There are a few ways to look at this question. First, why write a study guide for college students? These kids got into college, and are America’s “best and brightest,” right? Shouldn’t they be able to figure it out on their own?

This is far from true, as pointed out in the introduction. College is a world away from high school, but most students don’t fully understand that until they get to college and see it firsthand. In high school, I remember waiting until the night before a test to start studying, then getting a good score. That’s not going to get it done in college.

Studying in college is a systematic process that involves attending lectures (and sometimes additional recitations or labs), going to office hours, studying on your own throughout the semester, forming study groups, and using academic resources on campus like tutoring and extra help sessions. Unfortunately, it takes many students a few poor exam grades to figure this out. For others, collegiate activities like parties and student organizations may become distractions instead of extracurricular fun. Combine that with the fact that mommy and daddy aren’t in your face to keep you in check, and you could end up spending the last two years of college trying to make up for wasting the first two.

It doesn’t have to be like that. If you know what you’re getting into, you can design a personal plan for success. But how are you supposed to know the deal about college if you’ve never been before? It’s quite unfair to expect an incoming freshman to know what’s going on. It’s even difficult for juniors and seniors to keep it all together with the fast-paced, pressure-filled environment, especially when they have no one in their corner providing guidance. Semesters begin and end in the blink of an eye. If you don’t take the time to set goals, map out a plan, and evaluate your progress, it will be over before you know it, and you’ll be looking at another grade sheet of the same old thing. This book will help you to take control of the outcome, and get the grades that you are capable of earning.

So, why write a guide specifically for African American college students? Do we study differently than students of other races? The short answer is “not necessarily.” Solid academic techniques such as attending class regularly, paying attention, using your available help resources and knowing how to properly prepare for an exam are applicable across the racial board. There is, however, significant research on learning styles which suggests that certain approaches to learning may be more effective with African American students. We will talk about these later.

For now, it’s important to understand that this book is not simply about study practices. Success in college requires a holistic focus. Your social well-being, your family life, your finances, your health, your activities, and your frame of mind all play major roles in your academic career.

With that said, there are experiences unique to African Americans, before entering college and after, that make this book necessary. For example, an African American student at a predominantly white institution may feel an increased pressure to participate in numerous student activities and organizations for the simple fact that there’s a much smaller pool of Black students to work with. Also, there’s the constant burden of being stereotyped or singled-out, which can have a tremendous effect on your interactions and your ability to feel “at home” while at school. And finally, in my opinion, Black families tend to view higher education, and education in general, more compassionately, due to our historical denial of access to educational opportunities. For example, you may be one of a few, or perhaps even the first one to go to college in your family. This landmark achievement will generate a tremendous amount of pride and emotion, but may also create additional pressure since you are already dealing with leaving home for the first time, probably unsure of exactly what lies ahead. These are just a small sample of stories. We’ll discuss these, and more, in later chapters.

Next up, why this book – meaning, why did I write the book the way that I did? Long story short, I wanted to give students something that they would actually read. This meant that it couldn’t be too long, like a textbook, nor too boring, like, you guessed it, a textbook. I wanted it to be written in a familiar tone, with sound advice that people could easily relate to and make their own. And I wanted it to be real. I see this book as an older brother sitting down for a heart-to-heart with his 18-year-old know-it-all siblings. We’re going to put it all out there – like the fact that you can and will catch a sexually transmitted disease if you’re not careful, and that there are short cuts you can take when writing a paper, but using a 14-point font size ain’t one of them.

The final point I want to make regarding the thoughts and energy put into this project is the rationale for my focus on excellence.

I’ve come across a number of study guides and academic resources billed as “survival” manuals. Survival, in my view, means just getting by, and that’s simply not good enough. When you go to a nice restaurant, do you expect to be served a half-cooked pile of leftovers, or do you expect the five-star meal that you are paying for? Why then would you come to college and just want to survive? You’re paying tuition, investing four years (or more) of your life, and planning on using this as a stepping-stone to bigger and better things. You need to do better than survive. You need to put yourself in the best position to get into the grad school of your choice, start your own business or get the job you want. You want to learn the most that you can, make valuable connections, and get the most out of your experiences.

I often think back to a classmate who said she was only going to study enough to get a “B” on an upcoming midterm exam. She went to bed while the rest of our study group continued studying. She ended up with a “C.” Always push for the best, and never short yourself from the start. If you just want to get by, why do it? You can do better than that. But you must prepare for excellence in order to attain it. Keep reading, and I’ll show you how.