ASKing Around

*A rough survey was conducted amongst 10 students that were carefully picked based on these people's study habits. Five are crammers and five are people who prefer to work ahead of time. This part of the Rosetta Stone deals with common places, study areas, preferences, patterns, motivations, difficulties and the like.

When asked why crammers put off work, they say that they prefer to do other things like play video games, hang out with friends, shop, and so on - anything that doesn't require much brain power. Some people find it hard to get started on schoolwork. As they always say, "Starting is half the battle." Indeed it is! Others say that they work better under pressure with a professor or a classmate (figuratively) breathing down their necks. They get an adrenaline rush which enables them to complete their work as soon as possible. There's also this disease which seems to affect a lot (if not most) graduating students - senioritis. You just stop caring about school and what you want to do the most is graduate, thus causing cramming.

These people finally get moving before doing homework or having breakfast, in the morning right before class, or if they're feeling 'more industrious,' they do it an hour or two before the subject which in the requirement is due. For the brave ones, they just work on their requirements when they feel like it. These crammers can be seen in org rooms, on the Matteo steps, inside Matteo, at Starbucks, etc. Just look for people furiously typing on their laptops or scribbling inside their notebooks.

Just how satisfied are they with their work? Not so much. When you breeze through an essay or a project, you don't expect to feel a sense of fulfillment, do you?

And finally we have the industrious students of the Ateneo. They work because of one (or all) of the reasons: it's their responsibility as a student, they can avoid stress if they quickly accomplish their requirements, they will be able to relax as soon as possible, they will have more time to work on non-academic obligations, and they will get better grades because they have had more time to prepare. When do they do their work? As soon as possible. And where? At any place that is conducive to studying like the Rizal Library (old and new), the microform section, and at the Matteo Ricci Study hall. They're usually satisfied with their work, but those who are grade-conscious, they always strive to do better.

*Dianne Alpay