The Secrets of College Success

by Jacobs, Lynn F.; Hyman, Jeremy S.

• ISBN13: 9780470874660
• ISBN10: 047087466X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-07-26
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

Written by two award-winning professors, this guide is loaded with insider information that only professors know--but few are willing to reveal. The over 600 tips are quick and easy-to-use, and the advice is friendly and supportive.

If you're currently a college student, or plan on being one, you need to check out this book.

Written by award-winning professors Lynn Jacobs and Jeremy Hyman, it's loaded with insider information that only professors know — but few are willing to reveal.

The over six hundred tips in this book will show you:

-How to pick good courses and avoid bad professors

-How to develop "college-level" skills and habits that'll put you ahead of the pack

-How to get through the freshman comp, math, language, and lab science requirements — in one try

-How to figure out what's going to be on the tests, and what professors are looking for in papers and presentations

-How to pick a major you'll really like — and be good at

-How to get the edge for graduate school — or the inside track to a really good job

-and much more

The tips are quick and easy-to-use, and the advice is friendly and supportive. It's as if you had your own personal professor guiding you on the path to college success.

"I laughed, I took notes, I loved every page. And I'm not even in college. If you are, don't even think about not buying this book. It will be the best thing you ever did for yourself."-Richard Bolles, author of What Color Is Your Parachute?

"It would be impossible not to learn something important from this book." -J. Steven Reznick, professor and associate dean for first year seminars, University of North Carolina

Author Biography

Dr. Lynn F. Jacobs is professor of Art History at the University of Arkansas. She previously taught at Vanderbilt University, California State University Northridge, University of Redlands, and New York University. Jeremy S. Hyman is founder and chief architect of Professors' Guidesup/sup projects. He has taught at the University of Arkansas, University of California Los Angeles, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Princeton University. Lynn and Jeremy blog at usnews.com and readersdigest.com and are co-authors of the book Professors' Guide to Getting Good Grades in College. Additional tips and tricks are available at www.professorguide.com.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. xiii
Top 10 Reasons to Read This Book	p. xv
The Professors' Guide™ Icons	p. xvii
This is College
10 Things You Need to Know About College (but Probably Don't)	p. 2
What's New at College? Fun Facts	p. 6
The 14 Habits of Top College Students	p. 8
The 11 Secrets of Getting Good Grades in College	p. 11
6 Things You Didn't Know About Grading (but Really Should)	p. 15
12 Ways to Get Your Money's Worth out of College	p. 18
The College Student's Bill of Rights	p. 22
In the Beginning...
7 Things to Do the Summer Before College	p. 26
15 Things to Do the Week Before College	p. 30
Do's and Don'ts for Picking Your Courses	p. 34
No Room at the Inn? What to Do When You're Closed out of a Course	p. 37
10 Questions to Ask Yourself the First Week of Classes	p. 39
Warning! Bad Professor Ahead	p. 42
Skills 3.0
Top 10 Time-Management Tips	p. 48
Why It's Never Good to Procrastinate	p. 52
The How Not to Study Guide	p. 55
10 Secrets of Taking Excellent Lecture Notes	p. 59
15 Ways to Read Like a Pro	p. 63
15 Strategies for Painless Presentations	p. 67
Running Scared? How to Build Your Confidence	p. 71
Forced Labor
10 Ways to Whip the Freshman Comp Requirement	p. 76
10 Tips for Taming the Math Requirement	p. 80
Top 10 Tips for Mastering the Foreign Language Requirement	p. 84
10 Ideas for Learning to Love the Lab	p. 88
10 Tips for the First-Year Experience Course	p. 92
How to Take Courses on the 'Net-for Free	p. 95
It's Showtime!
12 Tips for A+ Test Preparation	p. 100
"So What's Going to Be on the Test Anyway?"	p. 105
Top 13 Test-Taking Tips	p. 108
10 Tips for Writing the Perfect Paper	p. 113
Top 10 Ways of Making the Leap from a B to an A	p. 117
16 Techniques for Doing Research Like a Professor	p. 118
Partnering with the Professor
15 Ways to Make Your Professor Love You	p. 125
The 15 Secrets of Going to See the Professor	p. 129
Etiquette for E-mailing Your Professor	p. 134
10 Surefire Ways to Piss Off Your Professor	p. 137
Top 10 Things Professors Never Want to Hear (and What They Think When They Do Hear Them)	p. 141
Emergency 9-1-1
10 Things to Do When You Can't Keep Up with the Lecture	p. 144
Top 10 Signs You've Been Cutting Too Many Classes	p. 148
Bombed the Midterm: Now What?	p. 149
7 Best Last-Minute Strategies for Saving Your Grade	p. 152
10 Signs You're in Real Trouble at College	p. 156
What, Then, to Do? The 7-Step Approach	p. 159
The Second Half of College
How Not to Pick a Major	p. 162
13 Skills You'll Need for a Career-and How to Get Them at College	p. 167
Top 10 Myths About Study Abroad	p. 171
Transfer Tips-from Community College to 4-Year College	p. 175
Thinking About Grad School? The 10-Step Program	p. 178
10 Tips for Finding a Job	p. 183
The End-and the Beginning
Got a Tip? Join the Community!	p. 189
Acknowledgments	p. 191
Web Resources	p. 193
Index	p. 195
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