Smol - Shop now
Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Cal Newport
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less Spiral-bound

by unknown author (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars 3,018 ratings
How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less. Professionally spiraled and resold by a third party. This spiraled book is not necessarily affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by the publisher, distributor, or author.
Read more
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    224 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Generic
  4. Dimensions
    5.1 x 12.7 x 7.9 inches
Next slide of product details
The%20Amazon%20Book%20Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start over
Previous set of slides
Next set of slides

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09FVQZRVJ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Generic
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.1 x 12.7 x 7.9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 3,018 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Cal Newport

Cal Newport

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Cal Newport is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University who writes for general audiences about the intersections of culture and technology. He is the author of eight books, including, most recently, Slow Productivity, A World Without Email, Digital Minimalism, and Deep Work. These titles include multiple New York Times bestsellers and have been published in over 40 languages. Newport is also a contributing writer for The New Yorker and the host of the Deep Questions podcast.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
3,018 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Customers say

Customers find the book excellent for studying effectively and appreciate its practical advice, with one noting it provides a realistic approach to better study habits. The book is easy to read and understand, and customers particularly value its time management strategies, with one highlighting the 5-minute planning technique. Moreover, they find the book effective, with one mentioning it works well for go-at-your-own-pace classes. Additionally, customers praise its ability to decrease college-related stress and consider it a perfect gift for college-bound students.

Select to learn more

AdviceEase of readingTime managementReadabilityEffectivenessGift valueStress level
258 customers mention "Advice"240 positive18 negative

Customers find the book excellent for studying effectively, providing practical advice that helps students work smarter and get their high schoolers on track.

"...It offers smart strategies to study more efficiently without burning out. I love how it focuses on working smarter, not harder...." Read more

"...From what I remember reading this book, this applies to college level courses and even at the same time I tried using his question / evidence..." Read more

"...But, the book does have faults. While this book provides very useful information, I feel it misses two aspects of the college experience that can..." Read more

"This book presents a collection of actionable methods for taking notes, studying, and managing a busy schedule...." Read more

111 customers mention "Ease of reading"103 positive8 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and understand, appreciating its concise writing style.

"...The advice is straightforward, practical, and based on real student experiences...." Read more

"...His section on writing papers is also very good. His explanation on how to prepare for and take exams is also good...." Read more

"...time management skills, 2) studying and exam prep, and 3) essay writing...." Read more

"But it's never late to learn this techniques and pass them on to your children and others that may need them so they will have better results and a..." Read more

73 customers mention "Time management"68 positive5 negative

Customers appreciate the book's time management strategies, finding it particularly helpful for anti-procrastination and efficient study techniques. One customer specifically mentions the 5-minute planning strategy, while another highlights the effectiveness of the Pomodoro technique.

"...I love how it focuses on working smarter, not harder. A valuable resource I’ll be referring to throughout my academic journey." Read more

"...time management skills, 2) studying and exam prep, and 3) essay writing...." Read more

"...I find the section on time management is useful even outside of an academic context." Read more

"...addressed in part 1, such as avoiding “pseudo-working” and how to combat procrastination..." Read more

44 customers mention "Readability"34 positive10 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, with several mentioning it helps them complete high-quality work. One customer notes that the pages feel substantial, while another describes it as marbled with entertainment.

"...Aside from that, the book is marbled with entertainment, obviously. Examples: "hard to conquer" "..." Read more

"I loved this book!..." Read more

"...However, I think it's a good read if you're in high school and preparing for higher education, or if you're a parent looking to help their college..." Read more

"If you are studying technical subjects this book is definitely not worth reading...." Read more

23 customers mention "Effectiveness"23 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's strategies effective, with one customer noting the importance of working smarter rather than harder.

"...the principle of “active recall” that he taught and found how effective and time efficient that it was...." Read more

"...this book wont turn just any student into a maestro, however, applied effectively I would say this book could make the difference between excelling..." Read more

"...for technical courses vs. liberal arts courses is focused and works surprisingly well...." Read more

"...of the principles he teaches in my day job, and have been very pleased with the results...." Read more

7 customers mention "Gift value"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book to be a perfect gift for college-bound students.

"Although, I haven’t read this book, I thought it was a great gift for my son starting college. I hope it helps home to mange the stress." Read more

"...10/10 reccomend and it is 100% worth the money, wonderful idea for a High School graduation gift!" Read more

"This is the perfect gift for a college-bound graduating high school senior...." Read more

"Well written. Excellent gift for our college bound daughter." Read more

6 customers mention "Stress level"6 positive0 negative

Customers report that the book helps reduce stress in college, with one customer noting that their life becomes less painful as a result.

