NITTY GRITTY of COLLEGE LIFE
By
Nan DeVincent-Hayes

NOTE
The following section is a proposal for a book for college-bound youngsters on how to get into college, stay in college, and learn to get on without Mom and Dad, while Mom and Dad are trying to out the same thing for you and themselves. The book is completed and awaits a publisher.
Below is a sampling of the contents of the book. Since information and statistics on this subject matter is always changing, it's advisable to check the most recent publications for statistical validation.
In a sentence, then, this big volume is about

Entering and Staying in College.

The BIG Book

of the

Nitty Gritty of College Life
"From the High School Frying Pan
through the College Fire"
(Info You Didn't Even Know Existed)

by
Nan DeVincent-Hayes, Ph.D
and
James R. Hayes, MBA

TABLE of CONTENTS

Introduction ............................................
A book written for students and parents by a writer, parent and former student

Chapter One: Letters ..................................
A child's letter to parents; parents' letter to their child; author's letter to parents

Chapter Two: Pre-College .............................
Calendar of activities; all those tests; handling college applications; the "Common Application"; alternative education; pre-college fears; picking the right college; rating colleges of your choice worksheet

Chapter Three: Financial Concerns ...........................
Types of financial aid; other financing alternatives; scholarships; fees, expenses, services

Chapter Four: Face to Face .....................................
What you should get out of college; campus visits; admission interview; orientation; class schedules; special students

Chapter Five: Settling In .........................................
What to pack; dorm Vs apartment living; commuter Vs residence living; dealing with your roommate; safety in the dorm or your apartment

Chapter Six: The System .........................................
The importance of your first semester; academic integrity; typical college curricula; majors and minors; campus hierarchy; what's what and who's who on campus; tidbits about academia; student classification; the syllabus; professorial policies; academic atmosphere; styles of professors; styles of students; pleasing your profs

Chapter Seven: Studying ........................................
Studying strategies; taking tests; types of tests; finding time to study; IQs and Mensa' critical thinking; setting up internships; conducting yourself in the real business world

Chapter Eight: Socializing .......................................
How to behave like a civilized adult; practicing good etiquette; dating; joining organizations; Greek life; parties and peers; decisions regarding sex

Chapter Nine: Taking Care of Yourself ........................
Help in adjusting; your good health; handling stress; who you are is everything; time management

Chapter Ten: Wanted Advice ...................................
Pointed pointers; for your consideration

Chapter Eleven: Job-A-Rama ...................................
Top jobs of the future; moving on; hot jobs of tomorrow; how to get your first job; dressing for the interview; the job interview; Tek.Exam

Parting Words ......................................................
Getting the last word in

Appendix ...........................................................
A Touch of Nostalgia; sample syllabus; the common application; lists of resources; college life surveys

Glossary ............................................................

Bibliography .......................................................

Please Note

Throughout this book, the words "college," "university," "school," "institutes," and institutions of higher education" are used interchangeably, as are the terms "professor," "instructor," and "teacher."

INTRODUCTION
Preparing to attend college is confusing, frustrating, time-consuming, and expensive. Consider the cost of college directories and guides, alone, needed just to familiarize yourself with a college's background; or the fee for college admissions tests, or expense in purchasing numerous computer programs in preparation of taking the PSATs and SATs, not counting the charges for applying to several colleges, or all that's involved in the search for financial aid.
Worse is the overwhelming confusion when you finally do decide on a school. You wonder what fees you have to pay, how you go about buying textbooks, what to call professors, what the method is for determining QPA (or is it GPA, you ask). Once you get to campus, you become perplexed by all the buildings enveloping you, what their names mean, where you go to handle problems, and how in the world you're to figure out what courses to take.
Then there's the dilemma of meeting your roommate. You worry that you might be incompatible, that you'll never get along, that he or she will be opposite you. How, you ask, are ground rules established that suit both of you. Maybe you should live in an apartment instead of a dorm, you wonder--which is better? You doubt if you really know how to properly conduct yourself when living with a stranger, or even in public; and you fret over how to present yourself to get a job, or what careers will be out there by the time you graduate. Maybe, you think, you've chosen the wrong major but how can you know? A thousand fears and a thousand questions besiege you; yet you have no idea where to go for answers. Asking other college students yields only individual biases when you want facts and advice.
Well, here is the ultimate solution--a book with answers for every conceivable concern and for questions you didn't even know you should ask. This compendium of explanations for entering college will put your fears and anxieties to rest. Six years of research have yielded this creme de la creme of handbooks for college survival . . . six years of talking to endless students and their parents, as well as to high school guidance counselors; six years of interviewing key people on college campuses; six years of reading endless books, countless magazines and periodicals, as well as studying the literature on the Internet; and six years of poring over government documents.

We started this guide when our oldest child was a first semester high school freshman, knowing within a few years she would be preparing to enter college; now she's in her junior year of college. We completed the entire text when our second child entered her first year of college. Learning from both of their experiences (as well as our own by having attended four years of undergraduate school, four years of graduate education for three masters, and three years in earning a doctoral degree, along with having taught high and administered to students for forty-five years between us, in addition to one of serving as a university top-level administrator, and the other a college department chair, (and being a well published, professional writer), we believe we're qualified to present this manual to you as a tool to get you through the pre-college, college, and post-college periods.
We wish you the best of luck in your first step forward in your exciting entrance to the real world.

Nan DeVincent-Hayes, Ph.D
Author, Professor, Parent
and
James R. Hayes
University Administrator, Parent

All materials are copyrighted ©; do not reproduce any part of this or any other materials on this website without the permission of the author at ndhayes@att.net or 410-543-9019