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

Cal Newport (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 26, 2006

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This book delivers on its title 100 Percent. I wish I'd had a copy when I was in college—I would have had a better GPA and a better social life!”—Jason Ryan Dorsey, author of My Reality Check Bounced!

“A smart, concise, fun, and above all informative guide on how to ace college by being smarter about how to work . . . This book is a must-have for anyone who wants to do well at college and enjoy it too.” —M. Cecilia Gaposchkin, Assistant Dean of Faculty for PreMajor Advising, Dartmouth College

About the Author

Cal Newport graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth in 2004, where, using the strategies outlined in this book, he earned thirty-six straight A’s in a row. Also the author of How to Win at College, he is studying for his Ph.D. in computer science at MIT.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (December 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767922719
• ISBN-13: 978-0767922715
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.5 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (92 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,736 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cal Newport is the author of the popular guides How to Be a High School Superstar, How to Become a Straight-A Student, and How to Win at College. His blog, Study Hacks, is one of the web's most visited student advice sites. Cal graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth in 2004 and earned a PhD from MIT in 2009. He lives in Boston, MA.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Difference Maker, January 21, 2012

By 

Connie Garza - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less (Paperback)

This is the book that really made the difference for me, just wish I would of read it my freshman year instead of my the end of my sophmore semester. I think I would of been a lot less stressed out if I had. Around the same time I read htis book I also came across something called "brain drugs" (yes they are legal lol), and after experimenting with them for the last 6 months; I've become convinced of their effectiveness and anyone reading this book could probably also benefit from the results you get from them.

They are called nootopics and were first discovered 30 years ago and used to treat medical conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and ADHD. They worked so well that the marketing companies got a hold of them and started selling them as cognitive enhancers to the public, they became a very popular brain supplement.

A couple weeks after I took these I scored the highest I ever have on a physics test and got OVER 100% on a chem. Quiz the same day. A week later I had a bio test and although I haven't gotten the results back yet, I feel more confident than I have with any test previous. I didn't change my study habits at all really. I read this book well over a year ago and still use many of these study techniques the author speaks about, but my studies have become more focused. I get "in the zone" so to speak and just pound down the homework.

This supplement will not make you "smarter" but they have allowed me to unlock some hidden potential in a way I cannot describe. There are many different types of nootropics currently available, the only one's I have tried thus far are below;

Piracetam Powder (250 Grams) 50 Grams Oxiracetam Bulk Powder 5 times stronger than Piracetam

I feel sharper, quicker, noticeably more able to find the right words when I need them. Remembering simple details or more complex diagrams seems less difficult. Its weird, because I'll look at a diagram a couple times and then kinda discover that the next time I look at it I remember more than I thought I would. It's like an added clarity. The entire phenomenon is difficult to describe because you don't feel different but yet you will notice things about your brain functioning being... just better. I've been telling every soul I've encountered about these supplements, totally needed these in high school too!

142 of 185 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Saved my college career and social life, September 27, 2007

By 

JT (Maine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less (Paperback)

I'm currently a student at Tufts University, and before reading this book I was a real "grinder" when it came to trying to get a good GPA. I really didn't have a stellar social life because, due to my previous study methods, I needed to study for hours on end in order to excel academically. I did well, but not insanely well, and it always felt like I was under a time crunch to finish my work.

But the most frustrating aspect of my early college career was the sacrifices I had to make to my social life to get an above-average GPA. Every time I tried to make time to go out and have fun, my grades suffered.

Enter Cal's book. After reading this book and applying his techniques, I was able to take the hardest course load I ever took (5 science/engineering courses), play rugby, and go out, on average, 3 times a week while pulling off a 3.8 GPA for the semester.

The techniques in this book will vastly improve your quality of life in college. His time management techniques are worth the price of admission alone. I HIGHLY recommend it, Two thumbs up.

99 of 130 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Don't do what I did, September 3, 2010

By 

Roberta (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less (Paperback)

This book really got me excited about my second semester of college. Immediately before reading this, I had just finished reading and learning the method in Adam Robinson's "What Smart Students Know" - which Newport bashes rigorously in his introduction. I too was under the impression that Robinson expected too much of the typical college student, and Newport's book was totally the relief I was looking for.

What I loved about "Straight-A Student" was that it provided a great framework for understanding the system that you have to work within. The time and focus management, and organizational part have helped tremendously. It also separated out the difference between technical and non-technical courses and the methods by which you should approach them. Even the writing portion makes sense. My total approach to college and classes has been simplified by these things.

So why only three stars? Well, in my literature class I applied all the "big idea" methods and did great in all my discussions and essays. I couldn't believe how easy it all was. Then I took my first exam. It was hard for me let go of my usual "grind" ways and trust the process, so I decided to study half Newport's way and include half Robinson's way (which requires a lot less time than the author suggests). You couldn't imagine my dismay when I open the exam only to find that the questions were requesting very technical details of the reading material I demoted because neither the teacher nor students ever referred to them at all.

On the half of the questions that applied to the material I studied using Robinson's method, however, I didn't even have to think. I knew the answers and was able to answer easily. The problem is that getting half of an exam correct results in a failing grade - the first one lower than an "A" I received since I began school.

I really wanted to trust that this book would be the answer to my long study hours, and in truth, it has helped a great deal. My only inclination that something might not be quite right was in the introduction. Newport insists his method is superior to other popular authors. Usually I take this attitude to indicate that something is missing - and now I remember why. This book, in combination with Robinson's, will save you tons of time, increase your focus, and improve your grades. Just don't totally trust it as the only solution - there is no such thing.