Не то чтобы учёба стала легче, но после этого разговора мне стало спокойнее.

Not quite. Не то чтобы is a fixed expression that softens or qualifies what follows.

It often means something like:

• It’s not that...
• Not exactly that...
• I wouldn’t say that...

So Не то чтобы учёба стала легче, но... does not mean a flat denial like Учёба не стала легче. It suggests:

• the speaker does not fully agree that studying became easier,
• but they are about to say something related that is still positive.

It is a very natural way to make your statement more nuanced and less blunt.

Because here не то чтобы functions as a set expression, almost like a single discourse unit meaning it’s not that... or not exactly that....

So in modern standard writing, it is normally written without separating то and чтобы:

• Не то чтобы учёба стала легче, но...

The comma comes later, before но, because that is where the two clauses are being contrasted.

Because учёба is a feminine singular noun, and in the past tense Russian verbs agree with the subject in gender and number.

So:

• учёба = feminine singular
• therefore стала = feminine singular past tense of стать

Compare:

• работа стала легче
• жизнь стала лучше
• дело стало проще ← neuter subject, so стало

Because легче is the comparative form of лёгкий / легко and does not change for gender or number.

In учёба стала легче, the idea is became easier. After стать, Russian often uses this comparative form to describe a change of state:

• стало лучше
• стало труднее
• стало проще
• стала легче

Even though учёба is feminine, легче stays the same. The verb agrees with учёба, but the comparative form does not.

Russian very often uses the comparative without saying the second half of the comparison when it is obvious from context.

So:

• учёба стала легче = studying became easier than before
• мне стало спокойнее = I felt calmer than before / than I had been

This is extremely common. You only add чем if you want to name the thing you are comparing with:

• Стало легче, чем раньше.
• Мне стало спокойнее, чем до разговора.

But if the comparison is clear, Russian usually leaves it unstated.

After the preposition после meaning after, Russian uses the genitive case.

So:

• после
  • genitive

That gives:

• этот разговор → nominative
• после этого разговора → genitive

Both words change:

• этот → этого
• разговор → разговора

This is a very important pattern to memorize:

• после урока
• после встречи
• после работы
• после этого разговора

Because Russian often uses an impersonal construction with the dative case to talk about a person’s internal state.

So:

• мне стало спокойнее = literally, it became calmer to me
• natural English meaning: I felt calmer

This structure is very common for feelings and states:

• мне стало легче
• мне стало грустно
• мне стало страшно
• мне стало лучше

You can say я стал спокойнее, but it is a bit different in nuance.

• я стал спокойнее = I became a calmer person / I am now calmer in general
• мне стало спокойнее = I felt calmer, my emotional state became calmer

In this sentence, the second one fits better because the speaker is talking about how they felt after the conversation.

Because this is an impersonal sentence.

There is no nominative subject like я controlling the verb. The person is in the dative case: мне. Since there is no normal subject for the verb to agree with, Russian commonly uses the past tense in the neuter singular:

• мне стало легче
• ему стало плохо
• ей стало обидно
• нам стало ясно

So стало is not agreeing with мне. It is the default neuter singular form used in this kind of construction.

In sentences like this, it is best to think of спокойнее as a comparative predicative form describing a state.

For a learner, the practical point is this:

• after стать / стало, Russian often uses forms like лучше, хуже, легче, спокойнее, труднее
• these forms do not agree like normal long-form adjectives

So in:

• мне стало спокойнее

спокойнее means calmer, describing the resulting state.

You do not need to force it into the exact same category as an English adjective or adverb. What matters most is how it behaves in the sentence.

Yes, that would be grammatical, but it changes the tone.

Compare:

• Не то чтобы учёба стала легче, но после этого разговора мне стало спокойнее.
• Учёба не стала легче, но после этого разговора я успокоился.

The original sentence sounds:

• more nuanced,
• more natural in reflective speech,
• softer and less absolute.

Also, мне стало спокойнее is slightly gentler and more state-focused than я успокоился, which sounds more like a completed emotional shift: I calmed down.

So the original version is elegant because both halves are carefully balanced:

• not exactly easier,
• but emotionally easier to deal with.

Yes, the word order can be changed, because Russian word order is fairly flexible.

The given order is natural because it introduces the time/background first:

• после этого разговора = after this conversation

and then gives the result:

• мне стало спокойнее

Other possible orders include:

• Мне стало спокойнее после этого разговора.
• Спокойнее мне стало после этого разговора.

These are all possible, but they sound slightly different in emphasis.

The original version is smooth and neutral: first the trigger, then the effect.