The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College

by Harlan Cohen

Overview

For 10 years (and counting), The Naked Roommate has been the #1 go-to guide for your very best college experience!

From sharing a bathroom with 40 strangers to sharing lecture notes, The Naked Roommate is your behind-the-scenes look at EVERYTHING you need to know about college (but never knew you needed to know).

This essential, fully updated edition is packed with real-life advice on everything from making friends to managing stress. Hilarious, outrageous, and telling stories from students on over 100 college campuses cover the basics, and then some, including topics on

College Living
•Dorm dos, don'ts, and dramas
•Lying, noisy, nasty roommates

Finding People, Places, & Patience
•Social network dos and don'ts
•Friend today, gone tomorrow

Classes
•To go or not to go?
•How to get an A, C, or F

Dating
•17 kinds of college hookups
•Long distance = BIG concerns

The Party Scene
•The punch in the "fruit punch"
•Sex, drugs, and safety first

Money
•Grants, loans, and loose change
•Credit cards and campus jobs

In college, there's a surprise around every corner. Luckily, The Naked Roommate has you covered!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781492645962
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	04/04/2017
Pages:	560
Sales rank:	6,758
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 6.80(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	15 - 17 Years

About the Author

Harlan Cohen is the New York Times bestselling author of the Naked Roommate series and is one of the most widely read and respected syndicated advice columnists for teens and twenty-somethings. His column, "Help Me, Harlan!," is distributed by King Features Syndicate, and his advice has been featured in hundreds of publications, including the New York Times, Seventeen, and Psychology Today.

Harlan regularly tours high school and college campuses giving presentations to students, professionals and parents. He lives in Chicago, Illinois. For more information, visit www.HelpMeHarlan.com and www.NakedRoommate.com.

Read an Excerpt

Tip #2
Patience, Patience, and More Patience

The Tip
Don't expect everything to happen at once. It takes time.

The Story
Freshman year, I came to college expecting everyone to be friends right away and for it all to be great, because that's the way they built it up in high school. They made us think college was going to be a perfect place. I got here and expected to wake up in the morning and love my classes, love my roommate, and love my friends, but I didn't-everything was not perfect. It took me a while to realize that it takes time. It took me a while to find friends-and I mean real friends, not just acquaintances. One of my friends lived in my hall, another one was in my classes, and another one was in theater crew. There was a defining moment our sophomore year when we realized we were such close friends. It happened on Valentine's Day; we were having dinner because none of us had a boyfriend. That's when we realized how close we had become. It still took a while before we could have screaming fights and know that it would be all right. Now, they are like family. It all took time. It also took me until junior year to realize what I wanted to do with my life. It might sound stupid, but I had to learn to chill out. I had to relax and let it all happen.
-junior, Brandeis University

Table of Contents

Contents

Book Orientation: The Stuff before the Tips
Welcome Students
Welcome Parents
Welcome Educators

Chapter 1
Arriving on Campus: So Read You Can Smell It, Touch It, and Taste it
1. Expect the Unexpected
2. Patience, Patience, and More Patience
3. Finding Your Place on Campus
4. When Lost or Confused, Ask
5. Be Yourself: Not Me, Not Him, Not Her
6. About Your Parents
7. Homesickness: Breathe Deep, It's in the Air
8. Technology: The Fifth Wall

Chapter 2
Residence Halls: Living, Eating, and Bathing with Hundreds of Strangers
9. Residence Halls: A Cruise without the Water
10. Meet People without Even Trying
11. Resident Assistants: Your Personal Assistant
12. Not All Residence Halls Are Created Equal
13. The Ugly Side of Residential Life

Chapter 3
Roommates: Good Ones, Bad Ones, and Everything in Between
14. The Ultimate Roommate Rule
15. The Random Roommate
16. The Naked Roommate
17. The Best Friend Roommate
18. The Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual Roommate (pick one)
19. The Noisy, Naughty, and/or Nasty Roommate
20. The Your Girlfriend/Boyfriend Doesn't Live Here Roommate
21. The Lying, Stealing, Klepto Roommate
22. The Drunk and/or High Roommate
23. The Roommate in Need

Chapter 4
Finding Friends: Your Social or Antisocial College Life
24. The Snow Globe Factor
25. Shopping for New Friends
26. Why Colllege Friends Are Different
27. Friend Today, Gone Tomorrow
28. High School Friends, Cows, and Cats

Chapter 5
Getting INvolved on Campus: An All-You-Can-Do Buffett
29. Getting Involved: What, Where, When, How, and Why (but not in that order)
30. Clubs and Organizations: A Smorgasbord of Opportunity
31. Sports and Athletics: Buckets of College Sweat
32. Academic Organizations: Where Smart People Gather
33. Religious Activities: Your Prayers Answered & the Culture Club
34. The Perks: Travel and See the World for Free

