This is the 964th most frequent Russian word.
студентов
"Students" (genitive plural form).
Here, 'студентов' is in the genitive plural form to indicate a multitude.
В аудитории много студентов.
There are many students in the auditorium.
In this sentence, 'студентам' is in the dative plural form as a grammatical object receiving something (the advice).
Их совет помог многим студентам.
Their advice helped many students.
In this context, 'студентов' is in the accusative plural form, showing the direct object of the action.