In college? Here’s some advice about studying from the book “How to Survive Your Freshman Year” (Hundreds of Heads Books, www.hundredsofheads.com, $14.95), straight from people who’ve done it:

“I had a professor tell me one time that the workload in college is like shoveling snow. If you do a little bit every day, you’ll get by. If you wait until everything piles up, it becomes an impossible task.”

Nicholas Bonawitz, University of Rochester, 2001 graduate

“The map is not the journey and the notes are not the course. Take notes but don’t try to be a stenographer. Use class notes to enhance your understanding of the course; for example, flagging areas for follow-up in text or with the instructor.”

Scott Woelfel, University of Missouri, 1981 graduate

“Leave your room when you study. With all the computers and stereos and TVs nowadays, it’s so hard to get work done when you’re sitting there.”

“Wake up early and study. Even if you’re not a morning person, make yourself one. It’s the quietest time in the dorm and you’ll be so productive.”

“The problem I had was the prioritization. You have a lot more free time in college than in high school. But you think you have more free time than you actually have. And by November of freshman year, you’re behind. I don’t know anyone who wasn’t behind. You tend to forget to study when you first get here. You have parties, freedom from parents—you almost forget that you’re in school. Freshman year, people would go to 60 to 70 percent of classes, at best, because you would stay up late and then miss morning classes. You almost forget how important education is. You worked for 12 years to get here, but just because you’re here, the work doesn’t stop.”

— Zak Amchislavsky, Georgetown University senior
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“Freshmen come in and expect to get an A. But then you realize you were a big fish in a small pond in high school, and in college there’s a bunch of other big fish and you’ve got to step it up a notch.”

Hundreds of Heads Books’ survival guides offer the wisdom of the masses by assembling the experiences and advice of hundreds of people who have gone through life’s biggest challenges and have insight to share.