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How to Win at College: Surprising Secrets for Success from the Country's Top Students

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The only guide to getting ahead once you’ve gotten in—proven strategies for making the most of your college years, based on winning secrets from the country's most successful students

What does it take to be a standout student? How can you make the most of your college years—graduate with honors, choose exciting activities, build a head-turning resume, and gain access to the best post-college opportunities? Based on interviews with star students at universities nationwide, from Harvard to the University of Arizona, How to Win at College presents seventy-five simple rules that will rocket you to the top of the class. These college-tested—and often surprising—strategies include:

• Don’t do all your reading
• Drop classes every term
• Become a club president
• Care about your grades, Ignore your GPA
• Never pull an all-nighter
• Take three days to write a paper
• Always be working on a “grand project”
• Do one thing better than anyone else you know

Proving that success has little to do with being a genius workaholic, and everything to do with playing the game, How to Win at College is the must-have guide for making the most of these four important years—and getting an edge on life after graduation.

193 pages, Paperback

First published April 12, 2005

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About the author

Cal Newport

114 books8,313 followers
Cal Newport is Provost’s Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University, and the author of seven books. His ideas and writing are frequently featured in major publications and on TV and radio.

From his website: "I write about the intersection of digital technology and culture. I’m particularly interested in our struggle to deploy these tools in ways that support instead of subvert the things we care about in both our personal and professional lives."

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 322 reviews
Profile Image for Ilib4kids.
1,100 reviews3 followers
July 2, 2018
378.198 NEW
75 rules how to do it.

