how hard is college homework

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College Is Not Like High School...It’s Way, Way Better

Last Updated: April 15, 2024 Fact Checked

Is college harder than high school?

How college is different from high school, is college right for you, how to be successful in college, expert interview.

This article was co-authored by Alicia Oglesby and by wikiHow staff writer, Johnathan Fuentes . Alicia Oglesby is a Professional School Counselor and the Director of School and College Counseling at Bishop McNamara High School outside of Washington DC. With over ten years of experience in counseling, Alicia specializes in academic advising, social-emotional skills, and career counseling. Alicia holds a BS in Psychology from Howard University and a Master’s in Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology from Chestnut Hill College. She also studied Race and Mental Health at Virginia Tech. Alicia holds Professional School Counseling Certifications in both Washington DC and Pennsylvania. She has created a college counseling program in its entirety and developed five programs focused on application workshops, parent information workshops, essay writing collaborative, peer-reviewed application activities, and financial aid literacy events. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 15,609 times.

College can be an amazing and unforgettable time in your life. But whether you’ve just been accepted to your dream school or still aren’t sure if you should even apply, you’re probably wondering: is college hard? It’s a fair question! College is different from high school in many ways. The classes, homework, readings, and even the people you meet will be different—but you can definitely succeed with the right mindset. Still feeling worried? Don’t sweat it. This guide will answer all your basic questions about going to college. Keep reading to learn what makes college different from high school, how to decide if college is right for you, and how to be successful in college once you get there.

Things You Should Know

• College classes are harder. The readings, exams, and homework are more intense, and the material itself is more complex.
• You decide what you want to study. Your area of focus is usually called your “major.” Different colleges and universities offer different majors.
• Practicing good study habits, managing your time, and seeking extra help are just some of the many things you can do to be successful in college.
• College is not for everyone, but obtaining a college degree increases your chances of having a career you enjoy, and that pays reasonably well.

• College really has something for everyone. You’ll have lots of opportunities to make friends by joining clubs, playing sports, or attending events on campus.
• As long as you go to class, do your work, and ask for help when you need it, you’ll stand an excellent chance of succeeding.
• Living independently can be hard at first, but you’ll get used to it over time. Everyone you’ll meet will be in the same boat, so don’t fret.

• Of course, not all classes will be super hard. As with high school, some classes—and some professors—are easier than others.

• Different colleges and universities offer different majors. Check the websites of the colleges you’re interested in to find out which majors are available, or have a chat with your high school guidance counselor. They’ll advise you on which colleges offer which majors.
• Many colleges still have a list of “required courses” that everyone has to take. These might include history, English composition, and a basic science course, among others. It all depends on the college.

• In really big classes, the professor may have graduate students called teaching assistants—or “T.A.s” for short. T.A.s are often younger and more relaxed than the professor, so they’re a great resource if you have any questions or need extra help.

• Most dorms have laundry rooms where you can wash your clothes for a fee, and common spaces have sinks where you can wash dishes.

• You’ll become better and better at studying over time. As with any skill, the more you practice, the more you’ll succeed.

• In some cases, you can even join organizations that are not directly affiliated with your school, like a local volunteer group in town.

• Ask about financial aid when you apply to a college. Most colleges and universities have financial aid officers whose sole job is to help students pay for school.
• Your high school guidance counselor can also help you decide which schools are more affordable.

Alicia Oglesby

Choosing the right college is about more than just the cost to attend. Look beyond the sticker price to consider more than just what tuition your family could realistically manage each year. Ensure the academic offerings match your interests and career aspirations. Get a feel for campus culture and vibe by taking tours and chatting with current students.

• A bachelor’s degree sets you up to obtain higher degrees later on. For example, you may work as a banker for several years after college, before going to law school or business school.

• When in doubt, talk to a guidance counselor, college admissions officer, or even one of your teachers. They can help you weigh the pros and cons of attending college.

• Traveling abroad is easier when you’re younger. It can also give you valuable life experience, which you can take with you to college and beyond. [5] X Research source
• Many servicemembers and veterans of the U.S. military receive tuition assistance, meaning that part or all of their college education is paid for after a certain amount of time served. [6] X Research source

• By minimizing your workload in the beginning, you’ll have an easier time adjusting to your new environment. This makes it more likely that you’ll succeed academically.

• Sometimes, a class will only be offered at an inconvenient time. Other classes won’t be offered every semester. Do your best to create a schedule that works for you.
• Talk to an academic advisor to plan your schedule. They can advise you about which classes to take. [7] X Research source

• Use Google Calendar , Apple Calendar , or a similar calendar app if you prefer to keep things digital. Apps also let you set reminders for deadlines, upcoming events, and more.

• If you can’t attend class for any reason, let your professors know. They’ll often try to work with you, especially if you miss class due to physical illness, mental health, or family issues.

• Many colleges and universities have tutors in multiple subjects.
• Study groups can be great—especially for subjects like foreign languages, where conversation practice is important to your grade.

• If your classes have Teaching Assistants—or “T.As.,”—talk to them too. Most of them will be graduate students or undergraduates with extensive knowledge of the course. They can be a great resource when you have questions or need extra help.

• Many campus groups will advertise events through newsletters, flyers, and information tables during your initial orientation and throughout the academic year.

Expert Q&A

You Might Also Like

Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about college life, check out our in-depth interview with Alicia Oglesby .

• ↑ https://www.kings.edu/admissions/hs_sophomores_and_juniors/preparing_for_college/high_school_vs_college
• ↑ https://money.usnews.com/money/careers/slideshow/25-best-jobs-that-dont-require-a-college-degree
• ↑ https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/what-a-gap-year-is-and-how-it-prepares-students-for-college
• ↑ https://www.military.com/education/money-for-school/tuition-assistance-ta-program-overview.html
• ↑ https://www.snow.edu/blog/25_Tips_To_Help_You_Survive_Freshman_Year.html
• ↑ https://stories.marquette.edu/what-piece-of-advice-would-you-give-to-your-freshman-self-fc84d53af190
• ↑ https://www.rasmussen.edu/student-experience/college-life/time-management-tips-college/
• ↑ https://www.rasmussen.edu/student-experience/college-life/struggling-in-college/
• ↑ https://www.goodwin.edu/enews/struggling-in-college-advice-for-students/

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How many times have you found yourself still staring at your textbook around midnight (or later!) even when you started your homework hours earlier? Those lost hours could be explained by Parkinson’s Law, which states, “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” In other words, if you give yourself all night to memorize those geometry formulas for your quiz tomorrow, you’ll inevitably find that a 30 minute task has somehow filled your entire evening.

We know that you have more homework than ever. But even with lots and lots to do, a few tweaks to your study routine could help you spend less time getting more accomplished. Here are 8 steps to make Parkinson’s Law work to your advantage:

1. Make a list

This should be a list of everything that has to be done that evening. And we mean, everything—from re-reading notes from this morning’s history class to quizzing yourself on Spanish vocabulary.

2. Estimate the time needed for each item on your list

You can be a little ruthless here. However long you think a task will take, try shaving off 5 or 10 minutes. But, be realistic. You won’t magically become a speed reader.

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3. Gather all your gear

Collect EVERYTHING you will need for the homework you are working on (like your laptop for writing assignments and pencils for problem sets). Getting up for supplies takes you off course and makes it that much harder to get back to your homework.

The constant blings and beeps from your devices can make it impossible to focus on what you are working on. Switch off or silence your phones and tablets, or leave them in another room until it’s time to take a tech break.

Read More: How to Calculate Your GPA

5. Time yourself

Noting how much time something actually takes will help you estimate better and plan your next study session.

6. Stay on task

If you’re fact checking online, it can be so easy to surf on over to a completely unrelated site. A better strategy is to note what information you need to find online, and do it all at once at the end of the study session.

7. Take plenty of breaks

Most of us need a break between subjects or to break up long stretches of studying. Active breaks are a great way to keep your energy up. Tech breaks can be an awesome way to combat the fear of missing out that might strike while you are buried in your work, but they also tend to stretch much longer than originally intended. Stick to a break schedule of 10 minutes or so.

8. Reward yourself! 

Finish early? If you had allocated 30 minutes for reading a biology chapter and it only took 20, you can apply those extra 10 minutes to a short break—or just move on to your next task. If you stay on track, you might breeze through your work quickly enough to catch up on some Netflix.

Our best piece of advice? Keep at it. The more you use this system, the easier it will become. You’ll be surprised by how much time you can shave off homework just by focusing and committing to a distraction-free study plan.

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Celebrating 150 years of Harvard Summer School. Learn about our history.

Your Guide to Conquering College Coursework

Getting good grades in college can be a lot tougher than in high school. For many students, it requires building new skills and establishing new habits. Learning those skills now—before starting college—will help make your transition as easy and as successful as possible.

Mary Sharp Emerson

The transition from high school to college is a big one. Meeting new friends, living on your own, and creating your own schedule are just some of the new, exciting challenges that await you.   

In the excitement of starting a new life on campus, college coursework can sometimes become a second priority.

However, adjusting to college coursework is often the biggest challenge of all. Even the best students may be surprised at how difficult college courses are. The subject matter is more complex. The workload is larger. And instructors’ standards are higher.

Mastering college-level courses requires a new level of independence, advocacy, engagement, and time management.

You can prepare yourself to succeed before you even get to campus. Identifying the skills you need, and building those skills into established habits, will help make your transition to college academics, and college life, easier, less stressful, and more successful.

Be engaged in your college coursework

College courses require your full attention and active participation.

And the more you engage with your teachers, teaching assistants, and classmates both in and out of the classroom, the easier it will be for you to succeed in that class.

The importance of active listening

Active listening is one of the most critical parts of engaging in a course, according to Gina Neugebauer, assistant director of Harvard Summer School’s Secondary School Program.

“Professors and teaching assistants can tell if you’re actively listening. They notice if you’re taking notes and making eye contact. They also notice if you’re distracted by your phone or computer,” notes Neugebauer.

Active listening means not checking your social media accounts or texting friends during class.

It also means really giving the instructor and your classmates your full attention.

It sounds easy in theory but it takes practice. It can be tough to not think about all the work you have or your next party. But the more you work on actively listening, the easier it will be to not get distracted and miss important information in class.

Different ways to actively participate

Beyond active listening, there are many ways to participate in a course. And you can tailor your level of engagement to your personality and comfort level.

“It’s all about gauging what you’re comfortable with,” says Neugebauer.

“You may not be the person who raises their hand all the time but you actively respond to online discussion posts, for example. You may not feel comfortable talking in front of hundreds of students in a large lecture hall but you take advantage of TA office hours and email the instructor with questions.”

But don’t be afraid to push yourself if you aren’t someone who usually speaks up in class.

It’s ok to start small. Work on raising your hand in small seminars or discussion sections. As you gain confidence, you’ll find it gets easier to answer questions and share your opinions.

Build independence and advocate for yourself

In college, you are responsible for your own success. You will need to advocate for yourself and know when—and how—to ask for help. That requires a level of independence that you may not have needed in high school.

The good news is that instructors and teaching assistants want to help you.

“Instructors, on the whole, enjoy hearing from you. And they’d rather hear from you right from the start, rather than have you struggle on your own for three weeks,” says Neugebauer.

If you have a question about an assignment, send your instructor an email. Are you upset about a grade you got on a recent test? Visit your instructor or TA during office hours to discuss what went wrong and how you can improve.

But remember, says Neugebauer, professors are busy and you are only one of many students.

“Your email should include your full name, what course you’re taking, and a brief description of your question or concern. And you cannot expect an answer at 2 a.m. because that’s when you’re studying. When you reach out to an instructor, give them 24-48 hours to respond.”

And remember, always be respectful and non-confrontational.

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Don’t be afraid to seek help

If you have excelled in high school without extra help, you might be tempted to persevere on your own.

In college, Neugebauer points out, asking for help is the norm.

“Once you get into your undergraduate program, you’ll find that almost everyone has, at some point, asked a TA for extra tutoring, gone to a tutoring center, or a writing or math center for extra help. It’s part of the learning process of an undergraduate program,” Neugebauer says.

Colleges have a variety of support systems in place to help you succeed.

TA office hours are a great place to start if you find yourself struggling with a specific concept or assignment. Peer tutoring programs enable you to learn from students who have been through the course themselves. Academic coaches can help with more general study tips or exam-related stress.

The key is seeking out help proactively, before you get too far behind. As the courses become more difficult, catching up becomes increasingly difficult.

Build time management techniques

Balancing everything that comes with life on a college campus can be difficult for many incoming college students.

“The biggest challenge we see facing high school students who are trying to adapt to college life is overcommitment. Students want to engage in every activity, a full course load, and even sometimes a part-time job. They don’t schedule enough time for self-care, quiet time, doing laundry, and plenty of study time. All those things take time,” Neugebauer says.

Good study habits and time management are key to avoiding the stress that comes from getting overcommitted.

Neugebauer recommends getting into the habit of keeping an accurate and up-to-date calendar.

“The best thing I can recommend is a calendar, such as Google Calendar. Use it to schedule everything: your class, your lunch time, time at the gym. It may seem counterintuitive, but work on scheduling literally everything, even sleep.”

Be sure to include assignments, tests, and other deadlines, as well as office hours for your instructors, TAs, and academic coaches.

Use your calendar to block off dedicated study time. And once you schedule it, stick to it! Avoid the temptation to procrastinate or use that time to hang out, play video games, or scroll on your phone.

Your calendar should also include dedicated time for self-care.

Regular mealtimes, good exercise habits, and a full night’s sleep are not only critical for your physical and mental health. You’ll also be surprised at how much they contribute to your academic success.

Challenge yourself as you engage in college coursework

Getting outside your comfort zone is a critical part of preparing yourself for the exciting challenges that await you in college.

