Life has a sneaky way of creating meaning from seemingly inconsequential decisions, and every semester this truth is retaught. Should you get this apartment or the one down the street? Do you sit in the front of the class or the back? Will you sign up for a sports class in the morning or the afternoon? Depending on where you go, you’ll meet different people and make friends who are more than just your weekend respite from class—they’ll impact your grades and what and how you learn while at school.
Understanding the relationship between friends and grades helps students (1) connect an acquaintance to an A+ and (2) make a dream peer group a reality.
Connect an Acquaintance to an A+
Most people recognize that friends have important social and emotional benefits, but what kind of academic benefits do they hold? Research from 1993 finds that “the student’s peer group is the single most potent source of influence on growth and development during the undergraduate years.”1 Understanding how a peer group influences a student’s success helps everyone create a supportive culture on campus.
Have friends that will not only help you through the rough times, but also praise you through the good times. The graphic below depicts a few of the mindset shifts a student may experience when friends respond encouragingly to positive school achievements (e.g., getting good test grades, overcoming a difficult section of a project, finishing homework).
Students are able to build “resilience, skills, and knowledge” through increased pride in accomplishments, expanded understanding of self, and heightened awareness that others can help.2 A boost of social support after positive events encourages healthy emotional attachment to school and high-achievement, lessening the probability of raising negative emotions.3 Studies explain that “when students perceive that members of the academic community care about them, they do better in their classes.”4
A student’s experience with peer groups is influenced by their family’s educational background. Families of first-generation college students generally do not have the resources to provide needed academic support, making peer groups—which can provide study and class advice—a vital factor in determining a student’s success.5 If you’re a first-generation college student, look for strong peer groups to help give you support; if you come from a family that has a background in college education, reach out to first-generation students and learn from their unique perspective.
Make a Dream Peer Group a Reality
University commonly presents itself as a social environment with many opportunities to make new friends. Yet, a 2017 study by the American College Heath Association found that 63% of American college students feel lonely.6 Gender and age differences can create varying stumbling blocks for making friends; however, students face two consistent hurdles: lack of time and introversion.7
Lack of Time
If you want to know someone’s priorities, look at the way they spend their time. Even with papers to write, jobs to do, and textbooks to study, quality relationships are still possible by integrating people into necessary activities. Create get-to-know-you games before study groups, cook meals with roommates, or go grocery shopping with a friend.
Introversion
A study in 1994 found that “isolating from peers and being physically removed from campus activities negatively affects a variety of cognitive outcomes for students.”8 While this may have been the case 25 years ago, technology now enables new ways to make friends. Virtual classes create a space for less outspoken students to contribute through chat comments, and asynchronous online group work opens opportunities for students to get to know one another on their own time. Even if you don’t make many friends during college, the good news is that the quality of friends has more effect on your grades than the quantity of friends.9
Making friends through technology became the only option for many students during the COVID-19 pandemic. As in-person activities resume, introverted students can continue to use technology as a way to make friends that help academically. Consider acting on the following:
- Joining a specific club suited to your interests.
- Creating a goal to sit next to—and introduce yourself to—someone you admire in class.
- Inviting a few classmates to do an online study group.
Having friends who both applaud your accomplishments and understand your background will help you academically. Share more of your circumstances with those you trust. When the demands of student life or personality differences make new introductions difficult, adjust familiar activities to take the first step out of your comfort zone and one step closer to an A+.
Citations
- 1. Astin, A. W. What matters in college? Four critical years revisited. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. (1993).
- Altermatt, Ellen Rydell. “Academic Support From Peers as a Predictor of Academic Self-Efficacy Among College Students.” Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice 21, no. 1 (May 2019): 21–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/1521025116686588.
- Altermatt, Ellen Rydell. “Academic Support From Peers as a Predictor of Academic Self-Efficacy Among College Students.”
- Susannah K. Brown, and Charles A. Burdsal. “An Exploration of Sense of Community and Student Success Using the National Survey of Student Engagement.” The Journal of General Education 61, no. 4 (2012): 433-60. Accessed May 13, 2021. doi:10.5325/jgeneeduc.61.4.0433.
- Dennis, Jessica M., Jean S. Phinney, and Ivy Chuateco Lizette. “The role of motivation, parental support, and peer support in the academic success of ethnic minority first-generation college students.” Journal of College Student Development 46, (3) (May 2005): 223-236. http://erl.lib.byu.edu/login/?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/role-motivation-parental-support-peer-academic/docview/195179649/se-2?accountid=4488.
- American College Health Association. American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II: Reference Group Executive Summary Fall 2017. Hanover, MD: American College Health Association; 2018.
- Menelaos Apostolou, Despoina Keramari. “What prevents people from making friends: A taxonomy of reasons.” Personality and Individual Differences Volume 163 (Sept 2020). ISSN 0191-8869,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110043.
- Feldman, Kenneth A. “The Impact of College on Students.” The Journal of Higher Education 65, no. 5 (1994): 615-22. doi:10.2307/2943781.
- Mayhew, Matthew J., Rockenbach, Alyssa N., Bowman, Nicholas A., Seifert, Tricia A. D., Wolniak, Gregory C., Pascarella, Ernest T., and Terenzini, Patrick T.. How College Affects Students : 21st Century Evidence That Higher Education Works. Newark: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2016. Accessed May 11, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central.
