Book Review: Thriving At College, by Alex Chediak

Read the first chapter here.

“…you want to be a part of something great. College is about finding your place in God’s world—not fitting God into your plans, but finding your place in his—so that you can be a blessing to others. That’s what this book is about: thriving at college…This book is about making your college years the best you’ve ever had and a launching pad for all that goes with responsible Christian adulthood.”

The above quote from the preface, sums up this book well. It contains an amazing wealth of basic common sense and specific information that will help both the incoming freshman and those students who already have some college under their belts.

The book’s focus is on helping students to avoid the most common mistakes made while in college. The author, Alex Chediak, sprinkles various topic-related “factoids,” such as: “Did you know that some researchers have found that Facebook use can go hand in hand with a lower GPA?” He also has some Q&A pages which answer actual questions asked by college students (from incoming freshmen to grad students), e.g. “Do you have any advice on how to study while taking a class so that the material will stick with you longer after the class is over?”

Both the format and the writing style make this not only informative, but an enjoyable read. Alex Chediak is an “insider,” being a college professor, so he understands the college environment. He writes in an encouraging, focus-on-the-future way that I think everyone will enjoy reading.

I have three young children, all under the age of 10, so I’m hoping this will be revised later to include help for the new challenges college students are bound to face in the next five to ten years. In the meantime, I’m letting my friends with teens read this and pass it around to their children. I highly recommend this resource.

Thanks to the publisher for a free copy to review.