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| Introduction | |
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| Text Box: The Purposes of a College Education | |
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| How Universities Work | |
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| Text Box: The History of the University | |
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| Text Box: A Student's Guide to College Administration | |
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| Choosing a College | |
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| You Can Get an Equivalent Classroom Education at Most Reasonably Selective Colleges and Universities | |
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| Text Box: Nobel Prize Winners | |
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| The Key Distinction is between Small Colleges and Large Universities | |
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| Text Box: Where do Professors send their Children to College? | |
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| Reputation Doesn't Matter as Much as you Think | |
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| The Main Importance of Reputation is the Student Body it Attracts | |
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| Text Box: U.S. News Ratings | |
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| Text Box: Minorities and College Choice | |
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| Look for Signs of a Personalized Education | |
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| Consider the Cost | |
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| Differences in the Strength of Particular Departments are Not Usually a Good Basis for Choosing among Colleges | |
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| Text Box: Choosing a Foreign University | |
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| Consider the Different Varieties of General Education Programs | |
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| Don't Worry; Most Students are Happy with Their Choice | |
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| Choosing Classes | |
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| Consider Visiting Multiple Classes during the First Week of the Semester | |
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| Usually Trust Your First Impressions | |
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| Text Box: Priorities in Choosing Classes | |
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| Go for Variety, Especially Early On | |
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| At Least Once a Year Pick a Class That Doesn't Seem to Fit Your Interests | |
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| Take Classes with Heavy Writing Requirements | |
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| Take as Many Small Seminars and as Few Large Lecture Courses as Possible | |
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| Text Box: What does a Good Lecture Look Like? | |
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| Take Mostly Upper-Division Courses | |
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| Focus More on Methods than Topics | |
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| Seek out Classes that Provide you with Continuous Feedback and Take the Feedback Seriously | |
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| Know the Status of your Professors | |
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| Learn to be a Critical Reader of Student Evaluations of Faculty | |
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| Ask Professors you Know What Courses they would Recommend | |
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| Take Courses that Relate to Each Other | |
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| Study Abroad for at Least One Semester if Not an Entire Year | |
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| Don't Succumb to the "Two Cultures" | |
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| Don't Try to Get All of Your General Education Requirements out of the Way in Freshman and Sophomore Year | |
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| Audit Classes that you Don't Have Time to Take | |
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| Consider Independent Study Classes | |
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| Don't Take Too Many Classes with One Professor | |
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| Don't be Afraid to Exceed Requirements | |
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| Unless you Plan to Major in Chemistry or Biology, Leave Medical School Requirements until Later | |
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| Either Take Foreign Language Classes Seriously or Try to Place Out of Them | |
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| Be Discerning in Choosing Internships for Credit | |
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| Take Prerequisites with a Grain of Salt | |
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| Consider Graduate Courses | |
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| Choosing a Major | |
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| Sample a Lot of Different Departments | |
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| Choose a Major That you Love | |
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| Text Box: Some Neglected Majors | |
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| Find out what you are Good at | |
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| Don't Worry too Much about the Job Prospects of the Major | |
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| Choose Smaller Majors | |
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| Choose More Structured Majors | |
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| Text Box: Women and the Sciences | |
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| Go to an Academic Lecture Given in the Department | |
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| Be Skeptical about Double or Triple Majoring | |
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| Write a Senior Thesis | |
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| Don't Get Too Stressed out over your Choice | |
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| Being Successful | |
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| Manage your Time | |
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| Show Professors that you are Working Hard | |
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| Join a Small Study Group | |
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| Text Box: What Grades Mean | |
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| Ask for Help | |
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| Don't Let your Instructors Suspect that you are Taking Advantage of Them | |
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| Text Box: Grade Inflation | |
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| Learn the Rules of Critical Thinking and Apply them Constantly | |
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| Professorial Shortcuts for Writing | |
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| Professorial Shortcuts for Doing Research | |
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| Text Box: Self-Care | |
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| Interacting with Professors | |
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| Be Respectful | |
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| Be Curious about the Subject | |
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| Text Box: Interacting with Female Professors | |
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| Visit all your Professors during Office Hours at Least Once | |
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| Get to Know at Least One Professor Well | |
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| Find out what your Professors Research | |
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| Text Box: "Tenured Radicals" | |
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| Send E-mails Judiciously, Answer E-mails Promptly | |
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| Text Box: Writing an Effective E-Mail | |
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| Avoid Complaints about Grades | |
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| Become a Research Assistant | |
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| Ask for Recommendation Letters from Professors who know you well | |
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| Learning Outside the Classroom | |
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| Get Involved in Extracurricular Activities | |
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| Subscribe to an Intellectual Magazine | |
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| Read Academic Blogs | |
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| Text Box: Academic Blogs | |
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| Attend a Public Lecture Every Week | |
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| Spend Your Free Time in Coffeehouses | |
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| Make Friends with People who have Different Beliefs and Experiences | |
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| Get to Know Foreign Students | |
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| Going to Graduate School | |
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| There Seldom are Strong Reasons to Go to Graduate School Immediately after College | |
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| Learn More about the Career Graduate School is Leading to | |
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| Graduate School is not Just Advanced Undergrad | |
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| Text Box: Getting Fellowships | |
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| Ask your Professors' Advice about PhD Programs in Their Field | |
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| PhD Programs are not for Training Teachers | |
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| Text Box: Types of Graduate Programs | |
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| Prestige Does Matter for PhD Programs | |
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| Talk to Current Grad Students | |
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| Secrets of the Guild: Rules Professors Live by | |
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| Reduce Thy Teaching Load | |
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| Text Box: The Campus Novel | |
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| Publish or Perish | |
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| Pamper Grad Students | |
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| Limit the Effort you Devote to Undergraduates | |
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| Text Box: How to Improve your Professors | |
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| Play the Market | |
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| Acknowledgments | |
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| Recommended Reading | |
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| Index | |