to explode.
- Shun sentiment or emotional ties: Your study buddy should not necessarily be your best friend or other close persons. Your pick should be somebody who can challenge and bring out the best in you.
- Look beyond human or physical divides: While looking for study partner, students must look beyond status, religious and ethnic background. Your study buddy should not necessary be from same social class, ethnic, racial or religious background with you. In fact a disabled person may turn out to be a better study buddy than the able- bodied one.
- Get your priorities right: Before looking for a study buddy, you are expected to decide whether you want to earn top grades or just pass through the four walls of the university. Your choice will determine which of the two options would be added to your badge at the end of your stay on campus.
- Define the relationship: If the parties are of the opposite sex, it is better they both define clearly what the pact is all about before forging ahead. While it is important to get along with your study partner, there is the danger that if you get on too well the study time could turn into hang out time. Unless you’re both very disciplined you might find that not a lot of studying gets done.