“Psychologically sound tips for thriving, not just surviving, in college. Lynn's and Jeremy's tips will make your college experience a spectacular success.”

—Chuck Snowdon, director emeritus of honors program, University of Wisconsin - Madison

“Clear, practical, comprehensive -- and caring. These authors want you to succeed. Listen.”

—Judy Genshaft, president, University of South Florida and past president, American Council on Education

“The students who are most successful in college are those who are most prepared. The Secrets of College Success reveals what students need to know from the perspective of the professors who teach them. It pays to know the rules of the game before you play.”

—George R. Boggs, president and ceo emeritus, American Association of Community Colleges

“High schools focus on getting their seniors TO college but they rarely teach them how to get THROUGH college. Professors Jacobs and Hyman fill this gap with a series of high energy, digestible and practical tips that any student can master in one sitting. This book should be required reading for every college-bound student so that they will be equipped with the “under-the-hood” expertise they need to succeed in higher education.”

—Keith W. Frome, co-founder and ceo, PeerForward

“This volume provides a banquet of tips. Easy to read, easy to locate what you need, this book will be helpful throughout your undergraduate years. I highly recommend it.”

—Sharon J. Hamilton, professor and former director, Indiana University Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching

A first-year college student must-read! Written in a friendly and sometimes humorous manner, the book provides sound practical advice in balancing college life in general--from selecting courses, to studying for an exam, to deciding on a major while making friends and still have fun.

—Julia W. So, Associate Professor of Sociology & Chair of the Division of Social Sciences, The University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus.

Dr. Lynn F. Jacobs is distinguished professor of art history at the University of Arkansas. A specialist in Northern Renaissance art, Lynn previously taught at Vanderbilt University, California State University, Northridge, the University of Redlands, and NYU. She has received the National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship twice and the University of Arkansas' Charles and Nadine Baum Prize for distinguished teaching.

Jeremy S. Hyman is founder and chief architect of Professors' Guide™ content projects. An expert in early modern philosophy, Jeremy teaches at the University of Arkansas, and has previously taught at UCLA, MIT, and Princeton University. He has received the National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship and the University of California Regents' award for distinguished teaching.

Lynn and Jeremy are coauthors of the book Professors' Guide to Getting Good Grades in College (HarperCollins, 2006) and The Secrets of Picking a College: Over 600 Tips, Techniques, and Strategies Revealed (Wiley 2013). They write a column at U.S. News & World Report, WWW.USNEWS.COM/PROFESSORSGUIDE, and have contributed to Reader's Digest, the New York Times' “Choice” blog, Huffington Post, and Fox Business.

Lynn and Jeremy live in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with their son, Jonah. Their website is WWW.THESECRETSOFCOLLEGESUCCESS.COM and they tweet at @professorsguide.

To the student—that is, you.

Much has changed at college since the second edition of this book, just five years ago. New course modalities (online, hybrid, and flipped); increasing use of classroom technology (Blackboard/Piazza/Canvas/iClicker) and anti-plagiarism software (Turnitin/SafeAssign); emphasis on undergraduate research, study abroad, and career preparation; focus on diversity and inclusion, and campus safety; finally, increased access to four-year and community college (and cross-access between the two)—all of these are among the new realities at college. And we have tips for all of them.

But much hasn't changed at college. Taking tests and writing papers; managing your time and making deadlines without undue stress; picking a major (or two or three) and fulfilling its requirements; knowing when—and how—to go see the professor (or TA); applying to grad school and finding a job—all of these are things that will always be a part of college. We have tips for them, too.

We offer you a simple promise: if you follow the tips, techniques, and strategies in this book, you will succeed at college. Tens of thousands of students have read the first two editions of this book and benefitted from them (we know; we get e-mail from students all over the United States—indeed, from all over the world—every day). And we've presented the ideas in this book to thousands of additional students at orientation and welcome week programs at dozens of colleges (to see clips from our The Secrets of College Success campus presentation, visit WWW.GIMMEANA.COM).

