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How to Survive Your Freshman Year

(6th edition)

Cartoon from How to Survive Your Freshman Year, 6th edition

“I can’t decide if freshman year was the worst year of my life ...or the best.”

How to Survive Your Freshman Year Book

Preparing for college can be such an overwhelming – yet exhilarating – time for every graduating high school senior.

Since (what seems like) the beginning of time, people have nostalgically described this experience as the best four years of their lives; these are the days when adult responsibilities are few and far between, memories are fond and everlasting, and self-growth is in complete overdrive. But how does one begin preparing for such a lifechanging adventure without having the slightest idea of what being a college freshman truly entails? Thanks to the 6th edition of the best-selling guide HOW TO SURVIVE YOUR FRESHMAN YEAR edited by Alison Leigh Cowan and illustrated by award-winning cartoonist Lisa Rothstein (Hundreds of Heads Books, 978-1933512990, $16.95, April 9th, 2019, Original Trade Paperback), college-bound seniors (and their parents) will head off to school fortified with expert advice from hundreds of current students, graduates, professors and advisors from over 200 colleges across the country. These contributors present the most up-to-date information today’s campuses have to offer while offering unique, firsthand insights only they can provide. With hundreds of new anecdotes from college aficionados across the United States, this book touches upon all aspects of college life. It sheds light on current hot-button topics like the prevalence of prescription drugs, dating in the age of the #MeToo movement, fraternity hazing, and freedom of speech on campus just to name a few.

Praise for 6th edition

“A must-have for young academics…The perfect gift, the perfect send-off to any young person going to school to help them navigate everything.”

David W. Martin
President and CEO of Nantucket Chamber of Commerce

“So fun to read. The sort of book you can turn to any page and read for as long as you want and always get something valuable!”

Noah Bopp
Founder and Head of School, at the School for Ethics and Global Leadership

“The inside story on the college experience,” Sarah Hiner, the president of Bottom Line, Inc., a publishing company that considers itself the number-one provider of expert-sourced, expert-vetted expert advice that empowers your life.

“Since its first printing 15 years ago, “How to Survive Your Freshman Year” has become somewhere between the Bible and the safety blanket for incoming students and their parents, trying to prepare for the often overwhelming process of leaving home and entering the highly competitive, socially challenging world of college.

Unless most college guides, “How to Survive Your Freshman Year” is written by the real experts on college experience: the current and the former students.”

“You don’t have to read it start to finish. Any page you open up to has a pearl of wisdom on it by the people in the know, by the other students who have actually experienced it.”

Sarah Hiner
president of Bottom Line Inc.

“This has it all: good solid advice for new college students, with suggestions on tutoring and entertaining jokes to help you get through some of the sobering wisdom about sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll. Delightful cartoons, funny and useful quotes from real college students and a light-and-bright cadence make this one of the best guides on the college experience.”

Sheryl WuDunn 
Pulitzer Prize-winning author who has worked in the college business and served on trustee boards at Cornell and Princeton universities.

“Having taught high school kids for many years, I know that going off to college is both exciting and intimidating. How to Survive Your Freshman Year offers advice from those who have recently graduated from or still attend college. This practical guide is a great gift to prepare high schoolers for what’s ahead.”
Geraldine Woods
Teacher and Writer
“Remember all those head-slapping moments when YOU first set foot on campus? For me, it was arriving at a school I’d never seen, and only applied to on the advice of an adored (but wacky) high school lit teacher. Alison Cowan, a former colleague at both the NYT and Business Week (and one of the best reporters in our business), has edited the definitive guide to surviving freshman year.”

Sana Siwolop
Journalist, content coach @StJohnsU, professor and storyteller

“With pithy insights like these, and illustrations by New Yorker cartoonist Lisa Rothstein, the most recent edition of How to Survive Your Freshman Year is an entertaining read even for those who vacated their freshman dorm rooms long ago.” 
Princeton Alumni Weekly​

Praise for past editions

How to Survive Your Freshman Year provides student viewpoints and expert advice on virtually every topic pertaining to first-year students from moving in to finding meals....After reading this book, students will be aware of the realities of college life and be better prepared to shape their own unique college experience.”
Journal of College Orientation and Transition
“A guide full of fantastic advice from hundreds of young scholars who’ve been there... a quick and fun read.”
Boston Herald
“The perfect send-off present for the student who is college-bound. The book manages to be hilarious and helpful. As an added bonus, it’s refreshingly free of sanctimony.”
The Post and Courier, Charleston, South Carolina
Winner - Best Book on Adjusting to College Life.
Readers’ Choice Awards

What's New?

Episode 5 – Mental Health

September 3, 2019

In this episode of the podcast, you’ll hear from an expert and a medley of former freshman on the complex and increasingly prevalent topic of mental health.

Read More

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Or if you simply wish to see more cool illustrations by the book’s illustrator, Lisa Rothstein, sent right to your inbox!

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“I don’t think you’ll be needing that in Ithaca.”

© 2019 How To Survive Your Freshman Year Book

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