1 Don't Do All of Your Reading
2 Create a Sunday Ritual (Party to until to Saturday, not Sunday. Study on Sunday, set the momentum for the rest of days. )
3 Drop Classes Every Semester. (Register extra classes, drop the least favorite)
4 Start Long-Term Projects the Day They Are Assigned. (Start small and start immediately) see rule #52
5 Make Your Bed. (a clear room create a focus mind, if has messy roommate, take care of whole room cleanup, such as dump basket, small price for a large reward)
6 Apply to Ten Scholarships a Year. (contact dean's office, Career service, and department, for information on scholarships, fellowships, awards. or www.fast-web.com; FinAids www.findaid.org (for scholarship from companies or organization. Choose 10 to fits your abilities, passions, and accomplishments, and apply them, do it every year. because it is time consuming, not so many eligible students to apply.)
7 Build Study Systems (this will break a formidable task into accomplish-able chunks, see rule #26, #70)
8 Befriend a Professor
9 Become a Club President (not just content with just joining)
10 Read a Newspaper Every Day. (New York Times; Wall Street Journal, or USA Today, reading every article on the front page, 2 or 3 articles on each interior sections)
11 Do One Thing Better Than Anyone Else You Know (self-confidence that become a peg for other things)
12 Avoid Daily To-Do Lists. (Because it never works. Instead try time-blocking, then assignment tasks to these block.
13 Learn to Give Up
14 Never Nap. (keep your normal sleeping pattern)
15 Sign Up for Something Your First Week
16 Always Be Working on a "Grand Project"
17 Take Art History and Astronomy (art history will cultivate to visit art museum later in your life)
18 Blow the Curve Once a Term (will boost self-confidence)
19 Ask One Question at Every Lecture (prepare questions ahead, modify along, asking questions will keep you from drifting away)
20 Jump into Research as Soon as Possible (note: undergraduate research grants)
21 Pay Your Dues (hold your tongue, observe and learn)
22 Study in Fifty-Minute Chunks
23 Schedule Your Free Time (Most people think free time to be any time when they are not explicitly working , flip this notion, as work time is any time when you are not explicitly relaxing. When create schedule, first, choose an end point for the day. Second. decide exactly when you going to relax, and how.)
24 Dress Nicely for Class (feel good and also make days official)
25 Decorate Your Room (a place you could feel belong to, a place to relax, having lamp with incandescent glow not fluorescent light)
26 Start Studying Two Weeks in Advance
27 Write Outside of Class (write is critical skill, so practice often by writing outside)
28 Eat Alone Twice a Day. (group meals is time wasting, so do not spend every meal with friends)
29 Find an Escape ( gain relax and feel refresh)
30 Take Hard Courses Early On
31 Don't Study in Your Room ( too distractive, best study location: Library)
32 Don't Study in Groups (too much time spending in gossip, joking around)
33 Join an Honors Program
34 Do Schoolwork Every Day (prevent slumps)
35 Attend Guest Lectures (ignite the passions, at least 2 guest lectures every month)
36 Exercise Five Days a Week
37 Stay in Touch
38 Tack on an Extra Major or Minor (not quite agree, study is mainly for enlightenment.)
39 Meet Often with Your Adviser
40 Don't Get a Normal Job(careful with job, with $7 pay, job should be asset not burden)
41 Use Three Days to Write a Paper(3 steps; first draft; second editing; third polishing)
42 Don't Undersleep, Don't Oversleep (one figure out your needed sleep time, stick it)
43 Relax Before Exams
44 Make Friends Your #1 Priority
45 Don't Binge Drink (hangover is bad for later high quality study)
46 Ignore Your Classmates' Grades
47 Seek Out Phenomenal Achievers (you can become inspired)
48 Learn to Listen (never be the fist person to give opinion; ask constructive questions)
49 Never Pull an All-Nighter
50 Laugh Every Day (actively look for fun, author like David Barry or David Sedaris or homestarRunner (Flash-animated Internet cartoon)
51 Use High-Quality Notebooks
52 Keep a Work-Progress Journal (so you can constantly check up for yourself, if you meet the goal)
53 Seek Out Fun
54 Inflate Your Ambition
55 Get Involved with Your Major Department
56 Care About Your Grades, Ignore Your G.P.A.
57 Always Go to Class
58 Set Arbitrary Deadlines ( so you can break large projects into small chunk.)
59 Eat Healthy (Try eat healthy on weekday, reward yourself on weekend)
60 Volunteer Quietly
61 Write as if Going for a Pulitzer (Writing in college kind of boring, so set this mind-set to produce high quality writing)
62 Attend Political Rallies
63 Maximize Your Summers : summer vacation is not really a vacation. Start planning in Jan, Summer time deadline in Feb or March.
64 Choose Goals, Explore Routes
65 Don't Take Breaks Between Classes (will break momentum you build up, if too short, is not for hard homeworks, but maybe for running some errand, light reading, etc)
66 Don't Network (hear means network with people who can offer your job)
67 Publish Op-Eds (Op-Eds pages are most entertaining section of students newspaper)
68 Use a Filing Cabinet (or simple plastic boxes with hanging file folder with plenty labels to maximum documents origination) - I like it.
69 Find a Secret Study Space (for absolutely concentration, but use it sparingly)
70 Study with the Quiz-and-Recall Method (2 steps, First review, write down recall questions, second step: quiz)
71 Empty Your In-Box (Categories email for organized mind state)
72 Relax Before Sleep : relax at least half hour before sleep, develop he ability to shut down.
73 Start Fast, End Slow (as opposed start slow, end fast, cramming style. Other study method: #4, #26, #41)
74 Spend a Semester Studying Abroad (beware fluffy (Bad quality) vs. serious program. Talk to students to find out, usually sophomore year , may require prerequisite courses)
75 "Don't Have No Regrets"
Profile Image for Veronica.
102 reviews69 followers
August 1, 2022
This may be the most unwittingly cynical book I've ever read.

"Some students have modest ambitions. They would be happy to just land a decent job after graduation...other students pursue phenomenal dreams. They want to be a senator, start a major company, or get accepted into a world-class graduate program. As a student interested in becoming a standout, you should follow the example of this latter group, and define your notion of success to be as ambitious."


