Before You Sign That Enrollment Contract, Take a Look at the School's Study Habits

Course Hero investigates study trends across colleges

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Apr 29, 2019, 09:00 ET

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- We've come to the end of college admissions cycle for the class of 2023. Acceptance notifications have gone out and students now face the agonizing choice of a home for the next four years. To help students weigh their options, Course Hero, an online learning platform curating over 25 million course-specific study resources, analyzed students' study habits at over 100 universities.

"From financial aid packages to housing options to class size, students must consider a myriad of factors when they select which acceptance to take, and we think that study habits should be among them," said Course Hero cofounder and CEO Andrew Grauer. "At Course Hero, our vision is for every student to graduate confident and prepared. A big part of that is choosing a college environment that sets you up for success — and that means finding a student body with study habits and expectations that mesh with yours."

Best schools for night owls
Based on the specific school's traffic on the Course Hero platform between midnight and 5 a.m., compared to that school's overall traffic on the platform. National average: 4%

Harvard (19% of all studying happens between midnight and 5 a.m.)
University of Notre Dame (15%)
New York University (14%)
St. John's University (13 %)
University of Maryland (12%)
University of Texas (11%)
Georgia Institute of Technology (11%)
Stony Brook University (11%)
University of Michigan (11%)
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (11%)

The research found Harvard to be notable in several ways. In addition to having the highest rate of nighttime studying overall, Harvard's rate actually jumps up from the midnight hour to the 1 a.m. hour. Only Notre Dame and NYU did the same. Moreover, the analysis found that while most post-midnight studying takes place between midnight and 3 a.m., Harvard was an exception. Crimson students are significantly more likely to be studying after 3 a.m. compared to other schools. In fact, 6% of all Harvard student traffic took place between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m.—when most other schools showed traffic levels well below 2%.

Need your 8 hours? These schools might be for you
Based on the specific school's traffic on the Course Hero platform between midnight and 5 a.m., compared to that school's overall traffic on the platform. National average: 4 %

University of Indianapolis (0.74% of all studying happens between midnight and 5 a.m.)
Colorado Mesa University (0.99%)
Gardner-Webb University (1.19%)
Miami Dade College, Kendall (1.23%)
University of Maine (1.28%)
University of Wyoming (1.31 %)
Indiana University, South Bend (1.49%)
Northern Michigan University (1.58%)
University of Arkansas, Fort Smith (1.74%)
University of Redlands (1.89%)

Sleepless in … Massachusetts
Looking at students across each state to identify patterns, Course Hero found some variations by state.

College students in Massachusetts are much more likely to stay awake studying from midnight to 5 a.m. than students from other states, with 11% of studying happening overnight. Other states where students were likely to stay awake during the early hours: Missouri (2%), Utah (2%), Washington (2%), North Carolina (1%).

"Academic culture and climate can have a big impact on how successful a student is in college," said Grauer. "By selecting a school where the study habits more closely align your own best practices, you can make the road to success smoother."

Methodology:
We analyzed traffic among students using Course Hero during the months schools are in session during 2018. We limited our study to a random sample of public and private colleges and universities, including community colleges—though the schools we selected had to have a strong presence on Course Hero. We did not include any data from online universities or any university with a presence in multiple time zones.

About Course Hero
Course Hero is an online learning platform where members can access over 25 million course-specific study resources contributed by a community of students and educators. The platform includes practice problems, study guides, videos, class notes, and step-by-step explanations to help with every college class—from mathematics to literature, biology to history, accounting to psychology, and everything in between. Course Hero has been recognized as one of the 2018 Technology Fast 500 by Deloitte and named a 2018 Best Place to Work in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times and Silicon Valley Business Journal.

Connect with Course Hero at www.coursehero.com or on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest.

For more information, contact:
Grayling PR for Course Hero
[email protected]

SOURCE Course Hero