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In terms of studying in this particular course, the realization of diminishing returns becomes evident when the information is not retained. When reading conceptual information, definitions, and scenarios in the text, the knowledge is retained and understandable. However, during the application process of drawing supply and demand curve coupled with applying formulas (elasticity, arc elasticity) and considering changing variables (price ceiling, surplus, shortage, equilibrium, inverse & direct relationship with substitutes and complement, etc…) things can get a little confusing. The longer I spend studying in one session, the greater change of confusion and wasted time. The marginal time spent becomes opportunity cost and the increased confusion will result in diminishing return in terms of yielding a bad grade due to lack of grasping the material.
If I were to associate my college education with a job in industry, then I would correlate the professor to the foreman with me and the other students as the workers. In order for us to make a living, we must pass each class, and for undergraduate work that requires at least a C average. However, if we have designs for graduate level work, we should strive for a B to A average in our course work. When looking at the various assignments (demand) we find out how much they are worth towards our overall grade. Some are worth 20% (high return on investment) while others are worth 1% (low return on investment). Our supply in this instance is our time, and our cost associated with completing each assignment is what we could be doing with that time. Understanding this, we would budget our time according to those high paying projects. At some point, we have reached our goal (A or B in the course). At that point, any additional work or study begins to diminish our return on investment (based on our goal). At some point, normally when we reach our goal, or realize that no matter what additional work we complete our grade will not be much higher, we are no longer gaining anything by continuing our studies (with the exception of education, however our goal is grade related) and our time could be spent in other endeavors. When there are multiple classes, this time versus study, versus return on investment must be balanced to achieve harmony. The more classes, the more one must budget their supply against the relative demand of the professors. In any case, by understanding the syllabus and what each assignment offers the student should assist in deciding which investments have diminishing returns.
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