Posted on: Friday, May 13, 2005

Want college tips? Start by not focusing on GPA

By Jay Mathews
Washington Post

My daughter called two weeks ago. She was upset about a linear algebra exam she had just taken. I knew nothing about the subject. No Mathews has ever before been so foolhardy as to take a math course in college.

So I offered what I considered time-honored advice about the joy of learning and what can be gained from a difficult academic experience.

I won't give you her exact words in response, but I got the impression that she did not think what I said was helpful.

And that was why I was so delighted two days later to receive a copy of a new book, "How to Win at College" ($8.96 at Amazon.com). On page 139 the author, a recent summa cum laude graduate of Dartmouth named Cal Newport, said nearly the same thing that I had said to Katie. He told the story of a determined undergraduate who blew her calculus final but went to the professor to go over all of her mistakes. He was so impressed he made her his teaching assistant and later she won a Rhodes Scholarship.

I thought this was a lovely anecdote, and it raises an important and often overlooked issue: How does a student adjust to college? It's springtime, after all. High school seniors have sent in their college deposits. Prom and graduation are coming. Soon they will be off on a great collegiate adventure.

But in the midst of this happiness, it is useful to consider how to make college a rewarding experience, and develop quickly the habits that allow students to graduate with few mishaps. There are several fine books on this subject. I recently read one by Spotsylvania County, Va., high school English teacher Eugene Williams Jr., "The Raisin-in-Milk Syndrome" ($10 at Amazon.com), which focuses on advice for black students and has many useful suggestions.

As a general guide, Newport's book is also interesting. Much of the advice he gives is predictable, such as "Befriend a Professor" and "Don't Binge Drink." But he also makes many contrarian and often-overlooked recommendations. Here are 10 of the best, with some commentary:

1. Focus on learning, not your GPA: "Bad grades happen, and this shouldn't be a big deal," he says. "As long as you put in the effort, who cares about one bad day?" This seems sensible. My daughter accepts it in part, but thinks it shows a lack of understanding of non-summas. Worry about GPA is unavoidable, and perhaps it makes no sense to make students feel guilty about their grade-related fears.

2. Don't do all your reading: This is the first chapter of the book. Katie considers it a truism. There is no earthly way to do all the reading and have a life, she said. Newport says skim the reading and take good notes at lectures to fill in the gaps. This could be a prescription for disaster. Newport admits it is "an acquired skill." If you read the book, you will get a better idea of what he is talking about.

3. Don't network: This is smart and sensitive advice. Newport has seen undergraduates who attempt to ingratiate themselves with every professor and every visiting speaker in hopes of future job offers and fellowships. It is mostly a waste of time, and carries the risk of leaving the impression that you are a hopeless climber. An occasional e-mail asking a relevant question is fine, Newport says, but save the heavy favor-trading for when you are actually in the working world and have something to offer.

4. Always be working on a grand project: College is a good time to try things you never had time for in high school, when you were really obsessed with your GPA. Perhaps you have always wanted to start a business, or write a novel, or persuade the state Legislature to ban no-turn-on-red signs. Whatever it is, give it a try. It will make you happy and get your life moving in a positive direction.

5. Make your friends your priority: This is wise, if somewhat predictable, advice. And as my daughter points out, it is inconsistent with another chapter in which Newport says eating more than one meal a day with these treasured friends is a waste of good studying time.

6. Make your bed: "A clean room creates a focused mind," Newport says. Every mother in America applauds him. My daughter said: "This is nice for some people, but I don't do it."

7. Read a newspaper every day: Now it is we journalists who are applauding.

8. Never nap: Newport thinks sleep is for nighttime, and closing one's eyes for a few minutes at midday, as millions of college students do, just makes you "drowsy and unfocused." Katie said, "This is the worst advice in the entire book."

9. Write outside of class: I did much of this myself, spending more time at the campus newspaper than I ever did in class. Newport wrote op-ed and magazine pieces when he was in college, and it paid off. Exercising those muscles is very useful, for future dentists and history teachers, as well as journalists.

10. Find a secret study place: The distractions of your dorm room, or even the main rooms of the library, are great. Finding a place to hide is essential.