College Unzipped: An All-Access Backstage Pass into College Life by Jennifer Farthing. Library section: Teen, Planning for Your Future. This short book covers it all: from tuition fees to all-nighters, dorm living to making new friends. Each chapter is about a different topic, such as, “Yes, You Are There to Study,” “(Not) Going for Broke,” or “Going Greek?” After a very short introduction to each topic, the book then presents quotations by college students from a variety of campuses, about the topic. For example, in the topic of “Dating, Hookups and Breakups,” comments included, “Revenge is not the answer – finding someone new is,” or “The best thing my roommate ever did was kick her boyfriend our of our room when I came home one night after I had broken up with my boyfriend. She let me talk and cry. It was just what I needed.”
The best thing about this book is that it displays the difference between high school and college. I high school you spend most of your day in class, and your teachers quiz and test you frequently to make sure you are mastering the material presented. In college, you may only be in class for ten hours a week, and your time is otherwise your own to structure, and your grade may rely only on a midterm and final.
College life is a roller coaster because it is a time of life when you are totally self-involved in the best way possible, cementing core values which will serve you for life, and discovering your life and career passions. Everything you feel, do and say seems magnified.
This book helps you sort through all that and learn what to expect before you even get to college. It can also help inform your college visits, to find out about things that would be most important to you should you decide to matriculate there. ( )