Listen here, ye aspirers of a mere decent job! It may suffice for the most complacent among you, but the real Odyssean heroes seek more in life. Like a career in the hallowed halls of the Senate! Do not dare to spurn the cobalt carpets across which seniors wobble in their dutiful contribution to bureaucratic ossification.


"After four years you can approach the job market (or grad school admissions committee) with quite a few honors listed on your résumé. This is unusual, this is impressive, and it is a great way to gain access to elite opportunities."

"Write as if going for a Pulitzer...be it a history paper...or a long email to a professor."


I have yet to conjure up a Pulitzer Prize winning email to a professor. I'll add this to the ever-growing list of reasons I am not, nor will I ever be, a standout success. (The disappointment might wreck me. Fortunately, I have some new basil plants who can therapeutically absorb my tears and listen to my tales of woe and of abject failure.)

I am sure Cal Newport has noble intentions. But this is the most somber unintentional capitalist hymn to the road to nowhere that I've ever stumbled upon.

The best advice was to take art history and astronomy before you graduate. It's impractical, and I would never suggest all students take those courses. But yes, generally, study art and the stars. That would be my recommendation to students. Not to students who want to be standout successes or some contrived nonsense. Just regular people.

Profile Image for Thomas.
1,605 reviews9,909 followers
March 2, 2014
Great advice split into well-written chapters. Cal Newport made a wise choice with his concision - How to Win at College will appeal to busy college students who feel that they barely have any time to read. I appreciate how his tips ranged from social life to schoolwork to mental health; even if some topics could have been fleshed out more, students will acquire a ton of great tricks from reading this book.

Though I already considered and carry out some of his advice, I'm jotting down a list of ones I will pay more attention to as I continue through my college years:
- Find An Escape
- Meet Often with Your Adviser
- Laugh Every Day
- Ignore Your Classmates' Grades
- Care About Your Grades, Ignore Your G.P.A.
- Write as if Going for a Pulitzer
- Maximize Your Summers

I recommend this to all high school seniors preparing for college, as well as to college students, no matter their undergraduate year. I'm looking forward to reading more from Cal Newport.
Profile Image for Melissa Jetzt.
9 reviews23 followers
July 28, 2013
This book will be useful to any student... But certainly a lot more useful to some than others. As a pre-medical student there are just certain suggestions of his that I can't follow due to the nature of my trajectory. For example, I can't ignore my GPA just to save some sanity because it has to be within a specific range for me to be considered for interviews. I also can't "just" skim my books. Not my science ones, anyway. Even if I can absorb the content fine during lecture for the test, I need to put in the time with the book to be sure I can remember that material up to the MCAT and beyond. I didn't expect it to be perfect, especially not for a pre-med student, but let the 4 stars be a reminder that this book will only be so useful.
Profile Image for Rita.
21 reviews45 followers
April 26, 2020
"If you want to succed because you love the excitement of pushing your potential and exploring your world and new experiences, if you want to succeed because life is short and why not fill it with as much activity as possible, then you will win. If you approach life with an attitude of having no regrets and always having a hopeful smile on your face, you can find a measure of success in all your endeavors. Don't have no regrets, but have plenty of fun along the way. In the end, that is what is to really win."
Profile Image for Thomas.
34 reviews460 followers
September 1, 2018
Really enjoyed this one, Cal Newport really knows what he is talking about.
Even though this book was kind of oriented for America's school system, as a foreigner I could still use most of the tips he gave to us.
Would highly recommend this book to any students who wants to become a better version of themselves.
Profile Image for Keertana.
1,128 reviews2,266 followers
March 30, 2014
When it comes to non-fiction novels espousing advice, I am usually prone to skepticism. Newport's publication, though, is far more a list of tips than a long thesis on tasks college-bound students must tick off of a to-do list. Needless to say, I flew through this and thoroughly enjoyed the sparse prose, readily available to read even during the busiest of times. Recommended.
Profile Image for Russell Romney.
170 reviews6 followers
July 26, 2016
Vague, boringly positive take on surviving at college. Despite this, it does have some great suggestions for things to do to help a student succeed. While many are good, there are several that seem to be a bit on the extreme side. As a college student, I have been trying some of them out and they've done well. There are 75 suggestions, and I narrowed them down to 32 that I could actually try to use. Of these, I've tried 9 so far and have found success with 6 of those. It's a great book if it is taken in an experimental perspective, not just a back-patting self-congratulatory fling.
January 6, 2018
Cal writes from the perspective of an American post-graduate who’s opinion of academia is higher than of commercial success.
Regardless, there is a number of helpful, unintuitive points in the book.
My favorites are:
#73 - Start Fast, End Slow
#70 - Study With Quiz-and-Recall
#53 - Keep a Work-Progress Journal
#44 - Make friends your #1 priority
#20 - Jump into Research as Soon as Possible
#16 - Always Be Working on a “Grand Project”
#06- Apply to Ten Scholarships a Year