"...Trust that these strategies work, and enjoy your stress-free semester...." Read more

"...and with less stress than my peers." Read more

"...All A's. and I felt the stress of college decreasing as I continued on with my new skill sets in practice...." Read more

"...I hope it helps home to mange the stress." Read more

Immediately useful tips!
5 out of 5 stars
Immediately useful tips!
This is an excellent book for high school and college students looking for ways to do better in school - but working smarter rather than harder. The author gives many immediately-useful tips that will help anyone become a better student. I especially like the summaries at the end of each section. I highly recommend this book. Please mark if you find my review helpful. Thank you so much!
Hide
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

  • NIceNuzy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Smart & Effective – A Must-Read Study Guide for Every Student
    Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2025
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I bought How to Become a Straight-A Student for my reference and to add to my bookshelf, and it’s an absolute gem. The advice is straightforward, practical, and based on real student experiences. It offers smart strategies to study more efficiently without burning out. I love how it focuses on working smarter, not harder. A valuable resource I’ll be referring to throughout my academic journey.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Ricky Luis
    5.0 out of 5 stars One more crappy college study guide
    Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2012
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    When I was taking 4 classes at my local community college, I tried to follow the part of the book that said just to learn math by examples. I ended having to drop the class because at first I was actually ahead of the professor. Then I tried this stupid book's technique of learning by examples and I ended up falling behind. The same can be said of "What smart students know" it's actually a good technique (smart students), but you end up spending hours thinking up questions. Questions can be a part of the process, but it can't be the whole process. I just bought an online course than is way better than both of these combined. It's so good. The point I'm at in the course you can memorize up to 50 items in reverse and forward. You can also tell which place in the list. An example could be

    The order of my hallway:

    Dog = front door
    Cat = wall
    Duck = light switch
    Printer = holder
    Hitler = chair
    MAO = rug
    Goku = ceiling light
    Kurrin = mirror
    Gohan = heater
    Frieza = painting

    You would then connect / visualize each word / picture with a part of your house. The rule is to visualize each for only 6 seconds while recalling can only take 6 seconds. If you miss one you have to do the six second process again until you make no mistakes.

    P.S. I'm not telling anyone the name of the course or where to buy it. I want to be ahead of all other students.

    Edit: I'm back in college taking two college level courses. While I don't agree with everything in this book (I have to re-read it) I agree with 80-85% of the methods used in this book that I remember. Such as not doing the reading he was right. I haven't done the reading in my psychology 101 class and have only focused on taking / memorizing / learning the notes and while I haven't gotten a grade yet, I actually feel I'm learning enough and today in class I note notes from a documentary we watched. The professor said to do the reading for chapter 2 of the textbook. I'm not even going to do it. I'm going to just take notes in class then go over the reading. I did this for my 1st set of notes and I didn't understand something in the lecture notes. I ended up re-reading that / part / example [it was on the scientific method].

    I remember from taking my developmental math class that the professor was actually doing examples (even though I couldn't figure out from what part of the book they were from and / or I couldn't write every example like he said) If I had just asked questions and either watched videos on Youtube I would've probably remembered the material from that class.

    I'll do another edit once I'm done with classes. I'm also going to write / provide a list of books that I think are good for learning and have good advice for college.

    Edit: I ended up trying to do the advice from this book and if I didn't look up the answers for the test for my psychology class I wouldn't be in college today. I'm not saying that all of this book is bad but I went from thinking that 85% of it is good to now thinking that 50% of this book is good. The other half is crap. Such as the technique for Q/E/C he doesn't give any examples or enough examples. The other advice like making your own problem sets I wouldn't have thought of. Even though this is an all right technique your wasting time because you can just practice doing other peoples problems (like those online or from a professor) or do Bullet point concept from another book I read (I'm going to provide a list once I'm done with this review). The one technique that is very good is the lecture technique he mentions in the book. For some reason, this technique helps with putting material into memory. His section on writing papers is also very good. His explanation on how to prepare for and take exams is also good. Also, he should have made the book more visual and put actual writing from actual students other than that it's an all right book.

    Here's the list of books I've read (so far) that will most likely get you A's

    College Rules

    https://www.amazon.com/College-Rules-4th-Survive-Succeed/dp/1607748525/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1530133408&sr=1-1&keywords=college+rules

    Guaranteed 4.0

    https://www.amazon.com/Guaranteed-Follow-3-Step-Plan-Dont/dp/0974264806/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1530134451&sr=1-1&keywords=guranteed+4.0

    How to study in college

    https://www.amazon.com/How-Study-College-Walter-Pauk/dp/1133960782/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1530134633&sr=1-4&keywords=how+to+study+in+college

    The only book I've read from cover to cover is GT 4.0 it's probably the best in my opinion because the system in this book will get you A's. The only reason last semester I didn't get A's was because I didn't follow the system to the t. If you follow the GT 4.0 system to a t and don't get all A's she'll give you $100.

