Secrets of College Success

LYNN F. JACOBS and JEREMY S. HYMAN are college professors with a combined 50-plus years of teaching experience at eight different colleges, including the University of Arkansas, MIT, Princeton, UCLA, Vanderbilt University, and California State University, Northridge. They maintain a website at www.professorsguide.com, blog for U.S. News & World Report, and have contributed to blogs at The New York Times, Chegg, and Reader's Digest.

• Preface to the Third Edition xiiiIntroduction xvTop 10 Reasons to Read This Book xviiThe Professors’ Guide™ Icons xix1This Is College10 Things You Need to Know About College (But Probably Don’t) 3The 15 Habits of Top College Students 7The 10 Worst Self-Defeating Myths 1110 Ways to Get Motivated at College 15The 11 Secrets of Getting Good Grades in College 1814 Ways to Ensure You Graduate in Four Years 22Top 10 Tips for Community College Students 2710 Best Tips for Engineering School 32The College Student’s Bill of Rights 362 In The Beginning . . .8 Things to Do the Summer Before College 4015 Things to Do the Week Before College 45Do’s and Don’ts for Picking Your Courses 49Top 12 Tips for Picking a Major 53Top 10 Secrets of the Syllabus 5910 Questions to Ask Yourself the First Week of Classes 6313 Warning Signs of a Bad Professor 66Tips and Tricks for Improving Your Course Schedule 703 Skills 3.0Top 10 Time-Management Tips 77Top 10 Reasons Never to Procrastinate 82The How Not to Study Guide 8610 Must-Do’s in Lecture 9110 Secrets of Taking Excellent Lecture Notes 9515 Ways to Read Like a Pro 10015 Strategies for Painless Presentations 10515 Ways to Build Your Confidence 1104 Specialties of The House10 Ways to Whip the Freshman Comp Requirement 11710 Tips for Taming the Math Requirement 122Top 10 Tips for Mastering the Foreign (or World) Language Requirement 12610 Ideas for Learning to Love the Lab 13010 Tips for the First-Year Experience Course 134Facing Up to Remediation: Top 10 Strategies 13710 Tips for Online Courses 1425 It’s Showtime!12 Tips for A+ Test Preparation 148"So What’s Going to Be on the Test Anyway?" 153Top 13 Test-Taking Tips 15610 Tips for Constructing the Perfect Paper 16110 Things Your Professor Won’t Tell You About Grading 167How to Turn a B into an A 17114 Techniques for Doing Research Like a Professor 172Top 10 Tips for Doing E-Research 1786 Overcoming Challenges10 Strategies for Staying Safer on Campus 1858 Strategies for Students from Underrepresented Populations 19010 Tips for Dealing with Disabilities 195Top 10 Tips for International Students 2007 Interfacing with The Professor15 Ways to Make Your Professor Love You 20910 Biggest Hesitations About Going to See the Professor—and How to Get Over Them 214The 14 Secrets of Going to See the Professor 218Etiquette for E-mailing Your Professor 22310 Surefire Ways to Piss Off Your Professor 227Top 10 Things Professors Never Want to Hear—and What They Think When They Do Hear Them 2318 In Case of Emergency . . .10 Things to Do When You Can’t Keep Up with the Lecture 2358 Things to Do When There’s Too Much Reading 240Top 10 Signs You’ve Been Cutting Too Many Classes 244What to Do When You’ve Bombed the Midterm 2457 Best Last-Minute Strategies for Saving Your Grade 24810 Signs You’re in Real Trouble at College 253What, Then, to Do? The 7-Step Approach 2569 The Second Half10 Must-Do’s At The Halfway Point of College 26112 Skills You’ll Need for a Career—and How to Get Them at College 265Top 10 Tips for Doing Undergraduate Research 26910 Strategies for Women Considering a Career in STEM Fields 274Do’s and Don’ts for a Summer Internship 278Summer School Pros and Cons 281Top 10 Myths About Study Abroad 28510 Tips for the Senior Thesis 28910 Moving OnThe 10-Step Program for Thinking About Grad School 296Top 10 Tips for Getting Bang-Up Recommendations 3018 Tips for Finding a Job 305How to Ace the Job Interview 309The End—And The BeginningThe 3 Most Important Tips 315Index 317Notes 329