Customer Reviews

Helping College Students Succeed: A Model for Effective Intervention

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Hirsch argues that colleges have done students a disservice from separating counseling from academic helping. Hirsch's view is that helpers must evaluate why the student is there and how motivated the student is. He suggests ways to figure this out and targets his interventions accordingly, framing them with numerous "case studies." His entire tack is that academic helping is not a one-size-fits-all field (is there any?) but that it should be adapted to the student's abilities, preferences, and emotional climate.

He also gives a large number of helpful tips for many "success" problems, such as low motivation, anxiety, lack of attention or concentration, classroom boredom, and procrastination. Hirsch's writing is very clear, and his lists are fairly extensive (with items in bold to pick out the key points easily). I believe that there will be something of use here to anyone interested in student success, including students themselves.

For those who have taken the MBTI, he also gives several pages of evaluation directed towards each axis' learning style, possible weaknesses, and study skill suggestions. For example, I's need time alone to process information, P's may have difficulty closing the book on an assignment, and N's should try writing study questions that force attention to detail.

I am impressed by this book at many levels: (1) it provides a much needed resource for all of us who work with college students and wish to help these students succeed. Dr. Hirsch accomplishes this with clear writing, appropriate humor, and excellent resources; (2) it can be used by anyone who work with students: faculty, student affairs professionals, and in the professional preparation of the above. (3) it is practical in its orientation, yet does not patronize the reader. I plan to use this as a text in my graduate counseling fieldwork course. I highly recommend this book to anyone affiliated with college students. The book fills an important gap in our applied literature and Dr. Hirsch's thorough work is most appreciated by this faculty person.