College in a Can

Got this for my daughter, an entering freshman, because it packs boatloads of info into easy-to-digest lists on every possible topic. Practical, real-world advice on everything from study habits and reading lists to sex and drugs. Straight talk delivered with humor and real understanding of what the college-bound kid is about to face. Some of the lists are just for fun, which makes the rest of the "advice" -- like a daunting list of 101 books she should read by the time she graduates -- easier to swallow.

My daughter, a college freshman, read this book cover to cover. Lots of straight talk on everything from dealing with roommates and developing good study habits to handling sex and drugs, delivered in user-friendly bite-size chunks, rendered with wit and a real sense of what kids need to know. There's some entertaining fluff in between the no-nonsense tips and techniques for handling the transition to college life. Especially liked the 101-book reading list - a daunting but valuable heads-up on what it takes to achieve cultural literacy in the 21st century. A treasury of useful stuff for the college-bound (and for those aging parents who wish they could wind the clock back 30 years and try it again!).

The Chorons have the right sense of how to present basic information to the college-age and college-bound generations. If these young folks' newspaper of choice (if they have one) is USA Today, this book will reach them where they live and think. The authors eschew making the reader wade through the linearity of introductions and point-by-point presentations doused liberally with POV. Rather, they strip down each topic (and just about all the topics relevant to the target audience are included) into digestible kernels of information. Just the right approach for getting a high-school or college-age student to read something because they want to rather than they have to. Their voice is that of straight-talking, no-nonsense, no-value-judgments authorities. Which is not to say that they aren't sometimes funny, and always engaging, at the same time. A rare feat, indeed, and the kind of people you don't mind talking to your kids about topics that matter. Speaking of whom, my high-school freshman son and his friends are handing this book around and reading aloud from it, which I don't see happening with many other books they get their hands on. This isn't the only guide they'll need, for certain, but it sure does a good job of getting their wheels turning in the right direction.

For parents, this is your opportunity to eavesdrop on what really matters to your college-bound kid. For every recent high-school grad about to step off into the great unknown, this book offers an invaluable guide to what really matters. Read it. Use it. The Chorons have given us the ultimate graduation gift.

I really loved this book. My son is just going on to college and I thought this book really gave great, accessible information. I found it incredibily helpful to the whole family. I love books like this that give me relevant information in a format that is easy to understand. I would recommend this book to anyone with a college-bound student. I think it will be really helpful.