Within any college environment students demonstrate various study habits.  Many students approach their studies in a very methodical, organized manner in an attempt to make their studying as beneficial as possible.  They have a mind set that allows them to begin work on an assignment in advance.  However, a surprising number of students procrastinate studying, and as a result, minimize the amount of their available study time.  Preparation, responsibility, and stress are all factors which may affect a student’s study habits and determine whether a student is a procrastinator.

A student’s study habits directly correlate to his or her success in school. Alessandra Bajoni, Italian Psychologist, claims, “…knowledge and use of study strategies were associated with better academic performance”.  When a test date is given a week in advance, each individual student prepares in a different way.  Some students take the more structured route when it comes to preparing for an exam, while other students choose the easier route and put it off as long as they can.  If a student has one week to study for an exam, there is a great chance that the student will not even glance at the material until the night before.  Many students choose to procrastinate and cram the night before an exam.  Those who procrastinate invariably have a lower retention rate than those who study in advance.   Boris Bakunas states, “Procrastination is a major problem that can shrink productivity”.  Instead of trying to study for exams in small increments, many students choose to procrastinate and study for a long period of time the night before an exam.  Both types of study habits allow for the possibility of success, the only difference being the time each method allocates for a student to study his material.

Responsibility is another factor that varies between the procrastinator and the non-procrastinator.  Many times a student who procrastinates is considered irresponsible.  However, this is not a valid assumption; this may be dependent upon the procrastinator’s mental ability and prioritization of his academics.  A student, if he has the ability to retain information well, is not being irresponsible by studying the night before an exam; he simply requires less time to complete his studying.  Ken Gobbo, Counselor of Education of Ramapo College, states, “For some of these students, performance is directly associated with self-concept. It may be so threatened by feedback that they fail to submit the work they have already completed. For others, procrastinating, then quickly writing something is a means of protection; if the student receives a poor grade, it was for lack of effort rather than lack of ability”.  In the same way, a student who studies well in advance is not exactly being overly responsible.  The non-procrastinating student may require more time to complete his studying.  Although procrastination is often associated with irresponsibility, that is not always the case.

Lastly, stress is another factor that comes into effect when one chooses whether or not to procrastinate.  Researchers who have studied academic procrastination have found that as many as 50% of undergraduates at one university report a tendency to procrastinate on assignments. To students, stress can be either good or bad.  Some students procrastinate because their success in studying depends upon the stress they undergo.  A procrastinator is often most motivated when it becomes imperative that they complete their task.  However, other students become motivated to get their work done early to in order to avoid the psychological stress associated with procrastination.  Therefore, a student’s approach to studying is directly related to how he or she chooses to deal with academic stress. A non-procrastinator wants to avoid additional stress and a procrastinator often uses stress as motivation.

Preparation, responsibility, and stress are all factors which help to determine if a student will be a procrastinator or a non-procrastinator. Students, for the most part, decide the manner in which they will approach their studies.  Although both may choose completely different strategies, it is possible to have the same end result.  Many believe that a stressful approach is not for them, while others simply need the stress to motivate them.  Many variables may determine whether a student is a procrastinator or not.  All things considered, procrastinators and non-procrastinators rely on vastly different methods of study; however, each method is capable of producing a desirable result.

-Jared, CP Staff

Yes I’m aware this is like the 4th movie review in a row. We’ll work on that.

So I’m here to talk to you today about two great animated movies that I saw recently. They’ve been out of theaters for awhile but I missed both of their theater runs and have been meaning to check them out. If you’re like me, you love a funny animated movie (Toy Story is the bee’s knees).

First off is the movie UP. This movie has a fantastic story and was actually pretty emotionally moving for a funny little cartoon. The voices are fantastic and the character animation is quirky and painstakingly realistic (check out the shadows, absolutely unreal). This is actually worth purchasing if you ask me, and makes for  a great group movie. I won’t give anything away, but you will want a dog translator and a balloon house after watching this one.

Next is Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs. This movie had the randomness of a Family Guy episode mixed with enough one liners and laugh out loud absurdity to make it nearly Shrek-worthy. Not as much depth of story as UP but definitely just as fun. Plus, MR. T does one of the voices.

Both of these movies get a “Rent It” since they aren’t in theaters, but pretend that it’s a “See It” and a “Rent It” combined.

So it’s not too late to decide on your approach for the new year.

There’s a pretty good blog article I just read that could be helpful for anyone that wants to set some goals and stick to them and is using New Years as a good excuse to have some motivation.

In college, it’s good to have more than just a goal of graduating. You’ve got to have goals to have a good time, to really enjoy your time here. College is a sanctuary of fun that exists in a crazy place between high school and real life.

At times you have to approach your college career like it is real life so that you can be prepared to face real life once you graduate. But don’t take it TOO seriously, because then your goals become chores.

But read this article, this guy has a much classier way of articulating what I’m trying to say.

HAVE FUN THIS YEAR.

OK, we’ve got an alien planet with big blue people, mind-controlled clones, and lots of political undertones. Oh, and of course it’s all 3-D.

Now I am personally a big fan of nerdy sci-fi alien stuff. So of course I was interested. More normal people my age were a bit confused about the whole premise of the movie (the blue aliens really throw some people for a loop apparently).

So to briefly summarize: this is an action-packed movie that takes place on another planet. The people who live there are blue. The planet is the only source of a valuable mineral. The blue people’s main house is built on the source. Humans want them to move. The blue people won’t move.

It’s basically equal parts war movie, alien movie, an old-school western (except the Indians are the good guys), and a dash of political metaphor (lots of popular criticisms of foreign war implied).

The plot is decent but not exactly mind-bending; but visually speaking, this is one of the coolest movies I’ve ever seen. The 3-D is worth the money and the trip to the theater. There were times when I just started laughing out loud because of how crazy all of the stuff looked.

So for that, I’ve got to say see it. You’re mind will be blown.

So this review may be a bit biased. I loved reading Sherlock Holmes growing up, so I was super excited when I heard they were making a movie (and that Iron Man was in it). But I’ll try to be objective.

The cinematography from Guy Ritchie movies is always visually stimulating (if you liked Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels then you won’t be disappointed here). Some of the trailers for this movie made me think they had turned Sherlock Holmes into Ed Norton from Fight Club. Luckily, that isn’t the case at all. It’s a solid and classic whodunit all the way through, with some fun fight scenes. They even kept it clean, which is rare for a movie from Ritchie.

All in all, it’s a great movie with witty, snappy dialogue that knows when to be funny and when to buckle down for a serious scene. Robert Downey, Jr. is my hero, and I can’t wait for a sequel. You won’t just want to see it once most likely, so I’ll have to say See It and then Rent It when it comes out on DVD.