Study marathon
One Saturday noon, around 10 Ursinus students gathered in a room in Phfaler. They separated in groups to study their own subjects. It’s quiet unless someone discussed presentations or problems they encountered. “Thirty minutes to go,” said one of them. Half an hour later, they started to have a one-hour break, watching Blue Mountain State. Soon after this period of fun time, they returned back to their work for another two hours.
This five-hour study marathon with a one-hour break was carried out by twin brothers-Robert Robandstra and Brian Robandstra, which helps them and their friends boost study efficiency. They started to do this study marathon last year once a month, and still continue now because of the benefits of this mechanism.
Friends were invited to join the study marathon project. They gathered in one of the Phfaler rooms on Saturday at noon, and then divided into groups according to their subjects. They studied for two two-hour sessions, with a one-hour break in between, when they can do anything to relax. After this study marathon, they could either hang out together at night or go back to study.
The most essential part in the study marathon is that everyone makes a commitment to each other. No one can leave early or indulge themselves in social media. Additionally, the number of people is regarded as an advantageous peer pressure to individuals to stay focused.
“We don’t want anyone to walk in, Skype or Face Time their friends. We can have some fun time, but study is serious. People leaving in the middle are a huge distraction, ” said Robert Robandstra.
At first the twin brothers invited their friends, but their friends were shocked. “This is not gonna work. This is crazy. I’m not gonna study for five hours,” said one of their friends.
However, it turned out that people loved this idea. Their friends invited their friends, and then they started to see mediate friends and new faces.
They studied in different groups, such as biology, economics, chemistry and law. They could either work on their own or discuss with others. As students come from different classes, they can seek reference from someone who has finished the same courses.
“Robert has a friend taking a class in the business department that I have already completed. It’s really an asset to have a diversified group of students, which can really help each other feed off the knowledge, like