    Hope this helps.

    Edit 2020:

    From what I remember reading this book, this applies to college level courses and even at the same time I tried using his question / evidence technique while taking a psy101 class and couldn't do it. Also he's right to a very large degree about living off of lecture notes. Living off of the lecture notes IMHO can only be done if it's a science science class or a college level math class. I'm currently taking a pre-req class and the professor explains everything. Along with the Guaranteed 4.0 technique this is a pretty decent book.
    53 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • S. Bandy
    4.0 out of 5 stars Wish I had read this sooner
    Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2012
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    This book is not that revolutionary, but very helpful. It essentially tackles three main problem areas for college students: 1) time management skills, 2) studying and exam prep, and 3) essay writing. Some of these are common sense things that many people resist implementing. If you are struggling with college, or are a high school senior unsure of what to expect in college, this book is very helpful.

    The true value in this book, for me at least, was in providing the satisfaction that these strategies worked. I would often start out a semester by doing the things listed in the book. I would manage my time, study effectively for exams, thoughtfully plan out papers and assignments. Halfway through the semester, I always had straight As. But as finals crept up, I would panic. Since every other student spent hours in the library studying, I abandoned the effective strategies to follow suit. As a result, my final exam grades were inconsistent and my final papers were always rushed. This book gave me the satisfaction of knowing that I can trust these time saving strategies. You do not need to spend hours and hours on projects to get a good grade. It's okay to not spend hours in the library studying for a final. Trust that these strategies work, and enjoy your stress-free semester.

    But, the book does have faults. While this book provides very useful information, I feel it misses two aspects of the college experience that can have a large impact on your grade: presentations and group projects. (Also the dreaded group presentation). While you can implement some of these strategies in these situations, it would be nice to know how top students manage working in group project settings, especially those that require research. I can't tell you how many times I've been in a group project where half the group doesn't show up to meetings, members refuse to do their work, or people drop the class halfway through the project. I still haven't figured out an adequate way to deal with these situations besides just doing the work myself at the last minute.

    Bottom line, this book is well worth the money. Whether you are a college senior or a high school senior and everything in between, this book will help you as long as you faithfully implement the strategies. But do search out other resources for help with managing group projects.
    12 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Raul Lara
    5.0 out of 5 stars I wish I would have known this before.
    Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2025
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    But it's never late to learn this techniques and pass them on to your children and others that may need them so they will have better results and a better life.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Chris
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great study and time management tips.
    Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2025
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    This book presents a collection of actionable methods for taking notes, studying, and managing a busy schedule. I find the section on time management is useful even outside of an academic context.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Jason
    5.0 out of 5 stars incredibly helpful for my son, and he’s not even in college
    Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2025
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    As a freshman at an extremely rigorous high school, my son still found concepts in this book incredibly helpful, especially the subjects addressed in part 1, such as avoiding “pseudo-working” and how to combat procrastination (something he has struggled with continuously throughout his life). Highly recommend this book to anyone trying to up their performance and stay sane at the same time.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
  • Almudena Trinidad
    5.0 out of 5 stars Original y ajustado al título
    Reviewed in Spain on October 31, 2014
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Aunque no tiene ninguna referencia científica, el contenido se ajusta a lo prometido: una exposición de las técnicas más usadas por estudiantes aventajados. Muy interesante.
    Report
  • Charlenne
    4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, meh quality
    Reviewed in Belgium on December 30, 2023
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Book quality is not great but the content is interesting. I tought it would be more interesting though but it had great gems
    Report
  • jack
    5.0 out of 5 stars Bellissimo libro
    Reviewed in Italy on September 27, 2018
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Libro molto pratico sull’organizzazione delle proprie giornate di studio che si può trasportare anche alla vita di tutti i giorni. Adatto agli studenti ma anche a chi vuole acquisire un metodo di organizzazione.
    Report
  • Eden
    5.0 out of 5 stars Livraison super rapide !
    Reviewed in France on August 25, 2023
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Commandé le 20 août, reçu le 25 au lieu du 28 comme normalement prévu. Livre tout neuf ! Très hâte de le lire ! Merci !
    Report
  • NH
    5.0 out of 5 stars Almost a study "must"
    Reviewed in Australia on January 12, 2025
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Excellent practical and usable advice suitable for senior high school students and tertiary students.
    I enjoyed and appreciated its tips when I was studying tertiary course (subsequent to already earning tertiary qualifications - wish I'd had some of these tips then!!)
    Teenager in the family has read it and already started applying it. Win-win!
    Report