“Being uncomfortable allows for growth. It means saying to yourself, ‘this is new. I want to try it. I want to see how it feels.’ This is all about adapting to a new environment but also examining yourself as a person,” says Neugebauer.

Taking on a new challenge—regardless of the ultimate outcome—builds resilience, mental toughness, and confidence, all of which you will need to succeed in your college courses.

But, warns Neugebauer, it’s also important to know your limitations.

“That uncomfortable feeling should be manageable. It should be a challenge but not so challenging that you feel panicked and wake up in cold sweats every night. It should be something that gets you a little nervous but also excited about what you’re involved in every day.”

However you decide to challenge yourself, it’s never too early to start if college is in your future. The sooner you start identifying and mastering the skills you need in college, the better prepared you’ll be to succeed right from day one.

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How to Get Your Homework Done in College

• Before You Arrive
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• Outside The Classroom
• Graduation & Beyond
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• M.Ed., Higher Education Administration, Harvard University
• B.A., English and Comparative Literary Studies, Occidental College

In contrast to the academic requirements of high school, college courses present a much heavier, more consistent workload. And with everything else that college students have to manage -- jobs, personal life, relationships, physical health, cocurricular obligations -- it can sometimes seem like getting your homework done is an impossible feat. At the same time, however,  not  getting your work done is a recipe for disaster. So, what tips and tricks can you use to get your homework done in college?

Tips for Successfully Doing College Homework

Use these tips to create a process that works for you and your personal study style.

Use a Time Management System

Put all major assignments and their due dates in your time management system . A key part of staying on top of your homework is knowing what's coming; no one, after all, wants to realize on Tuesday that they have a major midterm on Thursday. To avoid surprising yourself, make sure all of your major homework assignments and their due dates are documented in your calendar. That way, you won't inadvertently sabotage your own success simply because you've mismanaged your time.

Schedule Homework Time

Schedule times to do homework each week, and keep those appointments. Without designated time for addressing your to-dos, you're more likely to cram at the last minute, which adds to your anxiety levels.

By putting homework on your calendar, you'll have the time allocated in your already-too-busy schedule, you'll reduce your stress by knowing when, exactly, your homework will be done, and you'll be better able to enjoy whatever else you have planned since you'll know your homework is already taken care of.

Sneak in Your Homework

Use small increments of time whenever possible. You know that 20-minute bus ride you have to and from campus every day? Well, that's 40 minutes a day, 5 days a week which means that if you did some reading during the ride, you'd get more than 3 hours of homework done during your commute.

Those little increments can add up: 30 minutes between classes here, 10 minutes waiting for a friend there. Be smart about sneaking in small bits of homework so that you can conquer the bigger assignments piece by piece.

You Can't Always Get It All Done

Understand that you can't always get all your homework done. One of the biggest skills to learn in college is how to gauge what you  can't  get done. Because sometimes, there really is only so many hours in a day, and the basic laws of physics mean you can't accomplish everything on your to-do list.

If you just can't get all your homework done, make some smart decisions about how to choose what to do and what to leave behind. Are you doing great in one of your classes, and skipping the reading one week shouldn't hurt too much? Are you failing another and definitely need to focus your efforts there?

Hit the Reset Button

Don't get caught up in the get-caught-up trap. If you fall behind on your homework , it's easy to think -- and hope -- that you'll be able to catch up. So you'll set a plan to catch up, but the more you try to catch up, the more you fall behind. If you're falling behind on your reading and are feeling overwhelmed, give yourself permission to start anew.

Figure out what you need to get done for your next assignment or class, and get it done. It's easier to cover the material you missed when you're studying for an exam in the future than it is to fall further and further behind right now.

Use Your Resources

Use class and other resources to help make doing your homework more productive and efficient. You might, for example, think that you don't need to go to class because the professor only covers what's already been addressed in the reading. Not true.

You should always go to class -- for a variety of reasons -- and doing so can make your homework load lighter. You'll better understand the material, be better able to absorb the work you do out of class, be better prepared for upcoming exams (thereby saving you studying time and improving your academic performance), and overall just have a better mastery of the material. Additionally, use your professor's office hours or time in an academic support center to reinforce what you've learned through your homework assignments. Doing homework shouldn't just be a to-do item on your list; it should be an essential part of your college academic experience.

• Is Homework Good or Bad for Students?
• What to Do When You're Behind in Your College Classes
• How are College Academics Different from High School?
• 17 Things to Do on a College Campus When You're Bored
• Tips for Preparing for the New School Year
• Top Tips for Succeeding in Statistics Class
• Time Management Tips for Graduate Students
• What to Do When You Feel Overwhelmed in College
• How to Be Successful in College
• How to Stay Organized in College
• 4 Tips for Completing Your Homework On Time
• How to Stay Motivated at the End of the Semester
• How to Find Time to Exercise in College
• How to Keep up With College Reading
• Study Tips for Middle School Students
• 5 Steps to Get Organized in College

Take Control of Homework

Find the right college for you, don't let it control you..

Although very few students love homework, it does serve a purpose. Homework helps you:

• Reinforce what you've learned during the day.
• Build study habits that are essential in college.
• Prepare for your classes.
• Get a sense of progress.

College life involves a lot of adjustments for students. Will you have homework in college? Yes. And it can be one of the most daunting tasks you face there. Out-of-the-classroom learning is part of the college experience and essential for academic success. The good news is that learning some homework tips now will make it easier to do college homework later.

Set the Mood.

Create a good study area with everything you need (e.g., a calculator). If you don't have a quiet place at home, try your local library.

Know Where to Begin.

Make a list of everything you need to do. Note all deadlines. Do the more challenging assignments first so you don't have to face them at the end.

Study at the Same Time Every Day.

Even if you don't have homework every night, use the time to review notes. If sitting down to work is part of your everyday routine, you'll approach it with less dread. Also, you'll become a pro at using time productively.

Keep Things in Perspective.

Know how much weight each assignment or test carries. Use your time accordingly.

Get More Involved.

Keep your mind from wandering by taking notes, underlining sections, discussing topics with others, or relating your homework to something you're studying in another class.

Organize the Information.

People process information in different ways. Some people like to draw pictures or charts to digest information, while others prefer to read aloud or make detailed outlines. Try to find the methods that work best for you. Ask your teacher for recommendations if you're having trouble.

Take Advantage of Any Free Time.

If you have a study period or a long bus ride, use the time to review notes, prepare for an upcoming class, or start your homework.

Study with a Friend.

Get together with friends and classmates to quiz each other, compare notes, and predict test questions. Consider joining a study group.

Communicate.

If you have concerns about the amount or type of homework, talk to your family, teachers, or counselor. They can help you understand how much time you need to allot for homework and how to manage your tasks.

Celebrate Your Achievements.

Reward yourself for hitting milestones or doing something unusually well.

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9 Ways to Finish Homework in College Even When You Don't Feel Like It

• Student Success

Do you put the “pro” in procrastinate?

In truth, we’ve all experienced how difficult it feels just to start. So we tend to ignore it and focus on something more fun instead. But then, before we realize, a project that at first seemed manageable now appears next to impossible to complete. 

So we go into a deadline-induced panic. 

Even if you think you work well under stress and pressure in college, you probably still feel the overwhelming sense of anxiety that accompanies procrastination, whether or not you meet that looming deadline.

But if you want to break your procrastination habit, you can. It’s fixable. All you need is a solid support system and a few clever productivity tactics to keep your self-discipline and focus in check.

So instead of falling into the frantic last-minute cycle again , use this list of tools and strategies to push ahead and finish what needs to be done.  

1. Play That Music

Music boosts your energy and keeps you alert. So if you are distracted by the slightest of sounds in a usually quiet atmosphere, music can drown out any spontaneous interruptions. It also has a powerful effect on your mood and recall. When you select the right song to play while studying, writing a paper or posting in the discussion board, the tune can trigger your memory.

2. Find a Study Buddy

If you find it difficult to sit down and create a study guide for your next exam, team up with a few classmates to draft a master study guide. Assign each person a section to work on. Perhaps one of your teammates has a better understanding of the material in a specific section and can help you better grasp the concepts. Then, combine everyone’s work for a complete and comprehensive guide.  

3. Grab Your Phone

Use your smartphone to your advantage. Make use of those awkward segments of time throughout the day when you may have a 10-minute opening. Waiting for your kid to finish soccer practice? Have a couple minutes before your meeting starts? Study anytime by loading your notes onto your phone or turning them into digital, on-the-go flashcards.

4. Make It Fun

It’s ok to face it - we avoid tasks because they seem boring. The easiest way to fix this is to make those tasks fun. For example, if you are writing a paper, invite a friend who might have their own work to do to join you at a coffee shop. Or recruit your kids to quiz you on your study material. Your kids will love helping (and they’ll learn something too!).

5. Take Advantage of Web Apps

Writing apps like Hemingway and Grammarly can ease the process of writing papers by helping you write more clearly. Think of these apps as your own personal writing coach. As you write, the app identifies hard to read sentences, as well as awkward phrasing, and promotes better word choices.

6. Set an Alarm

Not just any alarm. One programmed to tell you what you need to do and how it will impact your day. Think, “start working on your paper now and you’ll be able to go to a movie.” If you ignore that one, then set another saying, “if you start your paper now, you can watch an hourlong drama,” and so on. This type of self-reward system can help you better manage your time and still fulfill your wants later on.   

7. Recruit a Supervisor

Being accountable to someone is often the drive we need to kick us into gear. Use a similar tactic to ensure your schoolwork is done on time. Ask someone to check on your progress periodically to assure you’re staying on task. This someone can be your spouse, a friend or even your children. Choose wisely, though. You want someone who is serious about helping and won’t try to bother you while you are working. Your teenaged son or daughter will probably be very good at checking up on you and keeping you on task. Maybe even too good.

8. Do Your Least Favorite Work First

When you do your least favorite work first, you will increase your confidence and decrease your stress levels. And, naturally, avoid procrastination later on. Finishing the largest item on your to-do list will give you the productivity boost you need to do other assignments you may have pushed aside.

9. Change Your Perspective

Are things just not right in your usual study space ? Or do you just not like it anymore? Maybe it’s too loud, too quiet, too dark or just too hot. Consider making a change. Try working in your local coffee shop, in a community library or a nearby park. The change in scenery and perspective will impact your productivity for the better.

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Overwhelmed with homework? Can’t seem to stay on top of it all? We know the feeling. At times, it can feel difficult, or perhaps even impossible, to tackle all of your homework, deadlines, assignments, and studying. After all, you’re probably participating in multiple extracurriculars, working, volunteering, and taking care of family responsibilities. You might even be worrying about applying to college. So how can you learn to handle all of your homework while remaining sane?

By setting good studying habits now, you will be setting yourself up to become a better student in the future. There’s no better time to begin improving yourself as a student than right now—you’ll also give yourself a fresh start for college and beyond. Keep reading for tips and tricks on how to finally get a handle on all your homework!

Create a study space

It can be difficult — or even impossible—to study if the environment in which you are studying is distracting you. If you try to do your homework in your bedroom or at a friend’s house, you might find it impossible to focus. After all, who wouldn’t be distracted in these scenarios?

Instead of doing your homework on your laptop while lying in bed, try sitting up at a desk in a quiet room. Be sure you have all the supplies that you need, like pencils, pens, paper, your school worksheets, a calculator, and a ruler. You don’t need to create a ridiculously high-tech study room, this just needs to be a place that will help you feel productive and that won’t distract you.

Be sure to eat a healthy snack before you do your homework so that you don’t get distracted by your grumbling stomach. Consider eating something that isn’t too sugary or fatty, rather, you should eat something with protein or with fruits and vegetables that will give you lots of energy over a longer period of time.

If you don’t have a sufficient study space at home, consider visiting a local library or coffee shop to do your work. These spaces will usually be filled with other people who are doing work as well, which can be a useful motivational tool!

It’s always a good idea to take a moment to think about your deadlines and the time commitment that is required for each of your assignments. Try to tackle the biggest and most strenuous assignments first, keeping in mind the due dates for each.

Remember to be realistic . For instance, if you have a 10 page paper due on Friday, don’t wait until Thursday night to start writing it. Instead, you should make a plan to tackle approximately 3 or 4 pages of your per day, which means that you should start on Sunday or Monday. Be sure to also leave a buffer day so that you can edit your paper, proofread it and cite your sources!

Your plans for completing your homework might vary based on your ability and/or level of familiarity with the subject or assignment. This is totally ok, and the more familiar you are with your own abilities, the better! Whatever you do, just make sure that you don’t end up lying to yourself about deadlines. Don’t tell yourself that you can slack off and tackle a ridiculous workload at the last minute—you can’t!

In terms of planning, it might also help you to make a schedule, a google calendar, a to do list or a weekly plan. Many people like being able to see the amount of free time they have available laid out visually so that they can plan when they will get all of their homework done!

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Develop a routine

Developing a routine can help you become more effective at doing your homework. Try to do your homework at the same time each day, or at a similar time each week. Devote a certain amount of hours to a certain assignment that you have, and stick to this amount of time.

Forming a routine will help you build good habits, and it will also help you get into the  routine of reviewing the new information that you learned in your classes each day!

It is much easier to break off little pieces of your assignments and do them over time rather than cramming them in at the last minute. The same thing goes with studying; if you develop a routine, then you will end up retaining more information, whereas cramming at the last minute will make it much more difficult for you to remember anything!

Learn your own learning style

Everyone learns a little bit differently, and it’s important that you get to know yourself and your own learning style: are you a visual learner? Auditory? Kinesthetic? A mixture?

