By Lindsey Bever/editor-in-chief
   An interesting statistic was recently released: American female college students are more likely than males to earn an A in college courses.
   A recent study conducted by Student Monitor, an organization that publishes market research on U.S. college students, revealed that out of 1,800 college students nationwide, we women are more likely to actually read our textbooks, study harder and expect to graduate in less time than guys. We are 35 percent more likely to study daily, 21 percent more likely to study 15 or more hours weekly and 23 percent more likely to read our textbooks thoroughly, according to Student Monitor. I suppose we really are the better half.
   Male college students study one-third less than the females, party more and require additional time to graduate. Thus, guys are more likely to earn C’s or worse in their courses.
   So what’s the problem? Do men lack the brains, ability or simply the motivation to put forth extra academic effort? Luckily, it appears a short supply of inspiration is all most guys lack.
   Men are far more likely to skim a textbook. Plus, 26 percent study late at night after their brain has gone to sleep and party 20 percent more often than women. Sadly, only one-third of all men observed study on a daily basis. Well, kudos to the few and the proud.
   In reality, women are not necessarily smarter, we just take more pride in our grades and possibly have a higher desire for learning.
   Although it may appear an extreme case, I found myself studying 16-18 hours for a final exam last semester while observing a few male classmates cramming five minutes before the test.
   I have actually heard some guys rationalize that one to two hours before an exam is ample time to study. According to some, if the desired information cannot be obtained in that window of time, it cannot be learned.
   Wrong. It takes many study sessions over an extended amount of time to store data into long-term memory. How do I know? I learned that in psychology.
   Student Monitor found that students who study more than 15 hours per week are 43 percent more likely to earn an A than those who don’t. And considering we are all shelling out the big bucks to learn, we should definitely work to retain it.