In another study of why students underachieve, Balduf (2009) looked at individual study skills. She reported that nearly all students—even those with strong high school grades—reported that “high school did not require them to work hard enough and felt that they earned high grades without expending much effort” (2009, p. 284). Her research found that many students enter post-secondary programs without effective study skills or adequate time management abilities and that students were externally motivated (eg. looking for grades or parental rewards) rather than being internally motivated (eg. seeking understanding, understanding, or integration of various knowledge domains). She reports that students also found that the amount of freedom in post-secondary institutions was an additional challenge to their time management skills.

A more robust study of time management and student success used a combination of GPA results and a set of questionnaires administered to both the participants and a friend of each participant. This study found that time management skills, intelligence, time spent studying, waking up earlier, owning a computer, spending less time in passive leisure, and eating a healthy diet were all significant predictors of positive GPA results (George, Dixon, Stansal, Gelb, & Pheri, 2008).