The Secrets of College Success (Professors' Guide)

This book has tons of useful information about how to do well at college. The great thing is that it's written in the form of top-ten and do's and don'ts lists, so it's easy to read and you get the information quickly. It was even pretty funny. I learned a lot about how to take tests and write papers, how to study and take better notes, and how to start preparing for grad school and a career. I thought it was good that the book included material on specific requirements (such as freshman comp, math, and foreign language courses) and that it really tried to motivate students and help them build their confidence. The book also gave me a much better sense about how professors think. I was pretty surprised to learn how professors grade and I found the tips on how to approach the professor especially useful (I've never really gone to see a professor, but I'm planning to do so now). The book also has really nice graphics. I liked the icons for "Best kept secrets," and "5 Star tips,"...Read more

I've just had a sneak peak at a new book being published on Monday, The Secrets of College Success, by Lynn F. Jacobs and Jeremy S. Hyman, weekly columnists at US News and World Report and bloggers at [...], the Huffington Post, and Reader's Digest. It's a book I wish I'd had access to before I went to college.

Some of the content seems to be simple common sense ("Why It's Never Good to Procrastinate," for example), but even sections that seem to be no-brainer stuff ("10 Signs You're in Real Trouble at College" for instance, which includes my favorite, "You spend every waking moment on some medium") give context that is both savvy and convincing. And several sections would have really helped me out when I was starting my college days, especially "The 13 Warning Signs of a Bad Professor" and "16 Techniques for Doing Research Like a Professor," which includes #5, "Use the living, breathing resources" and "make your way to the reference desk at the brick and mortar library...Read more

This nonfiction book presents over 600 tips for college students to learn the ins and outs of how to be successful in college. It's arranged by topic into chapters using lists or bullet point presentation of the material, thus it is a fast read and non-intimidating. Some parts are repetitive but I'm not complaining, in trying to be thorough in the list format some material belongs in more than one place. When reading it by skimming or looking up one or more topics at a time rather than a cover-to-cover read of the almost 200 pages it is good that some things are repeated.

Jacobs and Hyman give a ton of information in this book that will be of use if only a college or senior in high school a) actually reads the book and b) does what is recommended. And therein lies the rub. Many will agree that most teens reject outsider's advice and instead shirk some of even the most common sense recommendations as they think they know better (such as attend class, take notes, and...Read more