Books in the Chicago Guides to Academic Life series

In the sink-or-swim world of academia, a great graduate advisor can be a lifesaver. But with university budgets shrinking and free time evaporating, advisors often need a mentor themselves to learn how to best support their advisees. This book demystifies the advisor-student relationship, and provides tips and advice to students and advisors.

After years of preparation and anticipation, many students arrive at college without any real knowledge of the ins and outs of college life. Written by an award-winning teacher, this title provides much-needed help to students, offering practical tips and specific study strategies that can equip them to excel in their new environment.

Coloring books have come to the aid of stressed out people the world over, and academic life is one full of stresses. This activity book invites us into a day in the life of an academic, and with authorial wit and clever original illustrations immerses its users, through coloring and other activities, to the unique experiences and challenges of academic life. Intended as an interactive satire, the combination of humor and activities can settle any mind, and also bring into entertaining relief the lives of campus academics.

Those who teach college students have extensive training in their disciplines, but unlike their counterparts at the high school or elementary school level, they often have surprisingly little instruction in the craft of teaching itself. This guide offers practical advice for various situations a new teacher might face.

What should parents expect during their child's first year of college? Roger Martin, double president emeritus of two colleges, spent a year visiting five diverse colleges--public and private, large and small, elite and non-elite--in order to offer the parents of college-bound seniors a comprehensive overview of the first-year college experience. In addition to a stint with dorm life and time with students and professors, Martin draws from conversations with a wide variety of campus administrators and staff members--in financial aid, campus police, sports, health care, and disabilities accommodations. We join Martin, for example, as he and a campus safety officer walk around campus on a busy Saturday night. While "Off to College "deals with more traditional topics such as the financial challenges of college, homesickness, and time management, it also tackles more complex, contemporary issues that college freshman may encounter. There are sections devoted to date rape, drinking, campus shootings, and depression, as well as chapters targeted at athletes, minorities, and first generation students. We can boast in this book not only a most appropriate and uniquely positioned author, but also one full of information and good advice from campus sources. "Off to College" promises to be an encouraging and extremely well-informed guide for any parent sending their child off to a four-year residential college.

Law school can be a joyous, soul-transforming challenge that leads to a rewarding career. As a recent graduate and an appellate lawyer, the author knows how high the stakes are - he's been there, and he graduated first in his class. In this book, he shares critical insights about how to make a law school journey successful.

More people than ever are going to graduate school to seek a PhD these days. When they get there, they discover a bewildering environment. The author offers a clear and user-friendly map to this maze. Drawing on decades of experience in academia, he provides a comprehensive, empirically grounded practical guide to academic life.

Embarking upon research as a graduate student or postdoc can be exciting and enriching - the start of a rewarding career. But the world of scientific research is also a competitive one, with grants and good jobs increasingly hard to find. This guide intends to help scientists not just cope with but excel at this critical phase in their careers.

Helps students take charge of their university experience by providing a blueprint they can follow to achieve their educational goals. This book offers tips on choosing a college, selecting classes, deciding on a major, interacting with faculty, and applying to graduate school.