By Katie Steelman
Ever wish you had a mentor that could pop into your dorm room whenever you had a problem in college? OK, that’d be a little creepy in real life. But that’s exactly what college expert Sean Heffron does for fictional college freshman, Jake, in this cartoon-style book.
From making friends to making the grade, stick figure Heffron guides stick figure Jake through the stresses of his first year of college, providing helpful advice along the way.
Heffron both reaffirms common recommendations (such as going to class and getting involved on campus) and also offers some unique tips (e.g. putting your planner next to your alarm clock and studying in the classroom in which you will take a test). He backs up his points with stats (Did you know that 98 percent of college seniors said they made close friends AFTER freshman year?) and advice from other college experts; he even throws in the occasional psychology lesson. (One example is an experiment where one person looks up at a building and others start doing the same, even though there is nothing to see. Lesson: college freshman tend to follow a crowd.)
Comprised largely of drawings and dialogue, this book is a fast read but loaded with useful information, and just enough humor to keep it cute but not goofy. Lists, step-by-step instructions for solving problems as well as references to other helpful books, websites and even Facebook apps make it a quality quick-reference guide.
“The Skinny on Your First Year in College” would be beneficial preparatory reading for the soon-to-be college freshman.
Katie Steelman is a senior at St. John Fisher College.
Hi Katie, this is Sean…..the author of the book. I just stumbled upon this review and I wanted to say thank you! What a nice surprise!