How to Win at College: Surprising Secrets for Success from the Country's Top Students

If you're looking at reviews for this book then you're likely looking for some insight into the college process on a deeper level than surface-level advice. In that case, you should undoubtedly get this book.I'm going to college next year, and I'm the type of person who copes with things by reading about them. Books like this book are the reason I do that. It's clear and easy to read, it's direct, it's straightforward, and best of all, it's full of simple advice that can dramatically improve one's college experience. It provides this advice without being pretentious- the book's title turned me off at first, and while the author certainly has a very pragmatic approach to college life, he decries resume-padding and the like.I've recommended it to many of my classmates, and it will serve as a sort of bible for me next year. As much as it's helpful on a practical level, it's helped me in another way, too. I went looking for books because I was nervous about next year. This book helped reassure me by encouraging me to focus on the exciting aspects rather than the unnerving ones. If only I could get such a powerful effect every time I spent ten dollars.A few years later:This review actually was written by my then high-school-age son, and I have to tell you that he went on to have an absolutely stellar, meaningful career at an Ivy League college. During those four years, and since, he has frequently referenced this book, and its author, whose other books he later read, as having been his primary source of guidance about how to handle his undergraduate life.

Mesmerizing, profound, even for a study machine such as myself. Cal Newport, a college student himself, wrote these books after interviewing extraordinary students around the country who had straight A's, full social lives, and did lots of extracurriculars such as starting businesses & non-profits, and being politically involved. The point of all his books is how to study more efficiently so you can be an outstanding student while fitting in other essential dimensions of the college experience such as friends, parties and guest lectures. And unlike "speed reading," his techniques are not smoke and mirrors; they are solid and make sense.I didn't feel there was much overlap between his books. "How to Win at College" is composed of 75 two-page "tips" that cover a very wide range of topics. This is the book I originally fell in love with and ordered copies of for many friends, and I recommend reading it first. His second book, "How to Become a Straight A Student," focuses on a few key skills: the trap of "pseudo-studying," time management, how to actually study, conquer exams, and write papers. However once I read it, I liked it almost better than the first one!In short, they are both indespensible, easy reads, hard to put down, and completely different from any other "study skills" books you might read. They are basically "myth busters" of conventional wisdom about school success. If you want to know the "secrets of the universe" regarding succeeding in and loving college, look no further.

To be honest, if I had just graduated high school and someone gave me this book as a gift, I would roll my eyes and never open it. I picked it up a week ago, however, now that I am almost done with my second year of university, and I really do wish that I had had it (and cared to read it) two years ago.The book is seventy-five pieces of advice, each with about two pages of explanation. The advice is pretty simple, as you can see from looking at the table of contents ("Dress Nicely for Class," "Never Nap," "Eat Healthy," "Always Go to Class"). But the reason this book is effective is that it serves as a quick-reference manifesto for some of the more important (to me) advice.For example, I'm taking a grad-level fiction writing class. No due dates (except the final deadline at the end of the semester) and no class. You just write at your own pace and turn in a portfolio. This is incredibly difficult for me to do, and I'm unbelievably far behind in the work for the class. I was really quite worried about how I would ever pull it off. The whole semester, my fiction work has been priority #75, and I usually crash between priorities #14 and #20. But with some of the advice in this book ("Keep a Work Progress Journal," "Set Arbitrary Deadlines," "Avoid Daily To-Do Lists," "Don't Take Breaks Between Classes"), I actually feel pretty confident about being able to finish on time. By reading this book (and [...] and Newport's more recent book, How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less) I've adopted some strategies and habits that have actually yielded results.Before Cal Newport, I was up late every night, angrily doing my homework until I couldn't drink any more tea, without any free time. Now, I'm getting my homework done before sundown (for the most part), feeling enormously more relaxed, and regaining a good amount of the excitement that I had about college before I got here.If you're on your way to college, and you're the sort of person who can stomach (and listen to) advice, do yourself a favor and read this book. Newport admits in the introduction that not every piece of advice will be for you (for me: "Exercise Five Days a Week" and "Use a Filing Cabinet"). If you want to be more than an average student without being a "grind," this book has a good deal of solid advice.If you're already in college, and you're looking for more in-depth and practical advice, I recommend also reading How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less. It has more thorough advice for confronting the terrors that you have come to know in college.

i browsed thsi book, but haven't read it completely. I purchased it as part of my nephew's high school graduation present, to get him ready for college. I think it's filled with some practical and super helpful information!