College survivors offer their best advice

Take heed, freshmen: “Wear flip-flops in the shower. You don’t want what grows in the shower to grow on your feet.”Finally, there’s some college advice from those who have already been there, done that and, sometimes, messed up.“Once Upon a Campus: Tantalizing Truths About College From People Who’ve Already Messed Up” is a collection of tips, suggestions and advice from loads of students and recent grads. Authors Trent Anderson and Seppy Basili arrange the solid, and frequently odd, array of advice on every college issue imaginable _ with tips ranging from witty to serious to downright funny.Need to know how to ace a test? One senior from Iowa State suggests, “Get pumped with music. My friends and I call it the ‘groove technique.’ When you get stressed in the middle of a test, just sit back for a second and groove with the music that became engraved in your head after letting the CD player sit on repeat for forty minutes.”Throughout the book, the authors include interesting and, in some cases, alarming statistics. For example, graduating students have an average of $20,402 in combined education loan and credit card balances, according to student-loan provider Nellie Mae.The statistics on safety will make any female college student think twice before saying yes to that second drink at a party. The book includes these scary stats from the National Institute of Justice and Bureau of Justice Statistics:_During any given academic year, 2.8 percent of women will experience a completed and/or attempted rape;_Almost 60 percent of completed rapes that occurred on campus took place in the victim’s residence;_For both completed and attempted rapes, about 9 in 10 offenders were known to the victim.The authors also pop in to offer their thoughts, tips and suggestions: For information on crime news and statistics on campuses across the country, Anderson advises checking campussafety.org.On a lighter note, Seppy says, “Treat homework and school like a job and treat your social life like a social life – and try not to mix the two.”OK, we didn’t say all the tips were realistic but in a perfect world most of the tips would be beneficial.___(Kara Kridler is a graduate student in journalism and public affairs at American University in Washington, D.C., and is an intern for KRT Campus.)