The Thinking Student's Guide to College - (Chicago Guides to Academic Life) by Andrew Roberts (Paperback)

About the Book

Helps students take charge of their university experience by providing a blueprint they can follow to achieve their educational goals, whether at public or private schools, large research universities or small liberal arts colleges.

Book Synopsis

Each fall, thousands of eager freshmen descend on college and university campuses expecting the best education imaginable: inspiring classes taught by top-ranked professors, academic advisors who will guide them to a prestigious job or graduate school, and an environment where learning flourishes outside the classroom as much as it does in lecture halls. Unfortunately, most of these freshmen soon learn that academic life is not what they imagined. Classes are taught by overworked graduate students and adjuncts rather than seasoned faculty members, undergrads receive minimal attention from advisors or administrators, and potentially valuable campus resources remain outside their grasp.

Andrew Roberts' Thinking Student's Guide to College helps students take charge of their university experience by providing a blueprint they can follow to achieve their educational goals-whether at public or private schools, large research universities or small liberal arts colleges. An inside look penned by a professor at Northwestern University, this book offers concrete tips on choosing a college, selecting classes, deciding on a major, interacting with faculty, and applying to graduate school. Here, Roberts exposes the secrets of the ivory tower to reveal what motivates professors, where to find loopholes in university bureaucracy, and most importantly, how to get a personalized education. Based on interviews with faculty and cutting-edge educational research, The Thinking Student's Guide to College is a necessary handbook for students striving to excel academically, creatively, and personally during their undergraduate years.

Review Quotes

"Every selective college offers a high quality academic experience to the student who knows how to get it, but none give you a map, let alone instructions. Andrew Roberts has written the perfect travel guide to the best things on offer: an undergraduate who took just a third of his advice would double the value of her time in college. Every prospective freshman should read this book, and every parent of a prospective freshman has to read it. Easy and fun to read, with pages of advice."--Harry Brighouse, University of Wisconsin (3/25/2010 12:00:00 AM)

"I want to nominate a book for this summer's college reading lists that I think represents the best possible selection: The Thinking Student's Guide to College: 75 Tips for Getting a Better Education. Andrew Roberts, an assistant professor of political science at Northwestern University, wrote this great book that can help students squeeze far more value out of their college years than any other book that I've read."

--Lynne O'Shaughnessy "U.S. News and World Report"

"In fact I don't currently have a copy of the book, because each copy I get goes to the next high school senior who walks through the door (which an alarming number of them seem to be doing these days). As suggested by this, 75 Tips would be a great Christmas present for the college-bound high school seniors and college freshmen of your acquaintance."

-- "Crooked Timber" (11/28/2010 12:00:00 AM)

"The Thinking Student's Guide to College addresses a neglected topic with force and persuasiveness. This valuable book, aimed at high achieving students at selective universities who want to get a quality education, offers genuinely practical advice. By addressing students directly, drawing on his experience and observations in academic life, Andrew Roberts provides an accessible and credible account of how to make college a valuable experience educationally."

--Michael McPherson, President of the Spencer Foundation, former president of Macalester College (2/5/2010 12:00:00 AM)

"Andrew Roberts has a light touch, gives students excellent advice, and writes in a direct, engaging style. What I find particularly interesting is the perspective from which he counsels students, that of a serious academic who seems fully dedicated to his profession despite what he sees as its flaws and who knows his way around a university. A student who took his tips to heart could hardly go wrong, for Professor Roberts' advice is based on good, solid academic values."--Michael Koppisch, Michigan State University (2/4/2010 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Andrew Robertsis assistant professor of political science at Northwestern University and fellow at the Institute for Policy Research. He is the author of The Quality of Democracy in Eastern Europe: Public Preferences and Policy Reforms.