You can try finding out which type of learner you are through online quizzes, or perhaps you’ve already determined what type you are in school. You might also figure it out through trial and error—perhaps flashcards don’t help you retain important information, but writing an outline of the chapter or unit in your textbook does. Don’t be afraid to try out new methods of studying; you never know what will work for you!

Try to determine the circumstances under which you study best: in the library? At your desk? At the kitchen table? Do you work well under pressure, or do you prefer to finish your assignments well before the deadline? Do you study more effectively late at night, or early in the morning? Take note of your own tendencies, and again, don’t be afraid to experiment and try out new methods.

Understanding the best ways in which you can learn will also be a great head start for college—just remember to be patient and kind to yourself throughout this process of discovery.

Ask for help

If you’re really stuck on a certain assignment, try asking for help from someone you trust: a friend, a classmate, an older sibling, a parent…

If you’re still stuck even after receiving help from your loved ones, consider asking your teacher for help. You might even consider staying to talk to your teacher after school to make sure you really understand the assignment! After all, learning your limitations and figuring out who to turn to when you’re stuck is another really wonderful step to take before starting college!

Take breaks

It doesn’t matter who you are, no one is able to study or do homework effectively for 12 hours straight. The average human attention span is around 30 minutes, so if you feel yourself starting to get distracted, don’t hesitate to get up from your seat and take a quick break!

Try going for a jog, making yourself a healthy snack, practicing playing an instrument, sending a text to a friend—just be sure to get back to work once you’re done!

If you find that you’re going to have to work for a particularly long period of time, be sure to take breaks periodically and set up rewards for yourself. Use these rewards to motivate yourself to focus your full attention on the task at hand up until your next break. For instance, you might say to yourself, “if I study calc for 3 hours, then I can take a 30 minute break by watching an episode of my favorite tv show….” There’s nothing wrong with rewarding yourself as long as you use these breaks to keep yourself motivated and focused.

Having a lot of homework can feel difficult and overwhelming, but you can use these feelings to motivate yourself. Getting a handle on this workload will also help you prepare for college!

Overall, the more you are able to understand yourself and your study habits, the more successful you will be. Take the time to learn how to build yourself the perfect study space, how to motivate yourself, and how to work under circumstances that will allow you to be the most productive. Your bad habits can always be transformed into good habits, you just need to be willing to take that first step.

For more tips and information on studying, check out these blog posts:

10 Real World Study Tips to Improve Processing and Retention

How to Organize a High School Study Session

CollegeVine’s Top Six Study Tips for High School Students

5 Ways to Actively Learn During Class

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College can still be rigorous without a lot of homework

Senior Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Southern California

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KC Culver does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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How hard should it be to earn a college degree?

When the book “ Academically Adrift ” appeared in 2011, it generated widespread concern that college was not effectively educating students and preparing them for today’s world. Among other things, authors Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa claimed that most colleges were not rigorous or demanding, in part because college students were not reading and writing enough in order to build their critical thinking skills. But is it really how much work students are assigned that makes college rigorous and helps them learn?

As a scholar of higher education , I have taken a close look at college students’ academic experiences and outcomes for several years. Some people define rigor as how many pages a student reads or how many pages a student writes. But in a 2021 peer-reviewed study that I published with colleagues John Braxton and Ernie Pascarella , I found that if they do that, they might miss key elements of what it takes to help students develop critical thinking skills and become lifelong learners. They also might create an unnecessary burden for students who have other demands on their time.

What is rigor?

In education, academic rigor tends to be defined in two different ways : as a workload that is demanding and difficult or as learning experiences that challenge and support students to think more deeply.

Given the importance of critical thinking, the way rigor is defined makes a big difference in terms of the ways that the general public – as well as administrators, policymakers, journalists and researchers – assess if a college is rigorous. It also makes a difference in terms of faculties’ expectations for students, the types of classroom activities they use and the assignments they give.

In other words, if rigor means workload, then students who spend a lot of time studying should become better critical thinkers. In contrast, if rigor means academic challenge, then students who practice higher-order thinking skills, such as analysis and evaluation , during class, on assignments and during exams should become better critical thinkers.

That’s why my study examines each definition of rigor – workload and academic challenge – in terms of helping students develop critical thinking skills. The study also looks at those definitions of rigor in relation to two related dimensions of lifelong learning. One is reading and writing for pleasure, and the other is the habit of thinking deeply and critically about things.

The college difference

The study included about 2,800 students who attended one of 46 four-year colleges in the U.S. between 2006 and 2012. These students took part in the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education , which was a large, longitudinal study of how college experiences affected outcomes associated with a liberal arts education. They completed surveys and tests at three different points during college: at the beginning of their first year, at the end of their first year and at the end of their fourth year.

In these surveys, students reported their course workload, including how many books they read, pages they wrote and hours they spent studying for class. They also reported how much their courses challenged them to engage in higher-order thinking. Faculty ask students to practice higher-order thinking when they ask challenging questions in class and give assignments that ask students to analyze information or form an argument.

Since the Wabash National Study measured students’ critical thinking and lifelong learning skills at multiple timepoints, my study looked at how much students developed these skills in relation to their workload and the academic challenge of their classes. Of course, students who are motivated to get good grades may be more likely to develop these skills. And lots of other college experiences, like interacting with faculty outside of class or being in an honors program, might also make a difference. My study accounts for these factors in order to better understand the unique influence of each definition of rigor.

What matters

Here’s what we found.

In the first year of college, higher-order thinking was related to an increase in both dimensions of lifelong learning: reading and writing for pleasure and the tendency to think deeply. Higher-order thinking was not related to development of critical thinking skills. Workload was not related to students’ critical thinking or either dimension of lifelong learning.

Across four years of college, higher-order thinking was related to an increase in students’ critical thinking skills and both dimensions of lifelong learning. Workload was related to only one dimension of lifelong learning: reading and writing for pleasure. This relationship was driven primarily by the amount of reading students did, rather than the amount of writing they did or the amount of time they spent studying.

Perhaps most importantly, my study suggests that students learn important critical thinking and lifelong learning skills because of challenging class experiences regardless of the workload. In other words, college can help students be better critical thinkers and lifelong learners without requiring them to spend a lot of time studying.

[ You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors. You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter .]

Implications for colleges

This study has implications for how courses and colleges are assessed as being rigorous. It also has implications for how faculty teach, as it suggests that they should create courses that engage students in higher-order thinking, rather than asking them to complete long reading and writing assignments.

These implications matter particularly for students from low-income backgrounds, who are more likely to work full-time during college. Low-income students are also more likely to commute to campus and have family responsibilities .

Because of these responsibilities, students from low-income backgrounds often have less time to dedicate to homework compared to students from wealthier backgrounds who live on campus and who don’t work as many hours. This creates an opportunity gap in students’ ability to be successful. A 2018 report from the Pell Institute shows that low-income students graduate at much lower rates than students from higher-income backgrounds.

If campuses want students from low-income backgrounds to graduate at the same rate as their peers, then it is important that these students have a reasonable workload in their courses so that they don’t have to choose between college and their other responsibilities.

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What are the hardest college majors? You might assume it's all those complicated STEM majors—and you wouldn't necessarily be wrong.

In this article, we look at the various factors normally used to determine whether a major is hard before going over the 13 most difficult majors based on how many hours students typically spend each week preparing for classes . We also give you a few tips for finding the right college major for you.

What Makes a College Major Hard?

Before we introduce the hardest college majors, let's clarify exactly what can make a major hard.

The problem with this concept is that there's no single, objective criterion we can use . What's difficult for one student might come totally naturally to the next person.

As a result, what are considered the hardest college majors can vary a lot depending on the student —specifically, on where your natural strengths and passions lie. If you're not particularly good at a subject and/or don't have any deep passion for or interest in it, that major will likely be harder for you.

By contrast, if you're extremely skilled at a subject and are committed to studying it, then you will probably find that major easier than you would other fields you have less experience with and/or are less interested in pursuing.

What I'm essentially trying to say here is that any college major can be hard based on how you define the concept of "hard."

Now, are there any objective factors that can make a college major difficult for students?

Most studies look at one critical factor: the total amount of time students spend preparing for classes in their major(s). The longer students spend doing homework for their major classes and studying for exams, the harder that major is considered to be, objectively speaking.

This is the primary criterion used by most websites and surveys, including the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) , which released data in 2016 that detailed the number of hours each week college students typically spent preparing for class.

According to the survey, "preparing for class" encompasses anything from doing homework and studying for exams to reading and writing .

Some websites and organizations consider majors hard based on additional factors, such as how many all-nighters students pulled or how high or low the average GPA for a particular major is (in other words, the lower the GPA, the harder that major is thought to be). Another potential factor to consider on a school level is how many students graduate with a particular major in four years; while there may be other factors at play, majors that tend to take students longer than the average bachelor's degree timespan to finish might be harder (or at the very least, more time-consuming).

Introducing the 13 Hardest College Majors

Even though what majors are hard for you will depend on what you personally find interesting and easier to do, there are some college majors out there that often require more study time and have more homework, making them objectively harder than other majors .

Below are the 13 hardest majors based on 2016 NSSE data shared with The Tab .

#13: Chemistry

Average Hours Spent Preparing for Class Each Week: 18.06

Chemistry majors spend about two and a half hours per day preparing for class each week.

These students study the function, composition, and behavior of matter, and reactions between different forms of matter. They also look at energy. Usual classes required for the major include general chemistry, physics, biology, organic chemistry, calculus, and statistics.

#12: Neuroscience

Average Hours Spent Preparing for Class Each Week: 18.08

Neuroscience majors spend 18 hours a week preparing for class, or just slightly more than what chemistry majors spend.

This academic field is all about the human nervous system, including its development, structure, and role, with focus given to the brain and its cognitive properties. As a neuroscience major, you can expect to take classes in psychology, biology, calculus, chemistry, and physics.

#11: Mechanical Engineering

Average Hours Spent Preparing for Class Each Week: 18.11

Coming in at #11 is mechanical engineering, whose students spend 18.11 hours preparing for class every week.

As an academic discipline, mechanical engineering entails the design, creation, manufacturing, and analysis of mechanical systems — or, more broadly, anything in motion. Course topics for this major generally include physics, calculus, chemistry, dynamics and controls, thermal sciences, and design and manufacturing.

#10: Petroleum Engineering

Average Hours Spent Preparing for Class Each Week: 18.41

Petroleum engineering majors spend around 18 hours and 24 minutes a week studying and doing homework.

In this engineering major, students learn all about the extraction and production of oil and natural gas. Classes required for a program in petroleum engineering can include properties of petroleum fluids, energy and the environment, reservoir geomechanics, calculus, geology, chemistry, physics, and petrophysics.

#9: Bioengineering

Average Hours Spent Preparing for Class Each Week: 18.43

At #9 on our list is bioengineering. Students majoring in this spend just under 18 and a half hours per week preparing for courses.

Also called biological engineering, bioengineering integrates biological and engineering principles to create usable products, such as medical devices and diagnostic equipment. Classes needed for bioengineering majors can vary depending on the track you choose but typically include statistics, chemistry, biology, computer programming, biochemistry, and science of materials.

#8: Biochemistry or Biophysics

Average Hours Spent Preparing for Class Each Week: 18.49

Biochemistry or biophysics majors come in 8th place for hardest major, with an average of 18 and a half hours spent getting ready for class every week.

Students majoring in biochemistry, or biological chemistry, look closely at the chemical processes and substances in living organisms. Biophysics is similar : it involves using the main principles of physics to study organisms and biological phenomena. Basically, the two fields are a lot alike and really only differ in their approaches.

As a biochemistry/biophysics major, you'll likely have to take classes in biology, chemistry, physics, and math, as well as specialized classes that cover topics such as genetics, cell biology, physiology, neurobiology, evolutionary biology, and computing.

#7: Astronomy

Average Hours Spent Preparing for Class Each Week: 18.59

Spending slightly more than 18 and a half hours a week preparing for class are astronomy majors, who currently rank #7 for hardest college majors.

Astronomy entails the study of celestial objects (such as planets, asteroids, and stars) and related phenomena like supernovae and black holes. Students in this major typically must take classes in physics, calculus, computer science, astrophysics, cosmology, and planetary geology.

#6: Physics

Average Hours Spent Preparing for Class Each Week: 18.62

Like astronomy majors, physics majors spend a little more than 18 hours and 30 minutes per week preparing for courses.

In a physics major, students learn about the movement and properties of matter through time and space, as well as the concepts of force and energy. Common topics covered in classes are quantum physics, electricity, magnetism, vibrations and waves, thermodynamics, and gravity.

#5: Cell and Molecular Biology

Average Hours Spent Preparing for Class Each Week: 18.67

We are now entering the top five hardest majors! Cell and molecular biology majors devote about 18 hours and 40 minutes a week to class preparation.

An interdisciplinary field, cell and molecular biology combines chemistry and biology, which allows us to analyze cellular processes and understand the function and structure of life forms. Required courses usually include chemistry, biology, math, biochemistry, ecology, marine molecular ecology, and immunology.

#4: Biomedical Engineering

Average Hours Spent Preparing for Class Each Week: 18.82

Undergraduates majoring in biomedical engineering typically spend a little less than 19 hours per week preparing for classes.

A subfield of bioengineering (see #9 above), biomedical engineering entails using the principles of engineering and biology to create quality products specifically for use in medicine and health care. Biomedical engineering majors take courses in chemistry, calculus, physics, engineering design, electric circuits, thermodynamics, and statistics.

#3: Aero and Astronautical Engineering

Average Hours Spent Preparing for Class Each Week: 19.24

At #3 on the list of the hardest college majors is aero and astronautical engineering. Students in this major normally spend around 19 hours and 15 minutes a week preparing for class.

