Nonfiction Monday: How To Get A's in College

How To Get A's in College is one of the books in the Hundreds of Heads series. It's composed of advice. Advice on:

• note-taking & study tips
• how to limit stress, manage time, and stay motivated
• acing college tests, papers, labs, and exams

It's an organized book, an informative book, even. But it's not problem-free. Because these "tips" and "advice" are coming from college students and college graduates it has to be weighed extremely carefully. (Let's just say if the book had been written by teachers, professors, or TA's it would have VASTLY different tips.) Alongside sage tips come real "gems" telling students not to read their textbooks, not to attend classes, never go to the library, and always eat sugary cereals or candy while studying. Of course some of the tips are obviously good while others are obviously bad. Which leaves interested-readers, interested-buyers with a dilemma. Why buy a book, spend time with a book that has just as much bad advice, silly advice, as it does good? Well, my guess is that it won't be incoming freshmen who are buying this book. It will be those looking for a gift. Which in a way begs the question... Would a student (not-an-A-or-B-student, but a C, D, F student spend the time reading this book? And if they're already getting A's or B's chances are they already know about these tips. I can't answer that.

While I do value some of the book's resources, I had too many slight issues with it to give it a high rating. Students shouldn't be seeking advice from strangers in this book, students who do not go to their school, who do not have their same professors and same classes. Taking the advice that a professor who assigns a ten page paper or a twenty page paper would be happy to receive a four or six page paper instead as long as what was in those pages had some value...I'm just not so sure that is wise on any level. It could prove disastrous. But my main issue with the book seems to be the students. I think 98% of those giving this advice seem to be all about the shortcut. I think some of them were missing the point of college altogether. It isn't about the end result, it isn't about getting the A. For an "A" to mean anything, you've got to actually learn, absorb, grow. A letter on a piece of paper doesn't make you smart. And to boast that you graduated from college without opening a single textbook doesn't make you wise either.

I suppose I was expecting more meat, more substance. I watched the "Where there's a will, there's an A" videos early on in my high school career. And I found that helpful, life-changing in a way. I watched the high school videos. I never did see the college ones. But this, not so much. The advice is all over the place.