Some others are great.
Many others are common sense.
Still others seem to be there to simply to increase the page count.
Profile Image for Stuart.
2 reviews
December 19, 2020
Me reading Newport's How to Win at College may shock and upset many of my loyal Goodreads followers. It is shamelessly a self-help book - its straight to the point, eye-catching title, minimalist but not too minimalist cover (a lone cap; a black speck in a sea of yellow), and, once you begin reading, Newport's unmistakable mix of the formal and informal to foster a sense of intimacy between him and the reader. What could push me to take the time out of my busy week to read such a book? Is it the first valuable self-help book, containing the secrets to become a "standout student?" Unfortunately, no. I was lent this at the start of my school year by a promising young adolescent and the glowing recommendation he gave the book naturally compelled me to read it. This review is merely an attempt to justify its presence on my Goodreads account.

Surprisingly, Newport's 75 secrets for student success at some points do offer valuable advice (See: #38, Tack on an extra major or minor). Even more frequently he reinforces common tips about school, like how to study effectively and getting enough sleep, but in a way that makes them resonate with you. However, inevitably with its nearly 200 page length, a fair chunk of this book is either weak or just filler - sometimes giving arguably poor advice, sometimes just impractical advice, and often being over-prescriptive. Especially with the last point, Newport has a tendency to emphasize how to do something too much and neglect what actually makes it effective and how it can be fitted for an individual's own preferences. Because of this, the most I got out of Cal's book, asides from a couple bits of useful advice, was an overwhelming sense of despair.
104 reviews100 followers
September 2, 2014
It's a very short read (finished in about two days) and there are 75 bits so it's very snackable. I'm a long-time reader of Study Hacks so a lot of the information in the book was rehashed. However, there were many gems that weren't covered in the blog. I gave it a 3 only because where the blog seemed to be targeted more towards high achieving students, there were many tips in the book targeted towards the average. However, because of the structure of the book, I was able to power through them. Highly recommend for any college student (or soon to be college student).
Profile Image for Igor Putina.
81 reviews16 followers
January 3, 2021
Very helpful, wish I read this before college but also happy to have practiced many some of the principles described by Cal Newport.
Profile Image for Laurent.
181 reviews10 followers
September 10, 2017
3.5. The author and I differ in our organisational approach; useful tips though.
Profile Image for Mary Grace.
53 reviews
December 6, 2020
I'm halfway through college and I'm feeling lost and unmotivated. I feel deprived of college experiences due to the abrupt changes brought by the pandemic.