Aero and astronautical engineering comprise the two types of aerospace engineering : while aeronautical engineering involves the development of aircraft to use within Earth's atmosphere, astronautical engineering entails the development of spacecraft to use outside the atmosphere.

Students in these majors usually take classes in aerodynamics, gas dynamics, aircraft/spacecraft structures, aircraft/spacecraft propulsion, and space system design.

#2: Chemical Engineering

Average Hours Spent Preparing for Class Each Week: 19.66

On to the top two! The second-hardest college major and hardest engineering major is chemical engineering; students in this field spend an average of 19 hours and 40 minutes a week preparing for class.

Chemical engineering is a broad subset of engineering that involves the design, production, use, and transportation of chemicals. It also entails the operation of chemical plants. Students majoring in chemical engineering take courses in calculus, chemistry, physics, biology, engineering, materials science, kinetics, and transport processes.

#1: Architecture

Average Hours Spent Preparing for Class Each Week: 22.20

Topping this list of the hardest college majors are architect majors, who spend a whopping 22.2 hours a week on average preparing for classes—that's more than two hours more each week than what chemical engineering students spend !

Architecture majors learn how to design and build structures in addition to studying the history and theory behind architecture. Courses needed for this major include calculus, physics, design processes, design theory, history of architecture, urban design, and art history.

How to Find the Right Major for You: 3 Key Factors

These are the hardest college majors based on the amount of preparation they typically require. The real question now is this: which major should you choose ?

This is an important question to think about, both before and while you're in college. So how can you make sure you're choosing the right major for you?

First off, don't be tempted to choose a major simply because of its perceived difficulty . Though it might sound impressive to choose one of the hardest college majors, if you're not passionate about the field or don't want a career in it, it likely won't be worth majoring in.

At the same time, don't avoid one of the most difficult majors purely because it's known as being one of the harder ones . If you're committed to pursuing a career in architecture, for example, then go ahead and major in architecture—don't pick something else just because you're scared of how hard it might be! Most likely, another major simply won't make you happy and you won't feel nearly as fulfilled had you just opted for the major you initially wanted.

Ultimately, there are three key factors you'll want to think about before choosing a major:

• Your interests and passions: If you are not genuinely interested in the major you've chosen, you'll likely lack motivation to keep up with your studies. Pick something that excites you on a deeper level.
• Your abilities: Ability matters because if you can't do something at all or do it well enough to be successful in it, then the major is likely not the one for you. For example, it might not be in your best interest to pursue a major in drawing if you have no experience drawing and aren't particularly skilled at it.
• Your career goals and interests: Although your major doesn't need to directly mirror your career goals, it should be at least somewhat related to your future aspirations. Don't major in biology if you're way more interested in becoming a professional violinist, for instance.

These are the main factors to consider before you commit to a major in college.

Note that it's OK if you're undecided on your major when you start college — not all schools require you to declare a major in your application anyway. Still,  you should definitely take some time to explore your options to help you figure out what your ideal course of study might be.

Recap: What Is the Hardest Major in College?

When it comes to the most difficult majors, what one student might consider difficult can vary a lot from what another student might consider difficult. This is because the difficulty of a college major ultimately depends on each person's individual interests and abilities .

Still, this hasn't stopped people from trying to come up with lists of the hardest college majors.

A 2016 study called the NSSE surveyed US college students, asking how many hours they normally spend preparing for classes each week. The study then divided these answers up by major to give a rough idea as to which majors generally required more preparation time than others.

We've used the results of this study to put together a list of the 13 hardest college majors based on the average number of hours students spent preparing for class:

When it comes to finding the right major for you, don't choose (or avoid!) majors simply based on their perceived difficulty . Instead, try to take into account your passions and interests, your abilities, and your career goals. These are what will help you figure out your ideal major!

What's Next?

You know what the hardest majors are, but what about the easiest majors? We looked at average GPAs to come up with a list of the 14 easiest majors .

Which majors are most likely to earn you lots of money? Get the answer to which majors are highest paying and which fields are the best for finding a job .

What are the worst majors in terms of salaries and employment? Check out what we've found in our in-depth post .

What are the most unusual majors? Learn more about which colleges have more out-there majors and which let you design your own path.

Hannah received her MA in Japanese Studies from the University of Michigan and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California. From 2013 to 2015, she taught English in Japan via the JET Program. She is passionate about education, writing, and travel.

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Search the site, search suggestions, “is harvard hard” and other commonly asked work-related questions.

Although we often blog about fun and exciting things happening around campus, it is also important to remember that students at Harvard spend a lot of time on their studies.

Coursework is a central part of the Harvard experience, just as making friends and participating in extracurricular activities are. As classes begin winding down for the semester and finals quickly approach, I thought I’d take this opportunity to answer some commonly asked work-related questions.  

“How much time do you spend in class?”

This really varies depending on your concentration and the types of classes you are taking. For example, my English class meets for 3 hours of lecture plus 1 hour of discussion section per week, whereas the second semester organic chemistry class I’m taking in the spring will meet for 3 hours of class plus 5 hours of lab/discussion section each week. Typically, most students spend between 14 to 20 hours in class per week, but this can vary from person to person and semester to semester. To make sure that students can handle their schedules, all students have to meet with their academic adviser before signing up for classes to make sure that they are setting themselves up for a balanced course load each semester.

“What type of ‘homework’ do you get?”

There are two main types of classes at Harvard: problem set (“pset”) classes and essay classes. Problem sets are often given out in math or science courses, and they consist of various problems that you have to solve (like a set of math problems, for example). Essay classes typically consist mainly of a few written papers throughout the semester. This is just a general breakdown: many classes have a combination of essays and problem sets, or have different assignments like online quizzes or online discussion board posts. In addition, many classes assign readings outside of class—it’s important to stay on track!

“What are finals like?”

After classes end, there is one week called “Reading Week” before final exams begin. Reading Week is designed to give students the time they need to study, write final papers, and complete final projects (depending on the class). Each class that does have a final exam has a 3-hour time slot in which the exam is given, and there are only two possible time slots per day (so you are never in the position where you are taking four exams in one day). Most final exams are cumulative and cover all of the material learned over the course of the semester.

“Is Harvard hard?”

Yes, I believe that Harvard is a challenging academic environment. Of course some things will be easier for some students to grasp than others, but I think one of the great things about being here is that everyone pushes themselves to do their own personal best work. It is difficult but manageable, and there are tons of resources and support systems to help you get through it.

Well, looks like it’s time to get back to studying!

Halie Class of Alumni

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9 Tips for Dealing With Difficult Homework

• Post by: Professor Conquer
• Last updated on: August 16, 2022

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It’s no secret that homework can be a real pain. For many students, it feels like a never-ending battle against frustration and fatigue.

Homework may sometimes feel like an endless mountain of worry. Homework frustration can lead to irritation and worry, preventing you from attaining your best outcomes.

Nevertheless, modifying your study habits may prevent this sense of helplessness. If completed in an organized and effective manner, homework and study may be a productive and enjoyable experience.

But while it may seem impossible to make homework any more manageable, there are ways to make the process less painful. This article will provide tips for dealing with difficult homework.

Why Do Students Struggle With Homework?

Students struggle with schoolwork for a variety of reasons. The assignment challenges may be overly tricky, dull, or unorganized. However, occasionally it appears that kids do not do their schoolwork.

Understanding why students delay or fail to complete their homework can help teachers create more effective assignments and comprehend why students may not be completing their homework.

Lack of Nutrition and Sleep

Students need to have a nutritious diet and get enough sleep. Unfortunately, many students don’t get either of these things. This can lead to difficulty concentrating and retaining information.

Lack of Focus

It can be hard to focus on homework when so many other things are happening. For example, if a student is dealing with a personal issue or is not interested in the subject, it won’t be easy to focus.

Trying to Multitask

Many students try to multitask while they’re doing their homework. This can make it take longer and make it more difficult. It’s essential to focus on one task at a time.

Mental Health Issues

Mental health issues can make it difficult to focus and concentrate. This can make homework seem impossible. If a student is struggling with their mental health, they should seek help from a professional.

No Passion About the Subject

If a student has no passion for the subject, it will be challenging to do well. Homework is often more complicated when it’s something that the student doesn’t care about.

Inability to Prioritize

Many students have trouble knowing what to do first. This can lead to procrastination and feeling overwhelmed. It’s essential to plan and prioritize the tasks that need to be done.

Poor Time Management Skills

Students who don’t know how to manage their time struggle with homework. This is because they either try to do too much at once or procrastinate. Either way, it will be challenging to get the work done.

Physical Pain

If a student is in pain, it will be challenging to focus on homework. This can be due to an injury or a chronic condition. If a student is in pain, they should seek help from a doctor or another professional.

Overwhelmed by the Workload

Doing it will be challenging if students feel they have too much homework. This is because they’ll feel overwhelmed and stressed. Students should talk to their teacher or another adult for help if they feel overwhelmed.

Too Many Stimuli

If there’s too much going on around a student, it will be challenging to focus. For example, it will be difficult to concentrate if there’s a lot of noise or if they’re trying to do homework while watching TV.

What Makes Homework Difficult?

Homework is a widespread educational activity. Even for students who find their homework relevant and fascinating, doing homework can be tricky since it frequently happens alongside more engaging and compelling after-school activities.

Complex Instructions

Sometimes, homework assignments come with complex instructions that are difficult to understand. This can frustrate students, making the assignment much harder to complete.

Time Constraints

Homework assignments often come with time constraints, making them difficult to complete. This is especially true if the student has other obligations, such as a job or extracurricular activities.

Lack of Interest

In some cases, students are not interested in the subject matter. This can make it difficult to focus on the homework and finish it on time.

What Are the Best Ways to Handle Difficult Homework?

There are several homework tips for students when handling difficult homework. Sometimes, it’s helpful to ask for help from a teacher or tutor. In other cases, it might be beneficial to take a break from the assignment and return to it later.

Several different study techniques can help students complete their homework more effectively.

Practise Good Time Management

This is especially important if you have a lot of other obligations. Set aside enough time to complete the homework, and try to work on it little by little instead of all at once.

Listen to Your Teacher and Take Notes

This is an excellent way to make sure you understand the material. Pay attention in class, and take notes that you can refer to when doing your homework.

Allow More Time for Areas You Find Difficult

If you’re struggling with a particular subject, allowing more time for that subject might be helpful. This will give you more time to complete the homework and understand the material.

Refresh Your Memory Regularly

It can be helpful to review the material regularly. This will help you understand it better and make it easier to complete the homework.

Get a Good Night’s Sleep

This is important for overall health and well-being but can also help with homework. A good night’s sleep will help you focus and be more productive.

Avoid Procrastination

Enjoying this article? Get our 137-page guide to doing well in high school here.

This can be not easy, but it’s important to avoid procrastinating . If you start your homework early, you’ll have more time to complete it and will be less likely to rush through it.

Have a Healthy Snack

A healthy snack can help you focus and concentrate. It’s important to avoid sugary snacks, as they can make you feel sluggish.

Remember to Breathe

It’s important to remember to breathe. If you’re feeling stressed out, take a few deep breaths and try to relax. This will help you focus and be more productive.

Take Breaks

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a break from the homework. This will help you clear your head and return to the assignment with fresh eyes.

How to Motivate Yourself to Do Your Homework?

Homework can be difficult, but it’s essential to try to stay motivated. There are many different things you can do to motivate yourself.

Turn Off Different Distractions

One of the best ways to stay motivated is to turn off different distractions. This means putting away your phone, turning off the TV, and finding a quiet place to work.

Choose a Convenient Place

One of the best ways to motivate yourself to do your homework is to choose a convenient place to work. This might be a quiet spot in your house or a local library.

Set a Goal for Your Motivation to Do Homework

It can be helpful to set a goal for your motivation to do homework. For example, you might want to finish your homework in a certain amount of time or get a grade on the assignment.

Think About the Advantages

It can be helpful to think about the advantages of doing your homework. For example, you might be able to get a better grade or improve your understanding of the material.

Try Different Techniques and Methodologies

If you’re having trouble staying motivated, try different techniques and methodologies. This might mean listening to music while you work or taking breaks every 20 minutes.

Find Something Interesting

If you’re struggling to find motivation, try to find something in the homework that is interesting to you. This will help you focus and make the assignment more enjoyable.

Be With Someone

This might not be suitable for everyone, but you can try betting with someone that you’ll complete the homework. This can help you stay motivated and focused on the task.

Create a Schedule

Another way to motivate yourself is to create a schedule . This will help you stay organized and ensure you’re allotting enough time to complete the homework.

Do Lesson With Classmates

This can be a great way to motivate yourself. Working with classmates can make the homework more enjoyable and help you stay on track.

Make the Computer Your Assistant

If you’re having trouble focusing, try using the computer to help you with your homework. Several different apps and programs can help you stay organized and motivated.

Ask Parents for Help

This is a good option if you’re struggling to motivate yourself. Parents can help you stay on track and offer guidance and support.

Use a Reward System

One way to stay motivated is to use a reward system. For example, you might allow yourself to take a break after finishing a certain amount of homework. This will help you stay focused and motivated.

Wrapping Things Up: 9 Tips for Dealing With Difficult Homework

The nine tips we’ve provided should help you deal with difficult homework. If you’re struggling to stay motivated, try some of the suggested strategies. Remember to take breaks and breathe deeply if you feel overwhelmed. Most importantly, don’t give up – keep trying until you find different homework strategies that work for you. Your success is just around the corner.

Professor Conquer

Professor Conquer started Conquer Your Exam in 2018 to help students feel more confident and better prepared for their tough tests. Prof excelled in high school, graduating top of his class and receiving admissions into several Ivy League and top 15 schools. He has helped many students through the years tutoring and mentoring K-12, consulting seniors through the college admissions process, and writing extensive how-to guides for school.

