College Success

Reviewed by Keely Donovan, Instructor/ Academic Advisor, University of Arizona on 2/8/17

Comprehensiveness rating: 4

The book is very comprehensive and would be a great resource for traditional college students attending a university for the first time. There is no index or a glossary which would be an advantageous addition to the text. The comprehensiveness of the text can be overwhelming at times since it attempts to address a multitude of issues that students may encounter during their time in college. It may be more effective to cut back on some of the content and reduce the number of pages overall to provide a more concise guide.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content was accurate and on a variety of important topics including academic strategies as well as personal and financial well-being which tends to be left out of college success style texts.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The content is mostly up to date with perhaps a few minor revisions needed. Overall, the topics are general and common and will continue to be applicapable to first time university students.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is written clearly and is easy to understand. It is not overwhelmingly technical or convoluted.

Consistency rating: 4

The text is consistent.

Modularity rating: 4

The book is easy to break into smaller, more readable sections; however, this would be helped with an index. The PDF formatting uses too much excess space and breaks pages leaving 2/3 of a page blank or disrupting the content in tables. The text tends to be self-referential but not overly so.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The text is well-organized and flows through topics in a clear, logical manner. The chapters include learning objectives, self-assessments, key takeways and other exercises to engage the reader and make the content more accessible and applicable.

Interface rating: 4

I would like to see more images including charts, etc., as well as updated photographs used. It is text heavy but broken down effectively with sections and sub-headings.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not identify any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The text was not culturally offensive. It addresses diversity of all aspects and encourages personal development and skills that are beneficial when interacting with people across a college campus.

The self-reflective surveys at the beginning of each chapter are a great way for students to assess their current mindset and prepare for the readings ahead. Overall, this is a great comprehensive guide for incoming college freshmen. My only critiques are the length, PDF formatting/ spacing, and lack of interesting visuals/ graphics.