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What sets college thrivers and divers apart? A contrast in study habits, attitudes, and mental health

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  • Beattie, Graham
  • Laliberté, Jean-William P.
  • Michaud-Leclerc, Catherine
  • Oreopoulos, Philip

Abstract

Using a mandatory survey with open-ended questions asking students about their first-year university experience, we explore what particular behaviors, study habits and overall experiences early in college distinguish students who do very well in college (Thrivers) from those who struggle greatly (Divers). We find that poor time management and very little time spent studying are most associated with poor academic performance. Divers also report feeling more depressed and unhappy with their lives. Both Thrivers and Divers arrive with high aspirations, but Divers consistently fall short of their own study expectations. These patterns suggest that very poor performing college students are not happily trading off academic performance for more preferable activities, and that increasing the amount of time students spend trying to learn may be an important necessary condition for improving achievement.

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  • Beattie, Graham & Laliberté, Jean-William P. & Michaud-Leclerc, Catherine & Oreopoulos, Philip, 2019. "What sets college thrivers and divers apart? A contrast in study habits, attitudes, and mental health," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 50-53.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:178:y:2019:i:c:p:50-53
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2018.12.026
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    10. Beattie, Graham & Laliberté, Jean-William P. & Oreopoulos, Philip, 2018. "Thrivers and divers: Using non-academic measures to predict college success and failure," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 170-182.
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    Cited by:

    1. Pugatch, Todd & Wilson, Nicholas, 2018. "Nudging study habits: A field experiment on peer tutoring in higher education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 151-161.
    2. Adam M. Lavecchia & Philip Oreopoulos & Robert S. Brown, 2020. "Long-Run Effects from Comprehensive Student Support: Evidence from Pathways to Education," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 2(2), pages 209-224, June.
    3. Oreopoulos, Philip & Petronijevic, Uros & Logel, Christine & Beattie, Graham, 2020. "Improving non-academic student outcomes using online and text-message coaching," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 342-360.
    4. Beattie, Graham & Laliberté, Jean-William P. & Oreopoulos, Philip, 2018. "Thrivers and divers: Using non-academic measures to predict college success and failure," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 170-182.
    5. Philip Oreopoulos & Uros Petronijevic, 2019. "The Remarkable Unresponsiveness of College Students to Nudging And What We Can Learn from It," NBER Working Papers 26059, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Pugatch, Todd & Schroeder, Elizabeth & Wilson, Nicholas, 2022. "Study More Tomorrow," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1115, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    7. Saltiel, Fernando, 2020. "Gritting it out: The importance of non-cognitive skills in academic mismatch," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    8. Philip Oreopoulos, 2021. "What Limits College Success? A Review and Further Analysis of Holzer and Baum's Making College Work," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 59(2), pages 546-573, June.
    9. Rachel Baker & Brent Evans & Qiujie Li & Bianca Cung, 2019. "Does Inducing Students to Schedule Lecture Watching in Online Classes Improve Their Academic Performance? An Experimental Analysis of a Time Management Intervention," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 60(4), pages 521-552, June.
    10. Richard L. Wallace & Jess Greenburg & Susan G. Clark, 2020. "Confronting anxiety and despair in environmental studies and sciences: an analysis and guide for students and faculty," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 10(2), pages 148-155, June.
    11. Chux Gervase Iwu, 2020. "Socioeconomic Implications of Examination Fraud and Assessment Irregularities in South Africa’s Higher Education Sector: A Futuristic View," Journal of Social and Development Sciences, AMH International, vol. 10(3), pages 39-46.
    12. Christine Logel & Philip Oreopoulos & Uros Petronijevic, 2021. "Experiences and Coping Strategies of College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic," NBER Working Papers 28803, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economics of education; Non-cognitive skills; Academic trap;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General

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