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Is College Hard?

Last Updated on April 14, 2024.

Studying toward a high school diploma or for a GED is totally different from how students are expected to learn in college. Everything is set totally differently than it is in K-12.

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College students are generally expected to spend some 2 to 3 hours out of the classroom for every single hour they’re spending inside a classroom on homework, self-study, tutoring, and so on.

And because a full classroom study load is usually 15 credit hours in semester systems, students will need to work some 30 to 45 hours outside of their classrooms and some 45–60 hours in total.

And when you’ve earned a GED®, it might be a bit harder for you to keep on working and studying in a very disciplined way, wouldn’t you think?

If you are looking to earn your GED fast to get into college soon, start out with our free online GED classes and practice tests. If this way of online study is fine with you, continue with Onsego’s award-winning program and get all set for the real thing in no time.

Are all college students spending this sort of hours for all classes? Well, the answer, of course, is no. And if they would, that’s no guarantee as well that’s sufficient for them to be successful in a class either.

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There are students who may be successful by studying maybe 12 or 16 hours for some exam, even when the class is hard for them.

Well, hard work isn’t always resulting in its own reward, yet on the other hand, nothing of serious value was certainly ever achieved without a lot of hard work.

But, of course, it’s not only the effort that counts. Efforts are great, but they’re just beginnings. Suppose you’ve worked on a paper or a project for ten hours in one single sitting.

Well, that’s definitely hard work, but it has nothing to do with discipline. With discipline, I mean working, for example, two hours per night for five consecutive nights.

Table of Contents

• 1 Self-Discipline is Hard To Learn
• 2 Much More Freedom
• 3 Don’t Procrastinate
• 4 Keep Up with Homework

Self-Discipline is Hard To Learn

For most students, discipline is pretty hard to learn, generally because most students are younger than 25 years of age, and their prefrontal cortex hasn’t come to full growth yet.

Yes, the brain keeps on growing, forming, and changing, and the prefrontal cortex is the section that relates to judgment.

By studying disciplined,  you will feel less pressure, and you probably will end up with a better grade as well without running the risk of failing a class in college.

Well, the first year in college may be pretty overwhelming. Going from classes of 15 to 25 students to lecture halls that are packed with hundreds of students may cause some difficulty for you to focus.

It may surely seem much more work for you to deal with the responsibility of keeping up with your homework by yourself.  You need to check the course syllabus on a daily basis, and you’re required to work independently using textbooks outside of lectures.

Much More Freedom

All this is so different from dealing with your day-to-day routine, like doing worksheets for high school. Then again, the beauty of college is that you’ve got so much more freedom to attend classes that you’re really interested in.

You can find it well worth putting extra effort into these classes, and some assignments may, therefore, not feel like a lot of work because it genuinely relates to more interesting assignments, and you’ll learn more in your specific academic field.

There are people who say that college is so much harder than studying for a high school or GED diploma. They’ll be warning you to brace yourself and avoid bad grades, and they’ll tell you about very late nights that you’ll be studying!

But there’s absolutely no need to stress about the difficulty level of college classes! If you still need to get your GED, check out these free online GED practice tests , a great help to get you on your way to college!

The fact of the matter is that everybody has some sort of different opinion. There are also quite a few people who say that their high school years were more difficult than their freshman years of college.

Your difficulty level experience is obviously also depending on which classes you took in high school and which classes you’ve chosen to take for your college education.

Don’t Procrastinate

Then there are quite a few students who just never seem to be able to get rid of their procrastination tendency. Often, these students are still keeping up with their favorite Netflix series, will not forget to take their usual afternoon nap, or never look into their textbooks until a few days before an exam.

Well, sure, it’s totally fine, and it is even recommended to take a break every once in a while to engage in something fun; students should really keep a sharp focus in college and keep up with their classes.

There will be times that it’s hard to stay focused on a lecture, especially when your professor is hard to understand or boring. In those cases, students may well be tempted to switch to Facebook or play a game on their phones.

The fact of the matter is that, unfortunately, you’ll have professors or classes that are less interesting for you than others. Many students ask us if the GED allows for a college education, and the answer is simply yes. The GED is equivalent to a common high school diploma!

If you don’t hold a high school or GED diploma, make sure you pass the GED test quickly, you can get started with our free online GED classes, right now.

Keep in mind that when your textbooks are well-written or when you’re good at finding study material online, you may very well be able to learn all by yourself about academic concepts by following online intro-level academic courses.

Keep Up with Homework

Ensure to keep up regularly with homework and class readings, though, and don’t shy away from collaborating with peers and/or friends or asking for help when needed. This will definitely help you to earn your bachelor’s degree in a timely manner!

How difficult your college class is will depend, for a large part, on the professor who’s teaching it. If you have a professor who’s writing tests that are generally impossible to score well on, then there isn’t that much you can do if you are preparing for his or her tests.

You just make sure you know the material as well as you can without stressing if you miss out on something in the test since chances are that most other students also wouldn’t know the correct answer or solution.

So, in general, you may say that college classes are harder than the classes you took in high school. The topics are far more complicated, the learning processes are faster and more complex, and the self-teaching and self-learning expectations are far higher.

On the other hand, college classes don’t necessarily need to be harder to perform well in. You need to get used to the right mindset, learn to study effectively and independently, and develop your time-management skills.

There’s absolutely no need to get sleep-deprived during nights leading up to an exam, and it is important to keep a positive, constructive attitude and utilize your school’s resources.

Sure, you’ll need to put in more effort at college than you were used to in high school, but if you work hard, you’ll soon get accustomed to the study schedules required in college, and you may very well even feel less stressful than you did in high school!

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What’s the Right Amount of Homework?

Decades of research show that homework has some benefits, especially for students in middle and high school—but there are risks to assigning too much.

Many teachers and parents believe that homework helps students build study skills and review concepts learned in class. Others see homework as disruptive and unnecessary, leading to burnout and turning kids off to school. Decades of research show that the issue is more nuanced and complex than most people think: Homework is beneficial, but only to a degree. Students in high school gain the most, while younger kids benefit much less.

The National PTA and the National Education Association support the “ 10-minute homework guideline ”—a nightly 10 minutes of homework per grade level. But many teachers and parents are quick to point out that what matters is the quality of the homework assigned and how well it meets students’ needs, not the amount of time spent on it.

The guideline doesn’t account for students who may need to spend more—or less—time on assignments. In class, teachers can make adjustments to support struggling students, but at home, an assignment that takes one student 30 minutes to complete may take another twice as much time—often for reasons beyond their control. And homework can widen the achievement gap, putting students from low-income households and students with learning disabilities at a disadvantage.

However, the 10-minute guideline is useful in setting a limit: When kids spend too much time on homework, there are real consequences to consider.

Small Benefits for Elementary Students

As young children begin school, the focus should be on cultivating a love of learning, and assigning too much homework can undermine that goal. And young students often don’t have the study skills to benefit fully from homework, so it may be a poor use of time (Cooper, 1989 ; Cooper et al., 2006 ; Marzano & Pickering, 2007 ). A more effective activity may be nightly reading, especially if parents are involved. The benefits of reading are clear: If students aren’t proficient readers by the end of third grade, they’re less likely to succeed academically and graduate from high school (Fiester, 2013 ).

For second-grade teacher Jacqueline Fiorentino, the minor benefits of homework did not outweigh the potential drawback of turning young children against school at an early age, so she experimented with dropping mandatory homework. “Something surprising happened: They started doing more work at home,” Fiorentino writes . “This inspiring group of 8-year-olds used their newfound free time to explore subjects and topics of interest to them.” She encouraged her students to read at home and offered optional homework to extend classroom lessons and help them review material.

Moderate Benefits for Middle School Students

As students mature and develop the study skills necessary to delve deeply into a topic—and to retain what they learn—they also benefit more from homework. Nightly assignments can help prepare them for scholarly work, and research shows that homework can have moderate benefits for middle school students (Cooper et al., 2006 ). Recent research also shows that online math homework, which can be designed to adapt to students’ levels of understanding, can significantly boost test scores (Roschelle et al., 2016 ).

There are risks to assigning too much, however: A 2015 study found that when middle school students were assigned more than 90 to 100 minutes of daily homework, their math and science test scores began to decline (Fernández-Alonso, Suárez-Álvarez, & Muñiz, 2015 ). Crossing that upper limit can drain student motivation and focus. The researchers recommend that “homework should present a certain level of challenge or difficulty, without being so challenging that it discourages effort.” Teachers should avoid low-effort, repetitive assignments, and assign homework “with the aim of instilling work habits and promoting autonomous, self-directed learning.”

In other words, it’s the quality of homework that matters, not the quantity. Brian Sztabnik, a veteran middle and high school English teacher, suggests that teachers take a step back and ask themselves these five questions :

• How long will it take to complete?
• Have all learners been considered?
• Will an assignment encourage future success?
• Will an assignment place material in a context the classroom cannot?
• Does an assignment offer support when a teacher is not there?

More Benefits for High School Students, but Risks as Well

By the time they reach high school, students should be well on their way to becoming independent learners, so homework does provide a boost to learning at this age, as long as it isn’t overwhelming (Cooper et al., 2006 ; Marzano & Pickering, 2007 ). When students spend too much time on homework—more than two hours each night—it takes up valuable time to rest and spend time with family and friends. A 2013 study found that high school students can experience serious mental and physical health problems, from higher stress levels to sleep deprivation, when assigned too much homework (Galloway, Conner, & Pope, 2013 ).

Homework in high school should always relate to the lesson and be doable without any assistance, and feedback should be clear and explicit.

Teachers should also keep in mind that not all students have equal opportunities to finish their homework at home, so incomplete homework may not be a true reflection of their learning—it may be more a result of issues they face outside of school. They may be hindered by issues such as lack of a quiet space at home, resources such as a computer or broadband connectivity, or parental support (OECD, 2014 ). In such cases, giving low homework scores may be unfair.

Since the quantities of time discussed here are totals, teachers in middle and high school should be aware of how much homework other teachers are assigning. It may seem reasonable to assign 30 minutes of daily homework, but across six subjects, that’s three hours—far above a reasonable amount even for a high school senior. Psychologist Maurice Elias sees this as a common mistake: Individual teachers create homework policies that in aggregate can overwhelm students. He suggests that teachers work together to develop a school-wide homework policy and make it a key topic of back-to-school night and the first parent-teacher conferences of the school year.

Parents Play a Key Role

Homework can be a powerful tool to help parents become more involved in their child’s learning (Walker et al., 2004 ). It can provide insights into a child’s strengths and interests, and can also encourage conversations about a child’s life at school. If a parent has positive attitudes toward homework, their children are more likely to share those same values, promoting academic success.

But it’s also possible for parents to be overbearing, putting too much emphasis on test scores or grades, which can be disruptive for children (Madjar, Shklar, & Moshe, 2015 ). Parents should avoid being overly intrusive or controlling—students report feeling less motivated to learn when they don’t have enough space and autonomy to do their homework (Orkin, May, & Wolf, 2017 ; Patall, Cooper, & Robinson, 2008 ; Silinskas & Kikas, 2017 ). So while homework can encourage parents to be more involved with their kids, it’s important to not make it a source of conflict.

Homework Struggles May Not Be a Behavior Problem

Exploring some options to understand and help..

Posted August 2, 2022 | Reviewed by Abigail Fagan

• Mental health challenges and neurodevelopmental differences directly affect children's ability to do homework.
• Understanding what difficulties are getting in the way—beyond the usual explanation of a behavior problem—is key.
• Sleep and mental health needs can take priority over homework completion.

Chelsea was in 10th grade the first time I told her directly to stop doing her homework and get some sleep. I had been working with her since she was in middle school, treating her anxiety disorder. She deeply feared disappointing anyone—especially her teachers—and spent hours trying to finish homework perfectly. The more tired and anxious she got, the harder it got for her to finish the assignments.

One night Chelsea called me in despair, feeling hopeless. She was exhausted and couldn’t think straight. She felt like a failure and that she was a burden to everyone because she couldn’t finish her homework.

She was shocked when I told her that my prescription for her was to go to sleep now—not to figure out how to finish her work. I told her to leave her homework incomplete and go to sleep. We briefly discussed how we would figure it out the next day, with her mom and her teachers. At that moment, it clicked for her that it was futile to keep working—because nothing was getting done.

This was an inflection point for her awareness of when she was emotionally over-cooked and when she needed to stop and take a break or get some sleep. We repeated versions of this phone call several times over the course of her high school and college years, but she got much better at being able to do this for herself most of the time.

When Mental Health Symptoms Interfere with Homework

Kids with mental health or neurodevelopmental challenges often struggle mightily with homework. Challenges can come up in every step of the homework process, including, but not limited to:

• Remembering and tracking assignments and materials
• Getting the mental energy/organization to start homework
• Filtering distractions enough to persist with assignments
• Understanding unspoken or implied parts of the homework
• Remembering to bring finished homework to class
• Being in class long enough to know the material
• Tolerating the fear of not knowing or failing
• Not giving up the assignment because of a panic attack
• Tolerating frustration—such as not understanding—without emotional dysregulation
• Being able to ask for help—from a peer or a teacher and not being afraid to reach out

This list is hardly comprehensive. ADHD , autism spectrum disorder, social anxiety , generalized anxiety, panic disorder, depression , dysregulation, and a range of other neurodevelopmental and mental health challenges cause numerous learning differences and symptoms that can specifically and frequently interfere with getting homework done.

The Usual Diagnosis for Homework Problems is "Not Trying Hard Enough"

Unfortunately, when kids frequently struggle to meet homework demands, teachers and parents typically default to one explanation of the problem: The child is making a choice not to do their homework. That is the default “diagnosis” in classrooms and living rooms. And once this framework is drawn, the student is often seen as not trying hard enough, disrespectful, manipulative, or just plain lazy.

