The Thinking Student’s Guide to College: 75 Tips for Getting a Better Education (review)

Andrew Roberts, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University, shares a straightforward and intelligible depiction of higher education addressed to prospective and first-year students. Departing from guides that focus on study skills, grades, or social life (p. 3.), Roberts concentrates on less publicized considerations that students must have if they truly desire an education. He justifies this choice by illustrating outlets already available for those merely seeking a diploma or a good time, as opposed to those in quest of higher learning.

Written from the perspective of a professor and former undergraduate advisor, the book is based on Roberts’s observations and experience in higher education. He infuses his advice with insider information about how universities and the professoriate actually work. Roberts’s underlying premise is that a great education is available at America’s colleges and universities, but is not necessarily offered. Students need to understand and navigate the terrain skillfully to get a better, more personalized education.College faculty and administrators will immediately recognize many truths encapsulated in this volume. For new and prospective students, however, Roberts exposes what may be unfamiliar territory.

The book is organized chronologically, according to milestones of the undergraduate experience. Roberts presents information through a series of numbered “tips” that offer practical suggestions for students. Along the way, he poses and answers several important yet often unasked questions that help students negotiate the world of higher education. Although it is a guidebook for students, The Thinking Student’s Guide to College also has relevancy for the higher education community, as I discuss later.

Chapter 1 provides a brief but relevant history of the university and, more importantly, presents insights into higher education administration. It presents a concise account of the roles, responsibilities, and perspectives of the key decision makers in a university. This account illuminates challenges facing colleges and how administrative, faculty, and student priorities often differ. Rarely imparted to students, this information helps shape an understanding of the complexities and purposes of higher education. Ultimately, students can use this knowledge to inform their college selection.

Chapter 2 outlines steps for selecting a college. Roberts convincingly argues that a college’s reputation is not as important for ensuring a quality undergraduate education as students may think. He stresses that undergraduate classroom education is similar among colleges and universities. More important than reputation are criteria such as college size and the general education program. Roberts’s approach is both sincere and candid, deconstructing the many intentions of a college and sharing insights about the role of the undergraduate student from the college’s perspective.

The next two chapters offer advice on choosing classes and a major. Roberts’s main message here is experimentation and self-challenge. He provides several strategies for exploring courses and majors and encourages students to expand variety in their studies and venture beyond the requirements of their majors. By opting for small seminars and upper-division courses, for example, students deepen their educational experience. Roberts encourages students to select majors based on their personal interests but, as an insider, enumerates the benefits of less-populated majors. He suggests several often-neglected majors and departments that students should consider.

Inherent in this book are the concepts of shared responsibility and self-agency. Students can abdicate their agency and accept the standard educational experience, or they can take responsibility for shaping and improving their education through the choices they make.

The succeeding three chapters guide students through their college years. Chapter 5, “Being Successful,” imparts common advice such as: manage time well, join study groups, ask for help when needed, and work hard. Interestingly, it also prompts students to demonstrate their hard work to their professors, an important prelude to Chapter 6, which focuses on ways students can increase interaction with their professors. Roberts holds that such interaction is fundamental to personalized attention and a...