Hi Mason, Both can help, but they serve different jobs. Solo time is best for building deep understanding because you can do focused retrieval practice and struggle productively without shortcuts. Groups shine for exposing gaps, forcing you to explain ideas out loud, and staying accountable. For most tough classes a 70 to 30 split of solo to group time works well. For example, in differential equations I learned methods alone, then met twice a week in a small group to pressure test my solutions and catch algebra slips. Make the group intentional. Keep it to 3 or 4 people for 60 to 90 minutes with a shared agenda and no phones. With two tough classes, alternate group focus each session or split the hour evenly so you keep momentum without context switching mid problem. Before meeting, everyone attempts the same problem set and marks the exact steps where they got stuck.
In the session do 10 minutes of silent recall on a blank page, then take turns giving a 2 minute teach back of one concept, then work three representative problems on a whiteboard with a 12 minute timer per problem and a rule to state assumptions when stuck for 3 minutes. End by writing individual next steps and a date for the next check in, and do the rest of the heavy lifting alone with timed practice blocks.
