Every semester starts the same: a new syllabus, ambitious promises to yourself, and a new, success-focused mindset. You tell yourself this is the semester where you’re going to go to every class, start your assignments early, and finally lock in. Turns out, you’re not alone.
In the leadup to back-to-college season, Her Campus surveyed over 350 Gen Zers about what’s in for the new school year, and one of the biggest takeaways has nothing to do with new fashion trends or dorm decor — it’s about doing well in class. According to the survey, 98% of Gen Zers said “locking in” is going to trending this fall semester. What’s more, 77% said skipping class isn’t cool, 72% said going to back-to-back classes is cool, and 50% are into the idea of graduating early. All signs point to the 2026-2027 school year being the one when everyone becomes the academic weapon they always talked about being.
But even with color-coded highlighters and hour-by-hour study schedules, being a star pupil in college is no easy feat. That’s why Her Campus asked high-achieving students to share the habits they use that actually help them lock in. Their answers range from practical to unexpectedly specific, but all point to the same thing: There’s more than one way to become an academic weapon.
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
- Start strong.
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“Building good habits early is super beneficial. It took me a while to get into a rhythm where I was successful because I did not prioritize it. The time I could’ve spent learning to be a better student would’ve helped me improve sooner.” – Sammy*, University of Virginia alum
- Plan ahead.
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“Assign your class work for each class to one day out of the week. For example, for one of your classes, you should complete the work for that class on Monday. For another class, that work should be completed on Tuesday. So on and so forth. This allowed me to not be burdened with a million things on one day out of the week, and gave me some structure.” – Mary*, University of Central Florida senior
- Record yourself.
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“This is something I’ve been doing since high school. When I need to seriously lock in, I set up a time lapse on my phone and film myself studying. Not only does it keep me from getting distracted on my phone, but it’s also really entertaining to watch back as a reward for a few hours of hard work.” – Ella, University of Utah junior
- Create a distraction-free study environment.
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“Have everything you would need around you: snacks, water, whatever. It’ll mean less getting up to become distracted.” – Nicole*, Virginia Tech senior
- Only listen to one song.
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“Play one song on repeat for the study session. Sometimes I do one song per assignment or class so there’s a bit of variation, but during the longer study sessions, playing just one song makes it go by quicker somehow. And when I start to get sick of studying, if I change to a different song on repeat, it feels like a reset, so I trick myself into studying longer.” – Julia, University of Washington junior
- Use the Pomodoro Technique (even if imperfectly).
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“Pomodoro. It’s a time-management technique. Even if I don’t follow the timers perfectly, it helps me keep track of how long I’m doing everything for and stay on schedule.” – Cami*, University of Virginia alum
- Change your phone settings.
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“I put my phone on black and white sometimes because the lack of color isn’t stimulating to your brain, so you’ll lose interest in your phone faster. The bright colors of apps [can] trigger dopamine in your brain, which keeps you interested in scrolling.” – Cierra, Pennsylvania State University alum
- Schedule your study sessions.
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“Set designated study times and schedule them strategically through your day, for every day of the semester. Don’t take breaks; consistency over delay. Trust me, it’s far easier to distribute your studies evenly throughout the entire semester.” – Alba*, Virginia Tech senior
- Use active recall.
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“I like talking out loud to myself about the material and making connections.” – Jess*, New York University junior
- Get comfortable with being bored.
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“Before starting really deep study sessions that demanded my full attention, I would spend 30 minutes staring at a blank wall. I found this far better than attempting a study session after casually scrolling on my phone and getting quick dopamine hits. I limited phone usage during breaks as well to maintain this baseline. Boredom is powerful today.” – Devi*, Virginia Tech alum
- Multitask (responsibly).
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“Most of my classes are long lectures on the information that’s already in the modules. If I don’t feel like going to class, I convince myself by saying that I can just complete my work during the class, so I don’t have to do it later. It surprisingly helped me out a lot.” – Carrie*, University of Central Florida senior
- Actually learn, don’t just complete the assignments.
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“Do the homework until it makes sense.” – Dee*, Virginia Tech senior
- Block out the noise — literally.
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“I put my noise cancelling AirPods in with white noise as the background sound and jazz music over top. It blocks out everything.” – Chloe*, University of Florida graduate student
- Move around while you study.
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“If I’m practicing for an exam or rehearsing a speech, I’m not sitting down. I walk around, I repeat keywords out loud, and I sometimes air draw or make hand gestures (those techniques are best used for speeches).” – Josie*, Virginia Tech senior
- Time-batch your homework.
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“When I don’t want to do any homework, I just set a 30-minute timer. I’ll do that in repeated increments, and usually after the first time, I’ll be locked in enough to just keep going.” – Makaylie, Utah Valley University senior
- Try different methods.
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“Toy around with different study habits and find out what works for you! We are all different, so what works for someone else might not be the right fit, and that’s OK!” – Greta*, Virginia Tech senior
*Names have been changed.
