It is my experience that there are many levels, or realms, of existence in the afterlife; as Jesus said "there are many mansions in my Fathers house." It is no more just one thing after human death as it is one thing for every body living here on Earth. Diversity permeates creation, and yes, in some realms you do study while in other realms there is no need to study. Understanding that creation continues in the afterlife in many different realms, and then there are realms where form does not exist.
There are realms where you are pure disembodied consciousness and what you think will instantly appear, while in other realms you may have a body. Your body will always be composed of the same materials that are present in the realm where you dwell. Like here on earth our body is 2/3rds water like the earth.
I have experienced gaseous realms where my body was also gaseous, or realms of intense light and radiant energy, and my body was also made of that radiant energy and glowed with intense light. The realm which you go to after human death depends on you. It is like osmosis; you rise to the level which you have achieved. We all live and have our being within the body of God, and our own physical body reflects some of the features, on a meager level, that are contained within the Body of God; like osmosis, homeostasis, and other things which are functions within our physical body that can also be seen in nature, and beyond.
A lot of people say that the afterlife is just like it is here on earth, and that is true for the realms which are closest to this earthly realm. In my opinion what people call the "astral plane" is not a high, or more expansive, plane of existence. In the higher more expansive realms there is no form, no houses, no landscape, and it definitely does not resemble anything here on earth.
So those who have had out-of-body experiences, which I have, and I have also known a few people who also had near death or out-of-body experiences, and all concur that each persons experience of life here on earth is unique and each person's human death, and afterlife, will also be as unique as that person is. The work you do on yourself now will pay off big time in ways we could never imagine.
Regardless, every out-of-body experience which I have had has been extremely beautiful, unfathomable, and have left me awe struck. I don't claim to have all the answers, and can not tell a person what they will experience in the afterlife; that is because your after human life experience will be as unique as you are. As unique as your conditioning at the time of your death, or as unique as the work you have done on yourself to bring out your own inner light. IMHO.
P.S. If you ascend into a realm which resembles planet earth than most likely you are still within the consciousness of planet earth. Planet earth is a living being and we are influenced by its' consciousness; we all live in each others consciousness, and on earth we all live in each others dreams and expectations. But spiritual development can take us beyond the earth's consciousness into a more finer realm of existence; a realm where there may be no time, just one eternal moment.