What does it take to be a star student? Every college has its share of enviable go-getters: students who manage to get straight A’s, win multiple awards, become the editor of the school paper, and still have time for friends and fun. How do they do it? Until now, such multitasking miracle workers were the great mysteries on campus. But in How to Win at College, Dartmouth graduate and top scholar Cal Newport reveals their secrets of success.

Based on firsthand interviews with stand-out students at universities nationwide, from Harvard to the University of Arizona, this unique college guide distills the nitty-gritty details of their winning strategies into seventy-five simple and often surprising rules, such as:

• Don’t do all of your reading

• Drop classes every semester

• Become a club president

• Do one thing better than anyone else you know

• Ignore your GPA

• Tack on an extra major or minor

• Take art history and astronomy

• Make friends your #1 priority

Together, these college-tested rules are proven to help students ace their classes, assume leadership positions, define their goals and interests, build a killer resume, and still have fun. Showing readers that success has little to do with being a genius workaholic, and everything to do with playing the game, How to Win at College is the must-have guide for making the most of those four important years—and getting an edge on life after graduation.

“Every college student, or every parent of a college student, must buy this book!”

—Jeffrey J. Fox, author of How to Become CEO

Based on firsthand interviews with standout students at universities nationwide, this unique college guide distills the nitty-gritty details of their winning strategies into 75 simple and often surprising rules.

The only guide to getting ahead once you’ve gotten in—proven strategies for making the most of your college years, based on winning secrets from the country's most successful students

What does it take to be a standout student? How can you make the most of your college years—graduate with honors, choose exciting activities, build a head-turning resume, and gain access to the best post-college opportunities? Based on interviews with star students at universities nationwide, from Harvard to the University of Arizona, How to Win at College presents seventy-five simple rules that will rocket you to the top of the class. These college-tested—and often surprising—strategies include:

• Don’t do all your reading

• Drop classes every term

• Become a club president

• Care about your grades, Ignore your GPA

• Never pull an all-nighter

• Take three days to write a paper

• Always be working on a “grand project”

• Do one thing better than anyone else you know

Proving that success has little to do with being a genius workaholic, and everything to do with playing the game, How to Win at College is the must-have guide for making the most of these four important years—and getting an edge on life after graduation.

CAL NEWPORT graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College in June 2004. He has published articles on the topic of student success in The Wall Street Journal's College Journal and Business Today magazine. He is currently enrolled in the doctoral program for computer sciences at MIT and lives in Boston, Massachusettes.