Chapter 6
Greek Life: Behind the Doors, Windows, and Walls of Fraternity and Sorority Life
35. Greek LIfe: Getting In
36. Greek Life: The Good
37. Greek Life: The Bad
38. Greek Life: The Ugly

Chapter 7
Life Inside the Classroom: Assuming You Wake Up and Go to Class
39. To Go or Not to Go
40. Nice Professor, Nice Professor
41. How to Get and A (or almost an A)
42. How to Just Pass
43. How to Fail
44. The Cheat Sheet
45. Art of Reading (or not reading) the College Textbook
46. Take Notes Here
47. Do It in a Group
48. Old Exams, Sharing Notes, and Mostly Legal Ways to Pass
49. The Major Issue: Picking One
50. Advice from Your Advisor
51. Pick a Number, Any Number
52. Time for Time Management
53. Wine Tasting, Bowling, and Other Important Electives

Chapter 8 Dating and Relationships: Your Higher Education in Lust, Love, and Loss
54. The Rules of College Love (or just lust)
55. The College Hook Up
56. Close-Distance Relationships
57. Long-Distance Relationships
58. High School Bitter Sweethearts
59. Imaginary Relationships and Online Dating
60. The Friendly Relationship
61. Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Relationships
62. Cheaters, Users, and Abusers
63. I Have No Life Other Than My Relationship
64. I Got Dumped and No Longer Have a Relationship

Chapter 9
Sex: Having It, Not Having It, Hearing Other People Having It
65. Deciding to Do It
66. Deciding Not to Do It
67. Doing It Way Too Much
68. The One-Night Stand
69. Pimps, Hos, and Reputations
70. Sexual Souvenirs
71. The U of Birth Control
72. Possibly Pregnant

Chapter 10
Drinking of Campus: Tapping the Keg of Truth
73. Drinking on Campus
74. Slow Down, Don't Drink Too Fast
75. Not Everyone Is Drinking
76. The Social Lubricant
77. SaferUnsafe Sex and Alcohol
78. Sexual Assault and Alcohol
79. Don't Be So Stupid That You Accidentally Kill Youself
80. Drinking and Driving
81. Still Hung Over
82. You Might Be an Alcoholic If...

Chapter 11
Drugs on Campus: The Smoking, Snorting, and Pill-Popping Truth
83. About Drugs on Campus
84. How to Avoid Them
85. Why Not to Do Drugs
86. Just Don't Accidentally Die
87. College Smoking Butts

Chapter 12
Money, Laundry, and Cheap Eats: Assuming You Have Enough Money to Eat and Do Laundry
88. Loans, Grants, Scholarships, and Loose Change
89. Your Financial Aid Advisor: Money, Money, Money, Monnnnneeey
90. Part-Time Jobs, Big-Time Benefits
91. The Credit Card and the $600 Candy Bar
92. Bad Checks, Bad Credit, and Bad Ideas
93. Checking Out the College Checking Account
94. Sorry, This Book is Now "Used"
95. Cheap Strategies for Eating (or barely eating)
96. Laundry Tips: This Page Is Not Fabric Softner

Chapter 13
Things Not Mentioned in the College Brochure: What They Don't Tell You
97. The Freshman 15...or, ummm, 45
98. The Student Body Image
99. Exposing the College Eating Disorder
100. Depression: The "Other" Major
101. Sexual Assualt
102. To Transfer or Not To Transfer
103. Safe Schmafe
104. Commuting? Words to Take with You
105. Diversity: Sexual, Religious, Racial--392 It's All Good

Chapter 14
College: A Higher Education: It's Almost Time to Say Goodbye
106: The U of No Regrets
107. Your Tip Goes Here

About the Author
Index

Editorial Reviews

"It is a candid and useful guide to all things college transition. Mom and dad, there is also a parent edition." - Washington Post

From the Publisher

Gr 11 Up-A hilarious and truthful book that gives high school students a look at college life, beginning with "Arriving on Campus" and ending with "It's Almost Time to Say Goodbye." In between, Cohen covers homesickness, laundry, Greek life, sex ("Having It, Not Having It, Hearing Other People Having It"), alcohol, cafeteria food, roommates, making it to class on time (and what happens if you don't). The author talks frankly about "Hook Ups," "One-Night Stands," and STDs. Each topic includes a "Harlan Tip," accompanied by a true story from a college student. The advice is sound; the tone is light.-Marianne Fitzgerald, Severna Park High School, MD Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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