Most of the tips from this book are nothing new to me. But I guess it feels nice to be reminded of the things that I have forgotten to do. This was written by Cal Newport years ago, but most of it are still applicable today, although needing a bit of tweaking for online classes.
Profile Image for ada.
358 reviews49 followers
February 8, 2024
𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘:
1 year into uni, i realized that i have failed to do every single thing on this list other than:
34 Do Schoolwork Every Day

guess I'm not winning at college lol :')

*****************************************************************

i need a howler to keep myself up with this sophistication lol:

1 Don't Do All of Your Reading
2 Create a Sunday Ritual
3 Drop Classes Every Semester
4 Start Long-Term Projects the Day They Are Assigned
5 Make Your Bed
6 Apply to Ten Scholarships a Year
7 Build Study Systems
8 Befriend a Professor
9 Become a Club President
10 Read a Newspaper Every Day.
11 Do One Thing Better Than Anyone Else You Know
12 Avoid Daily To-Do Lists
13 Learn to Give Up
14 Never Nap
15 Sign Up for Something Your First Week
16 Always Be Working on a "Grand Project"
17 Take Art History and Astronomy
18 Blow the Curve Once a Term
19 Ask One Question at Every Lecture
20 Jump into Research as Soon as Possible
21 Pay Your Dues (hold your tongue, observe and learn)
22 Study in Fifty-Minute Chunks
23 Schedule Your Free Time
24 Dress Nicely for Class
25 Decorate Your Room
26 Start Studying Two Weeks in Advance
27 Write Outside of Class
28 Eat Alone Twice a Day
29 Find an Escape
30 Take Hard Courses Early On
31 Don't Study in Your Room
32 Don't Study in Groups
33 Join an Honors Program
34 Do Schoolwork Every Day
35 Attend Guest Lectures
36 Exercise Five Days a Week
37 Stay in Touch
38 Tack on an Extra Major or Minor
39 Meet Often with Your Adviser
40 Don't Get a Normal Job
41 Use Three Days to Write a Paper (first draft; second editing; third polishing)
42 Don't Undersleep, Don't Oversleep
43 Relax Before Exams
44 Make Friends Your #1 Priority
45 Don't Binge Drink
46 Ignore Your Classmates' Grades
47 Seek Out Phenomenal Achievers
48 Learn to Listen
49 Never Pull an All-Nighter
50 Laugh Every Day
51 Use High-Quality Notebooks
52 Keep a Work-Progress Journal
53 Seek Out Fun
54 Inflate Your Ambition
55 Get Involved with Your Major Department
56 Care About Your Grades, Ignore Your G.P.A.
57 Always Go to Class
58 Set Arbitrary Deadlines
59 Eat Healthy
60 Volunteer Quietly
61 Write as if Going for a Pulitzer
62 Attend Political Rallies
63 Maximize Your Summers
64 Choose Goals, Explore Routes
65 Don't Take Breaks Between Classes
66 Don't Network
67 Publish Op-Eds
68 Use a Filing Cabinet
69 Find a Secret Study Space
70 Study with the Quiz-and-Recall Method
71 Empty Your In-Box
72 Relax Before Sleep
73 Start Fast, End Slow
74 Spend a Semester Studying Abroad
75 "Don't Have No Regrets"
Profile Image for maia ੈ✩‧₊˚.
36 reviews17 followers
January 1, 2023
Some really obvious advice like “get a good amount of sleep,” “eat healthy,” “exercise,” “go to class,” “don’t leave studying to the last minute,” etc. There was some useful advice sprinkled in like “befriend a professor” or “find a secret study space” but these are still not really revolutionary ideas. Also I don’t think I was the target audience of this book, as it seemed to be written for neurotypical men taking exam-heavy majors in the US and I am in a Canadian woman in illustration so I couldn’t relate to a lot of the tips or perspective…
Profile Image for sachi.
4 reviews
May 29, 2020
Decent. Some tips were good, others were obvious/had been mentioned before. Many tips didn't always indicate practical ways of actually accomplishing the tip (like scholarships: how should you explain yourself? what should be things you highlight? these weren't included and could've made the book more helpful). A bit dated because it came out in 2005. However, it was inspirational because of the many suggestions to be ambitious, and a number of new ways to improve efficiency.
14 reviews6 followers
November 14, 2019
I really enjoy reading Cal Newport. He writes well and always backs up his statements with fascinating research. Many of the tips shared in this book have affected how I think and have prepped me for college. I have only one complaint. Seventy-five is a lot of tips and many of them could've been easily been combined into one. The book could have been a little more concise.
551 reviews40 followers
January 11, 2017
Read this with How to be a Straight A Student, also by same author. Excellent tips and a very fast read. The author has since gone on to get a PhD and is currently a professor in computer science. He has written two other books more recently that are also excellent.
Profile Image for Jiaying.
45 reviews4 followers
January 21, 2022
This book gave me quite a decent head start as the second semester of my first year in college was approaching. I appreciated that Newport was able to point out what we may lose track of should we only focus on the small picture which most of us will have the tendency to do so, amidst a frenzied schedule. Overall, it's a pleasant read for me with 75 concise actionable (small) habits you can possibly incorporate during your years in college.

