Getting Good Grades In College

The Professors' Guide to Getting Good Grades in College is the first book to reveal the insider secrets about how professors really grade. The book offers high-value, practical tips about how to succeed at each of the five "grade-bearing" moments of the semester: (1) The Start (2) The Class (3) The Exam (4) The Paper and (5) The Last Month of the Semester. Fast-paced, entertaining, and easy-to-follow, the Professors' Guide will help you get truly excellent grades in college.

Looking to jumpstart your GPA? Most college students believe that straight A’s can be achieved only through cramming and painful all-nighters at the library. But Cal Newport knows that real straight-A students don’t study harder—they study smarter. A breakthrough approach to acing academic assignments, from quizzes and exams to essays and papers, How to Become a Straight-A Student reveals for the first time the proven study secrets of real straight-A students across the country and weaves them into a simple, practical system that anyone can master. You will learn how to: • Streamline and maximize your study time • Conquer procrastination • Absorb the material quickly and effectively • Know which reading assignments are critical—and which are not • Target the paper topics that wow professors • Provide A+ answers on exams • Write stellar prose without the agony A strategic blueprint for success that promises more free time, more fun, and top-tier results, How to Become a Straight-A Student is the only study guide written by students for students—with the insider knowledge and real-world methods to help you master the college system and rise to the top of the class.

A Beginner's Guide to College Success is designed to address a wide range of topics that are of interest to aspiring or new college students, including financial decisions, choosing an area of study, adapting to new responsibilities, managing time wisely, and more. The guide begins by introducing the reader to the way college is structured and walking the reader through the preparations required to embark upon a college career. Preliminary chapters help the reader explore the value of a college education, begin to consider a major, and better understand the role credits, grades, and degrees play in the higher education system. Later chapters address the challenges different types of students--military veterans, those with disabilities, and student athletes, to name a few--may face as they transition from high school to college. These chapters also cover best practices for communicating with faculty members, succeeding in large lecture classes, dealing with reading assignments, how to get the most out of online learning, and more. The guide closes with a collection of chapters dedicated to studying, preparing for exams, and taking advantage of campus resources, including the library, to bolster personal learning. Full of tips and practical advice, A Beginner's Guide to College Success is a useful resource for any student considering college and wondering how it differs from high school. Jonathan Golding, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Kentucky. He is the creator and author of the Beginner's Guide to College Success blog, as well as numerous books, journal articles, and book chapters within the field of psychology. He received his doctorate degree in Psychology from the University of Denver. Philipp Kraemer, Ph.D., is the Chellgren Endowed Chair for Undergraduate Excellence and a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Kentucky. He received his doctorate degree in Psychology from the University of Western Ontario. His current research interests include cognitive processes and the psychology of belief. David Royse, Ph.D., is a professor in the College of Social Work at the University of Kentucky. He received his master's degree in social work from the University of Louisville and his doctorate degree in social work from Ohio State University. Dr. Royse has authored or co-authored eight books and over 75 articles and book chapters addressing various topics in social work, health care, child welfare, and program evaluation.

The author of the best-selling What the Best College Teachers Do is back with more humane, doable, and inspiring help, this time for students who want to get the most out of college—and every other educational enterprise, too. The first thing they should do? Think beyond the transcript. The creative, successful people profiled in this book—college graduates who went on to change the world we live in—aimed higher than straight A’s. They used their four years to cultivate habits of thought that would enable them to grow and adapt throughout their lives. Combining academic research on learning and motivation with insights drawn from interviews with people who have won Nobel Prizes, Emmys, fame, or the admiration of people in their field, Ken Bain identifies the key attitudes that distinguished the best college students from their peers. These individuals started out with the belief that intelligence and ability are expandable, not fixed. This led them to make connections across disciplines, to develop a “meta-cognitive” understanding of their own ways of thinking, and to find ways to negotiate ill-structured problems rather than simply looking for right answers. Intrinsically motivated by their own sense of purpose, they were not demoralized by failure nor overly impressed with conventional notions of success. These movers and shakers didn’t achieve success by making success their goal. For them, it was a byproduct of following their intellectual curiosity, solving useful problems, and taking risks in order to learn and grow.

High School and College students are under tremendous pressure to earn top grades for college and graduate school admissions. Unfortunately, few students are taught strategies on how to earn top grades. Most people think they are either "smart" or "not so smart" in various subjects and that determines whether or not a student does well in a class. This simply isn't true. The author of this book received a failing grade in a course and later on earned an "A" in the same subject. The strategies that led to the author failing a course to earning an "A" in the same subject can be found in this book. These strategies were used frequently in other courses which led to the author getting accepted into graduate school. Because of this, the author wants high school, college, and adult learners to learn these techniques to increase their chances of attending the college or graduate school of their dreams.

Why we need to stop wasting public funds on education Despite being immensely popular—and immensely lucrative—education is grossly overrated. Now with a new afterword by Bryan Caplan, this explosive book argues that the primary function of education is not to enhance students' skills but to signal the qualities of a good employee. Learn why students hunt for easy As only to forget most of what they learn after the final exam, why decades of growing access to education have not resulted in better jobs for average workers, how employers reward workers for costly schooling they rarely ever use, and why cutting education spending is the best remedy. Romantic notions about education being "good for the soul" must yield to careful research and common sense—The Case against Education points the way.

This alternative college guide from a former Dartmouth assistant admissions director-turned-consultant gives non-straight-A students advice on the many options available to them and tips on how to identify, gain admittance to, and pay for the schools that will allow them to flourish. Less-than-perfect grades? No problem! Contrary to popular opinion, you don’t need to have a 4.0 GPA or a perfect jump shot to get into a good college. This insider’s guide reveals easy tweaks that will pay off big-time in showing admissions officers that you as a whole—not just your SAT scores—are a perfect fit for their incoming class. With stellar advice on getting into schools that will allow you to thrive, this handbook reveals how to: - Find great colleges that are a good match for your strengths (and will overlook less-relevant weaknesses) - Painlessly beef up your application - Tailor extracurriculars to showcase your uniqueness - Make sure your recommendation letters emphasize the right qualities - Write original essays that reveal traits beyond your transcript - Make an impression on admissions officers and college interviewers - Create an early-admissions strategy to increase your likelihood of acceptance - Help your chances if you’re deferred - Get into brand-name schools through the side door - Communicate about learning disabilities or special circumstances - Get scholarship money based on attributes other than grades - Customize your financial aid strategy BONUS: Includes an appendix of 130+ selective colleges to consider!

The A to ZZZ of sleep is offered by the bestselling author of The Intelligence of Dogs. In an engrossing blend of entertaining anecdotes and scientific data, bestselling author Stanley Coren explores the world of sleep and sleeplessness.