We're out to change college in America; to change it from a place in which students sit like sponges in large lecture courses, passively absorbing content dished up by professors, to a place where students know what the professors are really thinking and, using this information, take charge of their own learning—and succeed. Hence, The Secrets of College Success.

But more than any of that, we'd like you to succeed. That is why, if you come to a tip you don't understand—or a technique or strategy you're not sure how to use—we want you to ask us about it. E-mail either of us at lynn@professorsguide.com or jeremy@professorsguide.com. We're here to help.

College is a journey—one you're perhaps thinking of starting on (if you're a college-bound high school student), just starting on (if you're entering in the fall), or are already well into (if you're already at college). Whatever the case, the over eight hundred tips, techniques, and strategies in this book—from things to do the summer before college all the way through to how to get a job—will ensure your success on the college journey. We guarantee it—which is why we sign our names below.

You might not know this, but you're going to college at the very best time in the last five hundred years. New media, twenty-first- century technologies, increased access, better professors, government funding—all of these go together to make this a wonderful time to be at college

That is—if you know what to do.

You might have thought professors and advisers would tell you all you need to know. You'd be wrong. Some professors think part of college is figuring out on your own what's expected. Others think it's a waste of class time to go over how to manage your time, study, prepare for tests, or write papers. Still others think that if they tell you what to do, you'll think it's a recipe for an A, which, if you don't get, will result in a colossal grade dispute—something no professor wants.

And, at some colleges, the booming enrollments have simply made it impossible for professors, advisers, and staff to give you the advice and attention you need and deserve—no matter how much they'd like to.

And so we've written The Secrets of College Success—the first book to offer quick tips, all written by professors and other experts, that'll help you achieve your full potential at college. Whether you're a beginning or advanced student; whether you're at a four-year or community college; whether you're already doing pretty well at college or maybe not as well as you'd like; even if you're a high school student just beginning to think about college—this book is for you.

The secrets we reveal and the tips that we offer are the product of over fifty years of teaching experience at eight different colleges—big and small, private colleges and state universities, good schools and not-all-that-good schools. Over ten thousand students have tried the tips—and we can tell you they really work.

Most of all, this book is fun to read. You'll find yourself not only strategizing about college—figuring out how you can apply our tips to your own college experience—but also making up tips of your own and even wanting to share them with others. And you'll enjoy your success when you find that the tips—both yours and ours—have changed the way you approach college.

Congratulations. This is a wonderful time to be at college. Make the most of it.

1. #10. The tips are really good. Written wholly by professors and “visiting” experts, the tips in this book give you high-value information about what to do at college—and what not to do.
2. #9. The information is not available elsewhere. No professor, adviser, or college guide will tell you the insider secrets we reveal in this book.
3. #8. The information is quick. Top 10 Lists, Do's and Don'ts, How-to (and How-not to) Guides—all the advice is bite-sized and easy to digest. And our Professors' Guide™ icons will help you navigate your way through the book.
4. #7. The tips are practical. No abstract theories here, just concrete, easy-to-follow tips that you can use to guarantee your success at college.
5. #6. We tell you everything you need to know—and only the things you need to know. From the summer before college to the crucial first year of college, from picking a major to finding a job—all the key moments of college are covered.
6. #5. The tips are up-to-date. All the new realities of college are included. And we give you links to useful websites, so you can find out the latest information about special topics.
7. #4. Each piece stands on its own. You can use as many—or as few—of the tips as you want and still get excellent results. And you can follow the tips in any order. Pick a tip that interests you and then move on to others, or just randomly flip to a page and start reading.
8. #3. We tell you what to do. Like a good undergraduate adviser (something sorely lacking at many colleges), we tell you not just what you might do, but what you should do. In a friendly and supportive voice, of course.
9. #2. The tips are time-tested. The advice in this book has worked for thousands and thousands of students. And it will work for you.

And the number-one reason you should read this book:

1. #1. The tips are fun to read. You'll enjoy thinking about different strategies for college success as you read through our tips. And, in the best case, you'll LOL as you read some of our attempts at humor. (At least you won't be bored.)

Here are the icons used in this book—and what each of them means: