So maybe you’ve heard of Her Campus’s first ever book (released earlier this month), The Her Campus Guide to College Life, but if you haven’t you’re missing out. This all inclusive guide is the new go-to college survival book. Even if you’re going into your senior year next fall, you will still find helpful tips in this book to have the best college experience. The book is divided into five sections: college safety, health, relationships, social life, and career. So along those lines, here are 5 reasons (corresponding with each section) why you need to stop everything you’re doing and order or pick up your own copy:
1. Safety
We posted about one of Her Campus’s favorite safety tools, the Sabre personal alarm, a few weeks ago, but is a personal alarm really enough to keep you safe? Sexual assault isn’t the only danger on a college campus. From car break ins, to stalkers, to walking home late at night from the library alone; a college campus is the host to countless dangerous situations. Luckily, this college guide can give you the tools you need to keep yourself safe and informed.
This section isn’t just limited to on campus safety, but also safety while traveling abroad. Naturally, going off to a foreign country at 19 years old can be pretty scary, but you shouldn’t let the fear of “what if” stop you from an experience that you will remember for the rest of your life. This chapter gives you an easy to follow guide of not only finding a program and the best scholarships, but a list of what to take with you and how to keep yourself safe.
Let’s pause here for a second, after all of that information can you really tell me you don’t already want to buy this book?
2. Health
You could just rely on your roommates to have Advil when you need it, or a phone call home for advice on treating the flu, but why would you when this book breaks everything you need to know down for you? These chapters cover nutrition, physical health, drinking and drugs, mental health, and sexual health. In here you can find tips for the best dorm room snacks, workouts, and places to go when your sick. Plus, the section covers eating disorders, anxiety, physical illnesses, depression, and women’s health issues. This information not only can help you find treatment for yourself, but also identify problems and seek help for your friends and roommates.
3. Relationships
Not every roommate relationship, romantic relationship, or friendship in college is perfect, but this chapter can help you figure out how to make yourself open to new relationships, solve problems in your existing relationships, and determine who is and isn’t a toxic person in your life. From the classic roommate checklist, to building relationships with your professors, to advice on whether or not that guy in your dorm is worthy of a long term relationship, you can find all of the answers you need in this chapter.
4. Social Life
As you know from reading Her Campus Siena and experiencing college life for yourself, life on campus isn’t all about spending hours in the library studying. Balancing your social life and academic life can be really challenging. Plus, deciding whether or not an extracurricular activity or Greek life is right for you can be a total headache. This section breaks down types of extracurriculars, Greek life, juggling academics and fun, and even what you should and shouldn’t post on your social media pages.
5. Money and Career
As the book goes on, it becomes more and more geared towards upperclassmen. While by your third or fourth year you may think you know all you need to know about college, this last section gives you all the tools you need to learn how to manage your money and land an internship and even a full time job after graduation. Do you really know how to perfect your resume? Can you say you’re an expert at the phone interview? If you don’t get the answers to your questions in this section, Her Campus guides you to the right resource at your school to help you out.
So what’s my favorite part of the book?
The end of each section features a wellness checklist pertaining to each topic. It’s an easy way to inventory what you learned in each chapter and create strategies for keeping your health and wellbeing in mind throughout every aspect of your college experience.
You can learn more and find out where to order your own copy of the book here.