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 (91 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,499 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

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Place to Start, but if you have an Learning Disablity, go deeper, January 6, 2011

By 

Robert Frost "that black SMU chick" (Dallas, TX) - 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)

*read the comments below this review for more info if you really need help! :D*

I saw the raving reviews for this book so I bought it. I must say, I rather enjoy it. It gives simple, concise advice. No BSing around. Only the bare minimum of what you need to make straight As. I agree with what everyone has said.

The problem comes when you've got a learning disability. I have reading and ADD. Some of Newport's advice simply will not cut it for me. For example, he talks about how you shouldn't waste time reading the assignment before class. Instead, go to class taking good notes (& of course there is a section explaining his minimalist approach to good notes). This plan of action is disatrious for an ADD student. We struggle to pay attention. We have a tendency to not "move on" to the next topic without an understanding of what we see. We miss the lecture, essentially. For me to NOT do the reading before hand is actually a strategy for failure. Reading material beforehand gives me understanding of the lecture so I can focus, ask questions, etc.

That was just an example of how some methods in this book may not work. So, unfortunately, not all of us can cut as many corners as Cal could... For some of us, we need to take time, but we can be smart about how the time is used.

So i you get this book and find that something is not working for you, don't blame yourself. Find a new strategy and check out other books.

But no matter who you are, if you are beginning your research on the most effective study plan FOR YOU, this book is an awesome place to start. It will give you a good foundation of no-nonsense, modernized concepts that permeate throughout the "how to study" book options.

Currently, I am using more of the "Guaranteed 4.0" system which is more detailed & I feel its effectiveness immediately (whereas Cal Newport's method makes me feel scared it may not work). I'm also reading "What Smart Students Know" since it is a classic. I would not be able to stomach these study techniques if it weren't for getting used to Cal's minimalism.

31 of 37 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!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very motivating and encouraging, February 18, 2011

By 

guttedsquid - 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 rate this book 4 stars only because there is tons of great study advice on his blog that should be included in this book! This book does have some "basic" advice in it as other reviews stated, but combined with the info on his blog and your own personal study habits you can really cut down on "grinding".

For instance, in this book Cal points out the pitfalls of highlighting: You have to go back and read it again, which wastes time. He also discusses taking notes in the QEC format, and mentions how having your readings for technical classes available during class make lectures easier to follow and understand. While QEC notes are great, it is hard to do this in class, even with a laptop. His blog mentions the "morse code method" where you essentially identify the components of your potential QEC notes by marking a dash next to main ideas in your reading material, and mark dots next to information supporting that idea. When I'm in class I jot down as many questions as possible. These questions capture big ideas of the lecture, and help me create a practice quiz for later. During slow moments in lecture I skim the reading and mark up my book with the morse code method. I then read the text after class (as recommended in this book) and take QEC notes based on the questions I captured during lecture, and the morse code marks I put in my book, which makes note taking that much easier. This is more efficient than highlighting, because it doesn't just say "hey this is important" but also says "this is a big idea, and this over here supports this idea."

One thing that is definitely lacking in this book is advice on how to deal with memorization. You've all been there: languages, cellular respiration, medical terminology, taxonomy and phylogeny, functional groups. I'd say that the best way to deal with this is quiz and recall (as Cal introduces in his book) with a twist. For chemistry, make a list of functional groups, write some elements and ions on some post-it notes, write some dashes for single and double bonds on post it notes of a different color, then Q&R the functional groups- rearrange the post-its until you've built each one without checking your textbook. Then save your post-its for later. Same goes for cellular respiration: write down the enzymes and substrates, and reorganize them in order until you've got it memorized. For taxonomy, I'd write the characteristics in jeopardy style questions on index cards, Q&R, and then group the cards into groups. Then shuffle and repeat. For terminology, write composite words on index cards for Q&R. In a notebook, fold each sheet of paper into two columns, and write the root (suffix, prefix, whatever) in one column, and the meaning of the root on the other. Q&R the meaning of the vocab word based on the roots in your notebook. For tissues bones, and other anatomical structures, scan pictures from a photographic atlas, shrink them to fit on the largest index cards you can find, and glue the image to your card. On the back of the card write the number and name of each structure. On the image, number each structure and then cross out the name of the structure if it is labeled. Then Q&R.

There are plenty of great things on his blog that when coupled with the information in his book really do cut down on the amount of time you spend studying. With respect to other reviews, I would also have to agree that this book is excellent for undergraduates, but probably won't help people who are in grad school. I haven't finished undergrad yet, but I assume its balls-to-the-walls-all-hell-breaks-loose with respect to the demands of studying, synthesizing information, and learning in grad school ^-^. There does seem to be more emphasis on nontechnical study tactics in this book, but if you adapt his advice to your courses you'll get a lot out of this book. For example, his advice for master problem sets is applicable to more than math courses. Chemistry and physics students would greatly benefit from these same strategies. His QEC notes are great for nutrition, psychology, physiology, and environmental science. The time management tips are great for a foundation, but I'm a bigger fan of his "visual panic schedule" which is published on his blog. While the case studies in his book are realistic and refreshing, the case studies on his blog are much more inspiring! I highly recommend the book, because there are a lot of useful tips that are *only* published in that book and do not reappear on his blog. BUT there is a lot of stuff on his blog that I find equally helpful (and there is more of it). Buy the book, and read the blog.