110 Strategies for Success in College and Life offers students clear presentations of 110 strategies to guide them through to college graduation and beyond. These principles are derived from numerous research studies from a wide range of areas within psychology, as well as from the authors’ many years of experience as college professors, researchers, and student advisors. This book closes the gap between scientific knowledge and its application to college success. Topics include information processing and learning; critical thinking and decision making; identifying and achieving goals; managing time, money and energy; reading and writing effectively; reducing test anxiety; knowing thyself; and preparing for a career. The latest research findings are presented. It is a valuable guide for freshman, whether coming right out of high school or after a hiatus of years working and/or taking care of a family. This book is particularly appropriate for minority and first generation college students who may have fewer mentors to help them along the college path. Each chapter offers case studies of successful students to serve as role models. The focus of the book is on the practical application of the strategies in the student’s daily life within a framework of flexibility, integrity, and balance.

The first practical guide of its kind that helps students transition smoothly from high school to college The transition from high school—and home—to college can be stressful. Students and parents often arrive on campus unprepared for what college is really like. Academic standards and expectations are different from high school; families aren’t present to serve as “scaffolding” for students; and first-years have to do what they call “adulting.” Nothing in the college admissions process prepares students for these new realities. As a result, first-year college students report higher stress, more mental health issues, and lower completion rates than in the past. In fact, up to one third of first-year college students will not return for their second year—and colleges are reporting an increase in underprepared first-year students. How to College is here to help. Professors Andrea Malkin Brenner and Lara Schwartz guide first-year students and their families through the transition process, during the summer after high school graduation and throughout the school year, preparing students to succeed and thrive as they transition and adapt to college. The book draws on the authors’ experience teaching, writing curricula, and designing programs for thousands of first-year college students over decades.

Some pursue happiness — Others create it! — Anonymous The chief purpose of Create Your Ideal Life is to empower you to proactively (intentionally and consciously) and continually create your ideal life in a joyful and balanced fashion by following the holistic (emphasizing the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts) Life Creation Process described in it. Following the Life Creation Process will help you to gain the level of self-understanding required to optimize the quality of your life and achieve personal growth. As you read this book, you will be introduced to the key concepts of applied psychology of personal adjustment and growth. The term applied indicates that the material provided is practical and that you can readily use the concepts provided to create and control your self and your life. The words psychology of personal adjustment indicate that one focus of the book is upon “... the individual’s response to the physical, psychological, and social demands of the self, other people, and the environment” (Napoli, Kilbridge & Tebbs, 1996, p. 4). The words psychology of personal growth indicate that another focus is upon “... the process by which the individual changes his or her thoughts, feelings, or behaviors regarding the self, others, or the environment” (Napoli and others, 1996, p. 4). Additionally, you will learn effective strategies for exploring life choices and making decisions, managing life changes, changing self-defeating beliefs and habits, coping effectively with stress, and developing effective interpersonal relationships. You will also discover the important role that essential beliefs and core values play in the decision-making process and the problems that can arise out of value conflicts. I have provided true stories from my own life and from the lives of my family members, friends, and students to clarify and underscore key points. The stories are all true. However, some of the names were changed to protect each person’s privacy, except in cases where permission was granted to use the person’s real name. Throughout this book, I have used a cinematic (pertaining to the movie industry) analogy to explain the spiritual, psychological, physical, and social issues involved in personal adjustment and growth across the life span. I have used the cinematic analogy to both simplify and dramatize the key concepts in the holistic Life Creation Process in order to make them easier for you to understand, learn to use, and remember. In addition to the mnemonic (memory-enhancing) value of the cinematic analogy, I believe it makes the complex concepts involved in the holistic Life Creation Process easy to discuss with and teach other people. Most people are already familiar with the meaning of most of the movie industry terms used such as star, actor, screen image, script, cast, producer, director, and sequel, and they understand how all the key aspects of a movie can either contribute to its success or ruin the entire project. Therefore, using the cinematic terms makes it easier for people to comprehend how all the key aspects of their Ideal Future Life must be harmonious in order to achieve the desired results. As you complete the Life Creation Process Exercises, you will be directed to analyze the key aspects of your Present Life and create a script for your Ideal Future Life using techniques that are similar to those employed by successful movie stars, directors, producers, set designers, and script writers (e.g., DiTillio.;, 1995). You will also be guided to identify the Transitional Life goals that you will need to achieve in order to segue from living your Present Life to living your Ideal Future Life. The Ideal Future Life that you design at this present time is definitely not all there is or will ever be possible in your life. As you grow and change, you will update your vision of your ideal life. Learning the tools and techniques used in the Life Creation Process Exercises will empower you to continually recreate your Ideal Future Life through planned sequels in order to keep your life well balanced and overflowing with happiness and spiritual joy. The resources used for this book reflect my multidisciplinary approach to the Life Creation Process as well as my positive psychological orientation. I have included concepts from the traditional scholarly social-psychological literature, the popular self-help and self-improvement literature, and the media (plays, movies, tv, newspapers and magazines). The material includes both multidisciplinary academic resources and popular self-improvement resources that I have used, and found to be beneficial, during my own explorations in personal adjustment, growth, and Ideal Future Life creation. Most of the new material in this revised version of Create Your Ideal Life is from information that I have incorporated into my lectures, in-class exercises, and course assignments over the past 15 years.

Do Less, Live More, Get Accepted What if getting into your reach schools didn’t require four years of excessive A.P. classes, overwhelming activity schedules, and constant stress? In How to Be a High School Superstar, Cal Newport explores the world of relaxed superstars—students who scored spots at the nation’s top colleges by leading uncluttered, low stress, and authentic lives. Drawing from extensive interviews and cutting-edge science, Newport explains the surprising truths behind these superstars’ mixture of happiness and admissions success, including: · Why doing less is the foundation for becoming more impressive. · Why demonstrating passion is meaningless, but being interesting is crucial. · Why accomplishments that are hard to explain are better than accomplishments that are hard to do. These insights are accompanied by step-by-step instructions to help any student adopt the relaxed superstar lifestyle—proving that getting into college doesn’t have to be a chore to survive, but instead can be the reward for living a genuinely interesting life.