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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 | |