The fundamental disconnect here is that the diagnosis of homework struggles as a behavioral choice is, in fact, only one explanation, while there are so many other diagnoses and differences that impair children's ability to consistently do their homework. If we are trying to create solutions based on only one understanding of the problem, the solutions will not work. More devastatingly, the wrong solutions can worsen the child’s mental health and their long-term engagement with school and learning.

To be clear, we aren’t talking about children who sometimes struggle with or skip homework—kids who can change and adapt their behaviors and patterns in response to the outcomes of that struggle. For this discussion, we are talking about children with mental health and/or neurodevelopmental symptoms and challenges that create chronic difficulties with meeting homework demands.

How Can You Help a Child Who Struggles with Homework?

How can you help your child who is struggling to meet homework demands because of their ADHD, depression, anxiety, OCD , school avoidance, or any other neurodevelopmental or mental health differences? Let’s break this down into two broad areas—things you can do at home, and things you can do in communication with the school.

Helping at Home

The following suggestions for managing school demands at home can feel counterintuitive to parents—because we usually focus on helping our kids to complete their tasks. But mental health needs jump the line ahead of task completion. And starting at home will be key to developing an idea of what needs to change at school.

• Set an end time in the evening after which no more homework will be attempted. Kids need time to decompress and they need sleep—and pushing homework too close to or past bedtime doesn’t serve their educational needs. Even if your child hasn’t been able to approach the homework at all, even if they have avoided and argued the whole evening, it is still important for everyone to have a predictable time to shut down the whole process.
• If there are arguments almost every night about homework, if your child isn’t starting homework or finishing it, reframe it from failure into information. It’s data to put into problem-solving. We need to consider other possible explanations besides “behavioral choice” when trying to understand the problem and create effective solutions. What problems are getting in the way of our child’s meeting homework demands that their peers are meeting most of the time?
• Try not to argue about homework. If you can check your own anxiety and frustration, it can be more productive to ally with your child and be curious with them. Kids usually can’t tell you a clear “why” but maybe they can tell you how they are feeling and what they are thinking. And if your child can’t talk about it or just keeps saying “I don't know,” try not to push. Come back another time. Rushing, forcing, yelling, and threatening will predictably not help kids do homework.

Helping at School

The second area to explore when your neurodiverse child struggles frequently with homework is building communication and connections with school and teachers. Some places to focus on include the following.

• Label your child’s diagnoses and break down specific symptoms for the teachers and school team. Nonjudgmental, but specific language is essential for teachers to understand your child’s struggles. Breaking their challenges down into the problems specific to homework can help with building solutions. As your child gets older, help them identify their difficulties and communicate them to teachers.
• Let teachers and the school team know that your child’s mental health needs—including sleep—take priority over finishing homework. If your child is always struggling to complete homework and get enough sleep, or if completing homework is leading to emotional meltdowns every night, adjusting their homework demands will be more successful than continuing to push them into sleep deprivation or meltdowns.
• Request a child study team evaluation to determine if your child qualifies for services under special education law such as an IEP, or accommodations through section 504—and be sure that homework adjustments are included in any plan. Or if such a plan is already in place, be clear that modification of homework expectations needs to be part of it.

The Long-Term Story

I still work with Chelsea and she recently mentioned how those conversations so many years ago are still part of how she approaches work tasks or other demands that are spiking her anxiety when she finds herself in a vortex of distress. She stops what she is doing and prioritizes reducing her anxiety—whether it’s a break during her day or an ending to the task for the evening. She sees that this is crucial to managing her anxiety in her life and still succeeding at what she is doing.

Task completion at all costs is not a solution for kids with emotional needs. Her story (and the story of many of my patients) make this crystal clear.

Candida Fink, M.D. , is board certified in child/adolescent and general psychiatry. She practices in New York and has co-authored two books— The Ups and Downs of Raising a Bipolar Child and Bipolar Disorder for Dummies.

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College is hard enough — try doing it while raising kids

From Hechinger Report

Hannah Allen attends Hudson County Community College and is the mother of three children. "First you put your kids," she says. "Then you put your jobs, then you put your school. And last, you put yourself." Yunuen Bonaparte/The Hechinger Report hide caption

Hannah Allen attends Hudson County Community College and is the mother of three children. "First you put your kids," she says. "Then you put your jobs, then you put your school. And last, you put yourself."

When Keischa Taylor sees fellow students who are also parents around her campus, she pulls them aside and gives them a hug.

"I tell them, 'Don't stop. You've got this. You didn't come this far to stop. You're not going to give up on yourself.' "

Taylor is exceedingly well qualified to offer this advice. She began her college education in her early 20s, balancing it with raising two sons and working retail jobs in northern New Jersey. And she just finished her bachelor's degree last semester — at 53.

It's a rare success story. There are more than 5 million student parents attending U.S. colleges and universities. Yet they are disproportionately less likely to reach the finish line. Fewer than 4 in 10 graduate with a degree within six years, compared with more than 6 in 10 other students.

Many have long had to rely on themselves and each other, as Taylor did, to make it through.

4 tips for parents and caregivers who want to go to college

Now, however, student parents are beginning to get more attention. A rule that took effect in California in July, for example, gives priority course registration at public colleges and universities to student parents, who often need more scheduling flexibility than their classmates.

New York State in September expanded the capacity of child care centers at community colleges by 200 spots. Its campus child care facilities previously handled a total of 4,500 children, though most of those slots — as at many institutions with child care on campus, nationwide — went to faculty and staff.

For Taylor, child care was a huge issue. She first attended Hudson County Community College in Jersey City, N.J., and later moved on to Rutgers University. While she was in community college, she put her sons in a Salvation Army day care center.

"It's a matter of paying for college, paying for the babysitter or sneaking them into class," Taylor recalled. Even though the community college is among the few that have improved its services for student parents, she remembered asking herself back then, "How am I going to do this?"

Keischa Taylor began her college education in her 20s, balanced it with raising two sons and working retail jobs. She recently finished her bachelor's degree at age 53. Yunuen Bonaparte/The Hechinger Report hide caption

Keischa Taylor began her college education in her 20s, balanced it with raising two sons and working retail jobs. She recently finished her bachelor's degree at age 53.

Experts say there are several factors driving the new efforts to serve student parents:

• They are a huge potential market for colleges and universities looking for ways to make up for the plummeting number of 18- to 24-year-olds. "If you want to serve adult learners, which colleges see as their solution to enrollment decline, you have to serve student parents," said Su Jin Jez, CEO of California Competes, a nonpartisan research organization that focuses on education and workforce policies.
• They offer a potential solution to the need in many states for workers to fill jobs requiring a college education.
• Many parents already have some college credits. More than a third of the 40.4 million adults who have gone to college, but never finished, have children under age 18, according to the Institute for Women's Policy Research, or IWPR.
• Another reason student parents are more visible now: The COVID-19 pandemic reminded Americans how hard it is to be a parent generally, never mind one who is juggling school on top of work and children.
• A new body of research has also drawn attention to the benefits for children of having parents who go to college. "The greatest impact on a child's likelihood to be successful is the education of their parents," said Teresa Eckrich Sommer, a research professor at Northwestern University's Institute for Policy Research.

For parents struggling to juggle courses, study time and raising a child, the conflicting demands can seem overwhelming.

Tayla Easterla was enrolled at a community college near Sacramento, Calif., when her daughter was born prematurely four years ago; she took her midterms and finals in the neonatal intensive care unit. "I just found that motherly drive somewhere deep inside," she recalls.

The new kids on campus? Toddlers, courtesy of Head Start

Now 27, Easterla is majoring in business administration at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Krystle Pale is about to get her bachelor's degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz. When she looks at her children who live with her, who are 5, 7, 12 and 13, she chokes up. "I want better for them," she says. "I just want them to have a better life."

Sydney Riester of Rochester, Minn., who is about to earn her dental assistant associate degree, also said her children — ages 3, 6 and 7 — were foremost in her planning: "These kids need me, and I need to get this done for them."

There's a surprising lack of information about students in college who have dependent children.

"Ask community college presidents what percentage of their students are parents, and they'll say, 'That's a really good question. I'll get back to you,' " said Marjorie Sims, managing director of Ascend at the Aspen Institute, one of a growing number of research, policy and advocacy organizations focusing on student parents.

This is slowly changing. California, Michigan, Oregon and Illinois have passed legislation since 2020 requiring that public colleges and universities track whether their students are also parents. A similar federal measure is pending in Congress.

Broader national data compiled by the Urban Institute show that nearly 1 in 4 undergraduates, and nearly 1 in 3 graduate students, are parents. That's more than 5.4 million people . More than half have children under age 6 , according to the IWPR.

Women make up more than 70% of student parents. Just over half (51%) are Black, Hispanic or Native American. Student mothers are more likely to be single, while student fathers are more likely to be married.

Student parents face huge financial obstacles

Among student parents who go to college but drop out, cost and conflicts with work are the most-stated reasons, various research shows. Seventy percent have trouble affording food and housing , according to the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice at Temple University.

Most financial aid is based on an estimated cost of attendance that includes tuition, fees, books, supplies, transportation and living expenses – but not expenses related to raising a child.

Hannah Allen, who attends Hudson County Community College, gets up at 5 a.m. to get her three kids ready for the day. Yunuen Bonaparte/The Hechinger Report hide caption

Hannah Allen, who attends Hudson County Community College, gets up at 5 a.m. to get her three kids ready for the day.

The out-of-pocket cost of attending a public college or university for a low-income parent can be two to five times higher than for a low-income student without children, according to the advocacy group The Education Trust.

A student parent would have to work 52 hours a week, on average, to cover both child care and tuition at a public university or college, EdTrust says. A separate analysis by California Competes found that students in that state who have children pay $7,592 per child a year more for their education and related expenses than their classmates who don't have kids.

But "when they apply for financial aid, they get financial aid packages as if they don't have children," said Jez, at California Competes. "It's ludicrous."

Forty-five percent of student parents who dropped out cited their need to provide child care as a significant cause, a survey released in February found. Yet the number of colleges and universities with on-campus child care has been dropping steadily, from 1,115 in 2012 to 824 today, federal data shows.

Fewer than 4 in 10 public colleges and universities, and fewer than 1 in 10 private institutions have on-campus child care for students , an analysis by the think tank New America found. Other research shows long waiting lists for those centers, while other students don't bother because they can't afford the cost.

"Colleges and universities that enroll student parents should be committed to serving their needs," said Christopher Nellum, executive director at EdTrust-West. Nellum is himself the son of a student-mother, who ultimately dropped out and enlisted in the military, concluding that it was easier to be a parent there than at a community college. "It's almost willful neglect," he says, "to be accepting their tuition dollars and financial aid dollars and not helping them succeed."

Even where child care is available and spots are open, it's often too expensive for students to manage. More than two-thirds of student parents in Washington State said they couldn't afford child care, a state survey last year found. About half of student parents nationwide rely entirely on relatives for child care.

Hannah Allen, who attends Hudson County Community College, gets up at 5 a.m. to get her three kids ready for the day — first the 4-year-old, then the 6-year-old, then the 8-year-old. "I go down the line," she said. Her schedule is so tight, she has a calendar on her refrigerator and another on the wall.

She can't drop off her children at school or day care earlier than 8:30, or pick them up later than 5. "When my kids are in school is when I do as much as I can." She calls her school days "first shift," while her time at home at night is "second shift."

"First you put your kids. Then you put your jobs, then you put your school. And last, you put yourself," Allen explains. "You have to push yourself," she adds, starting to cry softly. "Sometimes you think, 'I can't do it.' "

Limited sources of assistance

There is a little-noticed federal grant program to help low-income student parents pay for child care: Child Care Access Means Parents in School, or CCAMPIS, which last year received $84 million in funding.

The Government Accountability Office found that student parents who got CCAMPIS's subsidies were more likely to stay in school than students generally . But there were more students on the waiting list for it than received aid. A Democratic proposal in the Senate to significantly expand the program has gone nowhere.

The Association of Community College Trustees, or ACCT, is pressing member colleges to make cheap or free space available for Head Start centers on their campuses in the next five years. Fewer than 100 of the nation's 1,303 two-year colleges — where more than 40% of student parents go — have them now, the ACCT says.

These efforts are a start, but more is needed, said Chastity Lord, president and CEO of the Jeremiah Program, which provides students who are single mothers with coaching, child care and housing. "When your child is sick, what are you going to do with them? It becomes insurmountable. Imagine if we had emergency funding for backup child care."

Challenges on top of challenges

Just across the Hudson River from Manhattan, Hudson County Community College, or HCCC, has steadily added programs to support the parents among its 20,000 students.

It has set aside "family-friendly" spaces in libraries and lounges and holds events for parents with kids, including movie nights, barbecues, trick-or-treating and a holiday tree-lighting ceremony. There's a food pantry with meals prepared by the students in the college's culinary program.

The food pantry on the campus at Hudson County Community College. Yunuen Bonaparte/The Hechinger Report hide caption

The food pantry on the campus at Hudson County Community College.

Student parents get to register first for courses. College staff help with applications to public benefit programs. Lactation rooms are planned. And there are longer-range conversations about putting a child care center in a new 11-story campus building scheduled to open in 2026.

The college's 20,000 students are largely poor and many are the first in their families to go to college, said Christopher Reber, HCCC's president. Many are not native English speakers, and 94% qualify for financial aid . Having children, Reber said, "adds insurmountable challenges to that list of insurmountable challenges."

Those challenges can make it extremely difficult for students to earn a degree. HCCC graduates only 17% of students, even within three years, which is among the lowest proportions in the state.

