Passage 1

Surveys about freshmen tell us why most students go to college: 88% want a"better chancefor a good job", and 81% want to be"rich and wealthy". However, most students today can not reach these goals. One careful study has discovered that the undergraduates are spending lesstime on study — from about 25 hours per week in the early 1960s to below 15 hours today.

Studying also leads to better college grades. To have better grades means higher chances of becoming"rich and wealthy". One study of 20,000 alumni(校友)15 years after their graduation found the following results. Those who were in the top third of the class earned a lot more thanthose in the middle third. The middle third earned more than classmates in the bottom third. Not surprisingly, those whose grades were not good at college wished they had studied more in school.

Whether students should study alone or with others is more complicated. If the teachersleave problems for students to solve, group study is often helpful if students first try to study bythemselves. But simply getting together with classmates without first studying alone seems badfor learning. In choosing courses, many students prefer classes with a little homework and easy grading. Yet taking harder courses with longer readings and more papers helps to increase learning.

In college, there will still be plenty of time for fun. Once again, however, researchers find that not all outside activities are good. In general, activities, such as participating in studentorganizations and talking with classmates can be more fruitful.

Last but not least, college is a wonderful place to have new interests, enrich yourexperience, and set your goals. In doing so, you might think again about whether "being richand wealthy" should be your main reason for studying in college. According to sever alinvestigators, money seekers are usually less satisfied with their lives. Maybe they are more likely to neglect things that are more important, such as family, friends and work.