During my first semester, as a design student, sometimes it can be hard to follow on plans. it can be also to difficult to maintain self-discipline with frenzied schedules or distracting surroundings. Reading this book helps to get myself together whenever I needed a push, brace myself ahead for the rest of my time in college.

It's also great that he brought in alternative perspectives such that it allows for discernment, for instance this chapter on "learning to give up". Ambitious as we may be, to be able to give up and forego to make time for other aspects of your life is in fact a tactical skill to acquire instead of being viewed as a weakness.
January 28, 2020
Cal Newport shares useful insights into making the most of university life in this easily digestible book. Its flow is poor at times and not all of the 75 tips within are winners. Nonetheless one emerges from its pages a more confident student.

While half a dozen points are not relevant for students in Commonwealth countries, most of the advice bears fruit regardless of the location of one's university.

Dr Newport's most profound insight concerns attitude. If one's aim is merely to win the adulation of others, one is doomed to reside in a pit seething with anxiety; the fear of failure preventing the taking on of risk and thus eventual success. It is those students who are committed to pushing the bounds of knowledge while retaining a humble and friendly character who will become stand outs.
Profile Image for Nancy.
211 reviews23 followers
December 11, 2018
This book's amazing, and I wish I had known about it back when I was in college. Picked it up as I'm taking a few more college-level classes before applying to grad schools, and still came away with a lot of tips. It's an extremely fast read, and doesn't sacrifice humor in its brevity. I'm already taking note to buy this (the future updated version of course) for my nephew when he goes to college. In 16 years haha.
Profile Image for Heriberto M. Torres.
4 reviews1 follower
May 18, 2020
I will be a graduate student soon, but a lot of this material—although primarily directed at undergrads—still applies! I wish I had read this valuable information earlier, luckily I’m not to late to apply it as a graduate psychology student
Profile Image for Brandon Charlton II.
55 reviews2 followers
January 8, 2021
Such a great book giving advice for being a successful college student. He gives insightful stories and funny dad jokes to keep you engaged in the material. I wish I would’ve read this my freshman year! I took away some amazing advice that I’m going to try out this semester!!
3 reviews
November 2, 2021
There are a few good tips of things I hadn't considered before, but for the most part it really just seems to be common sense. Like, duh, of course you should never skip class and ask questions during lectures.
Profile Image for Afreen Khalid.
22 reviews34 followers
August 17, 2018
Read this book to prepare for graduate school which starts in a week. This book is written with undergraduates in mind, but has helpful tips for students at any level. Highly recommended for anyone starting school.
4 reviews1 follower
Read
August 7, 2021
A quick 2 hour read. Needed some tips on how to manage uni workload and avoid academic burnout. I would say I got what I need :D
Profile Image for Quang Huy.
184 reviews53 followers
September 4, 2022
Một cuốn sách mà mọi sinh viên đại học nên đọc. Cung cấp cho bạn những kiến thức về việc làm sao để có khoảng thời gian học đại học tuyệt vời nhất, nhiều trải nghiệm nhất mà không phải chịu áp lực từ deadline, môn chuyên ngành, những bài kiểm tra,...
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