"If a student doesn't know where their next meal is coming from, it doesn't matter how much academic support you offer — the student is not going to succeed," said Reber, in his office overlooking downtown Jersey City.

With a grant it got in January from the Aspen Institute's Ascend, HCCC is expanding its work with the housing authority in Jersey City to help student parents there enroll in, and complete, job-focused certificate programs in fields such as bookkeeping and data analytics. The grant allowed the college to hire a coordinator to work with student parents, and to appoint an advisory committee made up of those students.

Hudson Community College keeps a supply of clothing for students to wear to internships, job interviews, and in other professional situations. Yunuen Bonaparte/The Hechinger Report hide caption

Hudson Community College keeps a supply of clothing for students to wear to internships, job interviews, and in other professional situations.

A new program will reward student parents with financial stipends for doing things such as registering early, and researching child care options, said Lisa Dougherty, the college's senior vice president for student affairs and enrollment.

A few other colleges and universities have programs designed for student parents. Misericordia University in Dallas, Penn., provides free housing for up to four years for as many as 18 single mothers, who also get academic support and tutoring, priority for on-campus jobs, and access to a children's library and sports facilities.

At Wilson College in Pennsylvania, up to 12 single parents annually are awarded grants for on-campus housing and for child care , and their children can eat in the campus dining hall for free.

St. Catherine University in Minnesota subsidizes child care for eligible student parents , and has child-friendly study rooms.

And Howard Community College in Howard County, Md., whose president, Daria Willis, was once a student-paren t, provides mentorship, peer support, career counseling, financial assistance and a family study room in the library.

"That may not seem like a big deal, but those are the messages that say, 'You belong here, too,' " said Chastity Lord of the Jeremiah Program.

Some of the obstacles for student parents are hard to measure, says Jessica Pelton, who finished community college after having a daughter at age 20. She ultimately graduated from the University of Michigan, where her husband also was enrolled.

"You're typically isolated and alone," Pelton said. "I just kind of stuck to myself."

She would often miss out on nighttime study groups with classmates who lived on campus. "Their priorities are not to go home, make dinner and put their kid to bed." Student parents, she added, "don't have the option to go party. We're not here on our parents' money. We're paying our own way."

Some faculty offered to let her bring her daughter to class, she said, which "really meant a lot to me, because it made me feel like a part of campus."

Finding fellow classmates who are parents helps, too, said Omonie Richardson, 22, who is going to college online to become a midwife, while raising her 1-year-old son and working as a chiropractic assistant 35 hours a week in Fargo, N.D.

"I felt very isolated before I found a group of other single moms," she said. "If we had the understanding and support in place, a lot more parents would be ready to pursue their educations and not feel like it's unattainable."

This story was produced by The Hechinger Report , a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education.

Correction April 20, 2024

An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the university affiliation of Teresa Eckrich Sommer. She is with Northwestern University, not Northeastern.

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Bill in memory of Stanford goalie Katie Meyer aims to support college students in distress

Assembly bill 1575, passed in california assembly unanimously, mandates an adviser for a student facing a disciplinary issue..

Katie Meyer’s jersey number 19 is carved into a tree at Borchard Park in Newbury Park.

Steven and Gina Meyer reminisce about their soccer star daughter, who played at the park’s soccer field hundreds of times with her friends and younger sister, Siena Meyer.

Katie Meyer celebrated her 22nd birthday in January 2022. Two months later, the former Stanford soccer team captain took her own life in her dorm room .

Now, Assembly Bill 1575 — or, as its supporters hope it will be called, Katie Meyer’s Law — seeks to help college students facing difficult situations like Meyer’s.

Propelled to action by their loss, Meyer’s parents started Katie’s Save as a nationwide initiative to offer students the option to notify a trusted adult as their designated advocate when a student is involved in a challenging circumstance. The bill aims to codify part of the Katie's Save initiative into law requiring colleges to provide an adviser if a student requests one.

AB 1575 passed unanimously in the California Assembly in January. Next, it will go through the Appropriations Committee, which regulates money expenditures. Then it will likely be heard by the state Senate in early June, according to Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks, who introduced the bill in February 2023.

Who was Katie Meyer?

Katie Meyer was ready to take on the world.

She grew up in Newbury Park, the middle child of three girls.

She rose to national prominence as the hero of Stanford’s NCAA women’s soccer national championship team in 2019, when she saved two penalty kicks in the decisive shootout against the University of North Carolina.

She was studying international relations and history and was a fierce advocate for women's athletics. The Ventura County Star's All-County pick maintained a 4.3 GPA at Conejo Valley Unified School District's online Century Academy.

The 5-foot-9 redshirt senior had twice been named to the Pac-12 Conference's Fall Honor Roll and playing for the youth U.S. national team, she was one of the best goalkeepers in the world in her age group. She also kicked on Newbury Park High's football team.

Outside of soccer, her parents said she was awaiting acceptance to Stanford Law School, and she had applied to do a TEDx talk around the theme: “All we have is all we need.” On Feb. 13, 2022, Meyer released the first episode of her new podcast “Be The Mentality” in which she interviewed her father, Steven Meyer, about his journey as an athlete.

“She thrived on being busy,” her mother said. “She liked being busy and active at her school and part of that community; had lots of different friends.”

Gina Meyer added that people have speculated that Katie's death had something to do with soccer, but it did not.

“Soccer was her happy place. She absolutely loved her teammates and her coaches. There were no red flags, zero health history of mental illness,” her mom said.

Katie Meyer also shared her adoration for her team and the game online throughout the years. In an Instagram post from November 2021 , she wrote, "One of my unusual favorite memories from this season would be each time we would try and say 'let’s get started' at the perfect time."

What happened to Katie Meyer?

Katie Meyer was found dead in her dorm room on March 1, 2022. The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner's Office determined the death to be self-inflicted on March 3, 2022.

Steven Meyer said that Katie was accused of spilling coffee on a football player who was accused of sexually assaulting a teammate of hers in 2021. Consequently, she was pulled into a disciplinary process and an investigation by Stanford's Office of Community Standards.

The process carried on for several weeks and then “from her point of view, for three and a half months, there was silence from that office,” Steven Meyer said. “She had told a teammate or two that she thought it was over.”

On Feb. 28, 2022, she received an email from the university informing her that she was facing a disciplinary charge. A five-page letter in the email stated that her degree was going to be placed on hold less than four months from graduation and the disciplinary charge may result in her expulsion from the university, according to her father and court documents.

The court complaint also refers to Katie's meeting with an assistant director of sport psychology on Nov. 12, 2021, when she detailed having elevated feelings of anxiety and depression during the disciplinary process.

Her parents sued Stanford University for wrongful death in November 2022 in Santa Clara County Superior Court. Two days after the case was filed, Stanford released a statement about the lawsuit characterizing the allegations as “false and misleading.”

The statement also suggested that the allegation that the office did not communicate with Katie before Feb. 28 is incorrect. “Several days earlier, the head of (the Office of Community Standards) had informed Katie that a decision would be made by Feb. 28 whether to proceed to a hearing,” it reads.

The next hearing in the lawsuit is a case management conference scheduled for Aug. 6.

What is California Assembly Bill 1575?

According to a study published April 4 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine , the number of NCAA athletes who died by suicide doubled between 2002 and 2022.

Since her death, Meyer’s parents have promoted the Katie’s Save initiative and introduced it at various university campuses through speaking events. None of the universities officially adopted the policy yet.

In spring 2022, after connecting with Assemblymember Irwin, who represents their district, they started discussing legislation to have a real impact.

The AB 1575 bill , as it has materialized now, gives students who receive a disciplinary notification the right to an adviser of their choosing and requires postsecondary education institutions to provide training for the adviser. When a student is accused of violating codes of conduct, the adviser will help them navigate the process.

If passed through the Senate and signed into law by the governor, it would be mandated at California community colleges, California State Universities and University of California campuses. However, private universities like Stanford would not have to adopt the policy.

“We can tell the Cal States what to do. And we encourage the UCs. So that's what we have control over,” Irwin said. “But the Meyers have spoken to other universities. And I think if we can develop a model that makes sense, we're hoping that the private universities will follow suit, especially given that this happened at one of the private universities.”

Steven Meyer said that private universities are the tricky part of the equation, and “it will be up to these private universities to understand that that is something they should adopt.”

The family has also reached out to the community on social media platforms, asking people to write letters supporting the bill.

Irwin said that the UC system previously adopted a model similar to the proposed legislation. The UC's case management model involves police, confidential advocates, respondent coordinators and the Title IX office.

Rachel Zaentz, spokesperson for the University of California Office of the President, confirmed in a statement that as of 2015, every UC campus is required to appoint a Coordinated Community Review Team, composed of local community and campus partners; including student representatives, to help prevent and respond to sexual misconduct.

Clinical psychologist Carrie Hastings got to know the Meyer family after she heard about Katie's death and reached out. She has since collaborated with them on some advocacy events related to mental health among high-performing student athletes.

A former University of Notre Dame track star, Hastings is now the team psychologist for the Los Angeles Rams and Angel City FC and founder of Sport Psychology, a counseling clinic in Westlake Village.

Trying to make sense of what happened with Katie Meyer, her parents spoke with different therapists. They said they learned that her actions were an “acute stress reaction,” which can happen to anybody.

Hastings explained that it can occur as an immediate response to a perceived threat and causes the person to go into fight or flight mode, having a huge impact on the nervous system. The heart rate increases and the brain is flooded with the stress hormone, cortisol. This reduces or eliminates the person's ability to think clearly, make sound decisions or problem-solve and increases the propensity to act impulsively.

They're working to bridge this gap where “the student is all alone” experiencing something stressful on campus.

“It's been shown in research that just having one person in your corner can make all the difference,” Hastings said.

She added that even without disciplinary action, it can be an overwhelming time for student athletes, especially with the workload of college, with the transition of being away from home and the rigorous schedule of practices and competitions.

Coping with the loss of a child

Cross-country runner Sarah Shulze , 21, died on April 13, 2022, in Wisconsin. Her parents shared in a website posting that their daughter "took her own life."

Shulze went to the University of Wisconsin where she was on the track and cross country teams. Her senior season for Oak Park High included a Coastal Canyon League title, a CIF-Southern Section Division 3 championship and a runner-up finish in the CIF-State Division III finals. At season's end, Shulze was named The Ventura County Star's Runner of the Year for 2018.

The Meyer family connected with the Shulzes when they first met other parents of other young people who died by suicide. Steven Meyer said that many of the families expressed their support for Katie Meyer’s Law and they have gotten very close to Sarah Shulze's family since they first met.

“I think the bill is a great first step in protecting college students," said Sarah's mom, Brigitte Shulze. "Clearly, colleges and universities need to do a better job supporting their students’ mental health. I think this bill empowers the students and their families in getting more information from colleges.”

Community is what helps families deal with loss and trauma like this, Hastings noted.

“I've said to them, ‘I know that this would make (Katie) so proud that they are engaging in this advocacy and taking action and putting this idea into motion in her honor,’" Hastings said of the Meyers. "And I think it's also helpful in just dealing with the loss.”

‘I just miss her’

Emily Williams played soccer in high school with Meyer. She was a senior at Newbury Park High School when Meyer was a freshman. They lost touch until 2017 when Williams became the assistant varsity girls' soccer coach at Newbury Park High School.

Williams said the Meyers came back into her life when she took the coaching job as Katie's younger sister, Siena, was on the high school soccer team. When she learned about Katie’s death, being close to the Meyer family added a degree of heaviness.

“I immediately started crying and didn't believe that it was real,” said Williams, now head coach. “The main word that comes to mind is just devastating. And that's how I felt the first day I found out, and that's how I still feel today.”

Williams believes Katie Meyer’s Law has a strong purpose and is “a great way to honor Katie.” She said she sees the Meyers multiple days a week and can tell it hasn’t been easy on them.

Gina Meyer said she and her husband became grandparents in November when their eldest, Samantha Meyer, had a baby. Gina Meyer believes Katie would have been an amazing aunt.

“I'm so sad that she's missing this,” the mother of three said. "There's a lot that's hard as you go forward. All those small moments and some of the big things, of course, the holidays, the anniversaries, the birthdays, that stuff is always hard.

"But it's a lot of the day-to-day. It's just, I miss just calling her. I miss hugging her. I miss our Facetimes. I miss the little things, going on a walk with her, going to get coffee with her. I just miss her.”

Her dad spoke about memories that come back to him frequently now, like how Katie used to hold his hand when walking, how they would sit in the soccer stadium together and chat or how she would sing along to the car radio.

“I would love if she were to walk in the front door right now and see that electric smile on her,” he said.

VC Star reporter Joe Curley contributed to this report.

Dua Anjum is an investigative and watchdog reporter for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at [email protected]. This story was made possible by a grant from the Ventura County Community Foundation's Fund to Support Local Journalism.

State law takes US a step closer to popular vote deciding presidential elections

Maine is the latest state to pass the National Popular Vote Legislation law.

After much public debate, a Maine law has brought the country closer to having the popular vote determine the winner of national presidential elections -- but it's unlikely that will happen before November or even at all.

Earlier this week, Maine Gov. Janet Mills allowed a bill to become law without her signature that would take effect once the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is able to gather pledges for at least 270 electoral votes -- the number of delegate votes needed to elect a president.

The movement has now gathered pledges from 17 states and Washington, D.C. -- accounting for a total of 209 electoral votes.

MORE: It's really hard to change Electoral College rules

The movement seeks to change the way a president is chosen, without a constitutional amendment, but experts say it's unclear what happens when enough states have signed on. It's unlikely this would happen before the 2024 election.

The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact seeks to guarantee that the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia wins the presidency.

