About the Author

SCOTT C. SILVERMAN, Ed.D., is the Coordinator of Orientation Programs in the office of Student Life at the University of California, Riverside, his alma mater. His professional career began as a peer mentor, and later as a teaching assistant for environmental science and first-year seminar courses at UC Riverside, where he earned a BS and MS in Environmental Science. Throughout his tenure as a student, he was a heavily involved student leader and activist, having roles in multiple student organizations, student government, peer mentoring, and in community activities, including nonprofit work. While completing his MS, he started working as a graduate assistant supporting student organizations, and separately, running a campus-based community non-profit providing support services and educational programming to college students at UC Riverside, before transitioning into his current position.

In 2007, Scott earned an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Southern California. His doctoral research on Facebook and other online social networks, “Creating Community Online: The Effects of Online Social Networking on College Student Experiences,” was chosen for the Outstanding Research Award by the National Orientation Directors Association (NODA) in 2008. Scott continues to be involved in NODA, serving on planning committees, as a regional representative and an Associate Editor of the Journal of College Orientation and Transition. Currently, he enjoys attending campus and community events with friends and family and, when the occasion arises, decking himself out in face paint and school colors on campus.

FRANCES NORTHCUTT, Ed.M., is an academic advisor and admissions reader in the William E. Macaulay Honors College of the City University of New York at Hunter College. Her advising career began when she became a peer advisor at Wesleyan University, where she earned her BA in English. She went on to advise students at the University of California, Berkeley and at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, where she also taught classes on college skills and professional development. She has presented at conferences of the National Academic Advising Association and was selected as the Outstanding Advisor (Primary Role) for the Mid-Atlantic region in 2006. She has a master's degree in Higher Education Administration from Temple University.

Mark Bernstein graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. While there he started a business that provided students with "survival kits" consisting of unhealthy food sent by their parents, who were trying to cope with their loss. He went on to earn a law degree at New York University and to run CNN Interactive.

Yadin Kaufmann graduated from Princeton University. He was involved in journalism and started a student agency to publish a book he wrote. He survived his freshman year by chugging Hershey's Syrup, straight up. He also coauthored The Boston Ice Cream Lover's Guide. He went on to earn a law degree at Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Law Review, and to manage a venture capital fund.

Reviews

Winner Best Survival Guide for College Kids
Winner Best Book on Adjusting to College Life
—ABOUT.COM READERS CHOICE AWARDS

Unbelievably honest ... I highly recommend this book.
—THE BUFFALO NEWS

Explains college to the clueless ... This quick read is jam-packed with tidbits.
—COLLEGE-BOUND TEEN

Book of the Year Award finalist.
—FOREWORD MAGAZINE

Recommended Reading.
—POSITIVE TEENS MAGAZINE

Included in “Ten Good Books for Grads.”
—DETROIT FREE PRESS

A Top 40 Young Adult book.
—PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL LIBRARIAN ASSOCIATION

“Hidden gem.”
—INGRAM LIBRARY SERVICE

“A guide full of fantastic advice from hundreds of young scholars who’ve
been there… a quick and fun read.”
—BOSTON HERALD

“The perfect send-off present for the student who is college bound. The book
manages to be hilarious and helpful. As an added bonus, it’s refreshingly free
of sanctimony.”
—THE POST AND COURIER, CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

How to Survive Your Freshman Year provides student viewpoints and expert advice on virtually every topic pertaining to first-year students from moving in to finding meals....We would recommend this book primarily for high school students as they transition to college....After reading this book students will be aware of the realities of college life and be better prepared to shape their own unique college experience.
—JOURNAL OF COLLEGE ORIENTATION AND TRANSITION

“The advice dispensed is handy, useful, and practical. This book will make
great light reading for an incoming freshman.”
—VOYA

“A great tool for young people beginning an important and often daunting
new challenge, with short and funny, real-world tips.”
—WASHINGTON PARENT

"wonderful anecdotes . . . The book focuses on what the experience of going to college is all about and has a great balance of advice from both an academic and non-academic sense. . . advice on all aspects of college life.

A good majority of the book focuses on ... the transitional aspects of going to college which include things to bring, how to make friends, eating well, personal life and just about anything else that deals with the change from high school to college including the more controversial issues of sex and partying...Outside the transitional aspects, How to Survive your Freshman Year provides great insight on the academics of college including how to study for exams, become involved on campus, gaining leadership experiences, study abroad and lots of personal advice on how to get the balance between everything just right.

[A] great resource."
—The National Academic Advising Association (NACADA), the Global Community for Online Advising

"...not just any book, but a book that can help that college bound freshman get through that tough first year...Who better to try to help that nervous freshman endure the first year than people who have just recently done it. Laced with different hints and stories, it can be a real help for a student."
—HELLUM

8 Money Must-Reads for Students
"Hundreds of Heads’ annual guide advises students on more than just financial planning so readers looking for a more comprehensive view of college life should purchase the 2010 version and get reading. The book contains more than 1,000 pieces of real-life knowledge from hundreds of students who attended more than 100 colleges across the country. (There are words of wisdom from college counselors as well.)"
—MAINSTREET, powered by the STREET.COM

"a detailed, portable resource for freshmen . . . a relevant and aware—and sometimes, quite funny—resource for incoming freshmen . . . inclusive, honest portrayal of freshman life.

The college-prep section of the bookstore now offers hundreds of self-help books, many of them written by adults whose freshman years are decades past. How To Survive Your Freshman Year offers a holistic alternative: a book chock- full of humorous, contemporary student-derived insights grounded with the educated wisdom of higher-ed professional adults. Somewhere among the dirty laundry and open boxes of Pop-Tarts, this book should find a home in college dorms across the country.
—ForeWord Reviews

Reviewers have called this guide “unbelievably honest,” and “refreshingly free of sanctimony,” probably because it’s written mostly by college students who have just experienced that first, crazy year away from home. It offers advice on big steps like choosing a major and living on a budget, as well as on finding friends and dealing with dormitory food.
—THE UTICA OBSERVER-DISPATCH

Both of my teens give this a "thumbs-up" and love this book. We all agree that this should be something that everyone entering college should read. Highly recommended!
—Just One More Paragraph

How to Survive Your Freshman Year -- the perennial best seller -- is brand new this year in a new 4th edition. Packed with over 1,000 pieces of real-life advice from hundreds of students who survived their freshman year at more than 100 colleges across the country, the book has become a must have and perfect high school graduation gift. How to Survive Your Freshman Year offers great advice on how to find friends and enjoy roommates, choose the best courses and majors, ace classes and exams, live on a budget, master the social scene, deal with college food and laundry – and much more.
—Between the Pages