When there are enough states pledging their popular votes to meet the 270 Electoral College vote threshold, all the votes in those states will be added up to a national count that determines the winner of the election. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact says that will give each vote equal weight regardless of where a voter lives.

Five of the 46 presidents who came into office lost the popular vote, including Donald Trump most recently in 2016. The compact argues that not every vote is equal under the current system.

"Under the current system, a small number of votes in a small number of states regularly decides the Presidency. All-or-nothing payoffs fuel doubt, controversy over real or imagined irregularities, hair-splitting post-election litigation, and unrest," the compact says on its website.

"In 2020, if 21,461 voters had changed their minds, Joe Biden would have been defeated, despite leading by over 7 million votes nationally.  Each of these 21,461 voters (5,229 in Arizona, 5,890 in Georgia, and 10,342 in Wisconsin) was 329 times more important than the 7 million voters elsewhere," the compact says.

One expert says that everything that has to do with the Electoral College is controversial these days with a partisan divide on the issue. Many Democrats want to get rid of it, while more Republicans support it.

"If you look at all the presidential elections from 1992 through 2020, Republicans have won the presidential popular vote only once -- and that was in 2004 when [George W.] Bush beat John Kerry in the popular vote. In every other election over the last 30 years, Democrats have won the popular vote, but because of the Electoral College, Republicans have gotten the presidency a couple of times despite losing the popular vote," Darrell West, a Douglas Dillon chair in governmental studies at the Brookings Institute, told ABC News in an interview.

MORE: Does it matter that Democrats are raising more money than Republicans?

"Republicans feel the Electoral College advantages them now and so they don't want to get rid of it," West said.

West said the country currently only has a handful of swing states because of the Electoral College, so candidates spend most of their money on that small number of states.

"If we got rid of the Electoral College, candidates actually would campaign more broadly. They would visit more states because a vote in Illinois is the same as a vote in California," West said.

Could this work?

Experts say the most direct way to change how presidents are elected is to amend the U.S. Constitution, but there doesn't currently seem to be a feasible pathway without a consensus between both parties.

"Ultimately, there probably is going to have to be a constitutional amendment to get rid of the Electoral College, but everyone knows that's not possible now for political reasons. It takes a very large majority in Congress as well as in the states to make any change to the Constitution. So what states are trying to figure out is, 'Short of a constitutional amendment, are there ways to improve the Electoral College?'" West said.

But it remains unclear what happens when enough states pledge their delegates.

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"There's a lot of deep legal contestation over what happens next. I mean, in my judgment, I think it needs congressional consent," Derek Muller, a law professor at Notre Dame Law School, told ABC News.

"If Congress fails to do that, I'm sure there will be litigation," Muller said.

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There are other legal questions, such as whether it would violate equal protections if the U.S. were to have different states with different rules for their elections and questions about whether a state has the authority to do this, Muller said.

"There are lots of open, contested questions ... where I think the national popular vote, if it does hit 270, will immediately face a series of legal challenges," Muller said.

West agreed that the legal situation is unclear.

"It's not obvious what the status would be of these laws. States do have the authority to set election laws. But according to the Constitution, the electors to the Electoral College actually are free to vote the way they want," West said.

"And so states can pass laws, but there haven't been a lot of cases testing these provisions. And so it's not clear how the Supreme Court would rule on this issue," West added.

Muller said if a state sues another state, that case would go directly before the U.S. Supreme Court.

"It's really unclear who would bring the challenge or where they would bring it. One of the more interesting wrinkles is that there is the possibility, when you're dealing with a compact, you file directly in the United States Supreme Court so that could be a place where it goes. But again, I think there's a lot of possibilities about the litigation strategy if it does hit 270 [pledges]," Muller said.

Has something like this happened before?

About 100 years ago, before the 17th Amendment was passed -- which allows for the direct election of senators -- states had begun shifting from legislatures choosing members sent by the state to the U.S. Senate to having "preference polls" for the public where they would signal who they wanted to represent the state.

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"Some states -- I think Oregon was one of the leaders among some others -- would institute preference polls for the people for their senators. So they would hold an election that wasn't binding, but it would just request, 'Who do you want us to vote for?' And then you got a sentiment from the people and the legislature could or could not follow that," Muller said.

Later, those states -- including Oregon -- began binding themselves to the results of the preference polls, Muller said. He pointed to this as an analogy in which the states were trying to "convert legislative elections into a popular vote, even though there was no formal mechanism to do so."

Eventually, the Constitution was amended to make Senate seats elected by popular vote.

West argues that the direct election of senators did require the constitutional amendment to go into effect.

"And that was 100 years ago, when the political times were less polarized than what we have today," West said.

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Some states unsuccessfully tried to implement term limits for members of Congress about 20 or 30 years ago, Muller said. The Supreme Court said that was unconstitutional in 1995.

"So Missouri tried something a little more creative, which was to say, 'OK, we're going to ask all candidates to take a term-limits pledge, and we're gonna print if they violated their pledge, we're gonna put that on the ballot, or if they declined to support the term-limits pledge ... we're gonna print that on the ballot,'" Muller said.

"The goal was to say, 'Well, we're not keeping you off the ballot, we're just telling everyone whether or not you're adhering to term limits,'" Muller said. "And the Supreme Court said, 'Well you can't do that either.'"

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UNC Basketball: Another Giant Portal Target Commits Elsewhere

Despite consistent efforts this month, it appears UNC basketball is still in search of its next starting center.

• Author: Matt Giles

In this story:

Recruitments in the transfer portal are rarely a long, drawn-out process. UNC basketball head coach Hubert Davis and his assistants have surely noticed that the past few weeks as they seemingly must continue their hunt for a big man who has the proven potential to start right away in light of their former five-year starter, Armando Bacot, having exhausted his eligibility.

Some folks on social media figured Yale sophomore Danny Wolf could have filled that opening for the Tar Heels. Nevertheless, on Saturday, the 7-foot, 250-pounder, a First Team All-Ivy League selection and the reigning conference tournament MVP now sitting No. 19 overall on the 247Sports transfer rankings this cycle, revealed his commitment to Michigan .

According to 247Sports, Wolf entered the transfer portal a few weeks ago with a "do not contact" tag. However, he reached out himself to at least two schools in Michigan and UNC, initially with the desire to visit both, albeit ultimately without ever scheduling a trip to Chapel Hill.

ESPN Sources: Former Yale C Danny Wolf has committed to play for Michigan and Coach Dusty May. Wolf averaged 14.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 blocks per game while leading Yale to the round of 32. Major portal recruit, he had a multitude of options, but he wanted to… pic.twitter.com/QxDHas9aag — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 20, 2024

His announcement leaves only two big men in the transfer portal who have reportedly heard from the Tar Heels and have yet to announce their decisions. They are Tennessee's Jonas Aidoo, trending to Baylor in the eyes of the lone 247Sports Crystal Ball and currently on a visit with the Bears, and Rutgers' Clifford Omoruyi, who has UNC among his 12 finalists but is checking out Georgetown this weekend and is planning an upcoming trip to Alabama.

RELATED: UNC Looks Like Leader in One Key Transfer Sweepstakes

Danny Wolf became the fourth post presence confirmed on the 2024 UNC basketball transfer radar to end up choosing another program. The others were Arizona's Oumar Ballo to Indiana, Kentucky's Aaron Bradshaw to Ohio State, and Stanford's Maxime Raynaud, who withdrew from the portal after deciding to remain with the Cardinal.

Stay tuned to All Tar Heels on SI for more UNC basketball news.

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In Congress, Columbia’s Leaders Try to Please. At Home, They Face Anger.

For Columbia’s president, Nemat Shafik, a hearing on antisemitism went relatively well. But on campus, intense protests suggest a difficult road ahead for the university.

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By Sharon Otterman

Follow live updates on Pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University.

Representative Elise Stefanik leaned into the microphone and volleyed a series of questions at the university president sitting in front of her. It was about three hours into a congressional hearing examining antisemitism at Columbia University, and the president, Nemat Shafik, paused, sighed and gave a nervous laugh.

Ms. Stefanik had asked whether the university would remove a professor who praised the Oct. 7 Hamas attack from a role as chair of the university’s academic review committee .

After a few seconds, Dr. Shafik responded. “I think that would be — I think, I would, yes. Let me come back with yes,” she said.

Republican lawmakers on the House Committee on Education and the Work Force had come ready to pounce. They tested for weaknesses and prodded vulnerabilities, while their witnesses, a group of Columbia leaders, seemed conciliatory.

And yet, by the end, it seemed Dr. Shafik and other campus leaders had successfully diffused Republican lines of attack, repeatedly and vigorously agreeing that antisemitism was a serious problem on their campus and vowing that they would do more to fight it.

But as Dr. Shafik spoke, the tempest that she had been brought in to account for appeared to intensify. Back on campus in Manhattan, pro-Palestinian students erected an encampment with dozens of tents on a central campus lawn, vowing not to move until Columbia divested from companies with ties to Israel and met other demands. Hundreds of other students joined them to rally throughout the day.

The split-screen moment offered a glimpse of the precarious landscape and perilous choices Dr. Shafik still faces as she comes home from the antisemitism hearing. The protesting students, and the hundreds of others who have chanted and marched at pro-Palestinian rallies, along with dozens of supportive faculty members, have repeatedly rejected a point their leaders largely conceded on Wednesday in Washington — that their activism was antisemitic and should be punished.

“I think that antisemitism is horrible, but I don’t think that using the conflation of antisemitism and anti-Zionism as an excuse to crack down on pro-Palestine advocacy is justifiable or related in any sense,” said Maryam Alwan, a senior and pro-Palestinian organizer on campus, speaking from the tent encampment.

“And I think the fact that we are doing this on the day of the hearing,” she added, “I think it’s a testament to the fact that we truly will only rise stronger every time they crack down.”

How Dr. Shafik navigates this tension may well define her early presidency, even if the initial fallout from her appearance turns out to be far less than what faced her Ivy League colleagues at an earlier hearing in December. After that hearing, the presidents of Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania were pushed out of their positions, having given lawyerly answers to the question of whether calling for the genocide of Jews would violate campus rules.

In an opinion piece published this week , Dr. Shafik acknowledged the dilemma confronting college leaders trying to stay true to values of academic freedom while also trying to keep students safe and preventing discrimination.

“Trying to reconcile the speech rights of one part of our community with the rights of another part of our community to live in a supportive environment or at least an environment free of fear, harassment and discrimination, has been the central challenge at our university and on campuses across the country,” she wrote.

Ms. Shafik appeared at the hearing with the chairs of her board of trustees, Claire Shipman and David Greenwald, and with a senior law professor, David Schizer, who is a co-chair of the school’s antisemitism task force. From the beginning, the witnesses made clear that they were not going to take an oppositional stance.

“I am grateful,” Ms. Shipman said in her opening remarks, “for the spotlight that you are putting on this ancient hatred, and the critical role you play holding our most important institutions to account.”

The audience was friendly. Some student activists who support Palestinian rights had traveled from New York to attend, but they were excluded from the hearing room, which had very limited seats for the public. They shouted periodically from outside, “Let the students in.”

Inside the room, a row of about 20 Jewish students who have expressed concern about antisemitism at Columbia were given seats by arrangement with the committee. Some of them said afterward that what they heard from Dr. Shafik was a good start. Others wanted Columbia to go further.

Xavier Westergaard, a Ph.D. student in biology, said that he was disappointed when Dr. Shafik did not clearly state that some of Columbia faculty were antisemitic, even though the president did concede, under questioning, that some had said antisemitic things.

“The people who say antisemitic things are antisemitic,” he said. “It’s a very, very easy line to draw.” He said such professors should be fired.

But back in New York, where the hearing was playing on a big screen at a student center, the reaction was often much different.

Debbie Becher, one of more than 20 Jewish professors at Columbia and Barnard who have objected to what they call the weaponization of antisemitism by the congressional committee, was deeply upset.

“In today’s hearing, members of Congress tried to exert control over the university, and university leadership largely gave into their pressure,” she said. “President Shafik’s concessions to the committee set dangerous new precedents for university policy.”

The hearing room was full of lawmakers for the first several hours, but toward the end, some members trickled out of the room. Ms. Stefanik, who had so effectively acted as chief prosecutor for the Republicans in the December hearing, was as aggressive in her questioning as ever. She managed to catch Dr. Shafik off guard several times, particularly when she was questioned at length about why professors whose statements she conceded were abhorrent were still teaching on campus.

But this time, a few of her fellow party members also praised Columbia’s officials for doing better in the hearing than their Ivy League peers.

After the hearing ended, more protesters gathered on Broadway, outside the campus gates in Manhattan. They hoisted signs reading “Israel is starving Palestinians” and “Cease Genocide.” Several had verbal confrontations with police officers, who had begun boxing the protesters in with a maze of barricades. Others, delayed in getting to class, shook their heads in frustration.

Jin Hokkee, 23, a pre-med student at Columbia, waved a Palestinian flag. He said that the demonstration was influenced by the Washington testimony. “A lot of people don’t understand what we’re about, we’re not against Jewish people, we are showing support for people in Gaza,” he said.

Behind him, in call-and-response style, the demonstrators shouted some of the refrains that lawmakers had condemned earlier in the day.

“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

“Intifada, intifada, long live the intifada!”

A Columbia graduate student, Kim Silberman, 22, standing beside a man with a photo of an Israeli hostage, said that her parents moved from Israel to America after an attack had killed several of their neighbors.

“It’s really hard being a Jewish student here right now,” she said. “I would never have come here if I had known this was the case.”

Anusha Bayya and Nate Schweber contributed reporting.

Sharon Otterman is a Times reporter covering higher education, public health and other issues facing New York City. More about Sharon Otterman