For those looking how to navigate college life, Her Campus has always been an irrefutable resource. Now co-founders Stephanie Kaplan Lewis, Windsor Hanger Western, and Annie Wang are taking their efforts a step further. They have written a book titled “The Her Campus Guide to College Life: How to Manage Relationships, Stay Safe and Healthy, Handle Stress, and Have the Best Years of Your Life.”
While the title says a lot, it does not say enough. Written in the Her Campus tone of a trusty friend or a wise big sister, the book will be any college student’s new best friend. With 19 chapters to peruse, the book can aid a helpless freshman or even an experienced upperclasswoman.
When asked where they got the idea for the book, the co-founders answered, “As much as we love everything about the internet, we still appreciate the value of curling up with a good book, too. And while our site provides a ton of fabulous articles individually, we thought it would be nice to put together a comprehensive ‘guide’ of sorts to college life, that would be the collegiette’s bible, and we always imagined this to be in book form. It was just a matter of the timing being right to finally make it happen and publish a book.”
The chapters cover dorm safety; safety around campus; sexual assault; studying abroad; nutrition, fitness, and eating disorders; physical health; drinking, smoking, and drugs; mental health; sexual health; roommates; professors, RAs, and TAs; dating, relationships, and hooking up; unhealthy relationships; extracurriculars; Greek life; juggling social life and academics; social media dos and don’ts; managing your money; and landing jobs and internships. Within each chapter are multiple sections to break down the finite details of each chapter’s theme. Put simply, this book is the godsend that women college students—or collegiettes, as Her Campus calls them—have been waiting for.
When asked about the most helpful chapter, the co-founders stated, “It’s impossible to pick just one chapter since the book is really about how all these areas of your life—health, relationships, academics, etc.—come together in college. But [we] would say the chapter on mental health is one of the more critically important ones. In college it’s key to manage stress and make sure you’re in a positive state of mind in order to be able to get the most out of everything college has to offer.”
And no doubt this is a book the world has needed desperately. While there are dozens upon dozens of college self-help books, the advice in Her Campus’ compilation is incomparable. Especially for young women, the book conveys Her Campus’ commitment to giving sisterly advice in the friendliest form possible.
The co-founders shared collectively that the best advice they got in college was, “Pursue what you’re passionate about and success will follow,” “Don’t go chasing a career path just because it seems like it will make you a lot of money, if it’s something you aren’t truly interested in,” and, “If you immerse yourself in things you love, you’ll be best positioned to see where there is opportunity and to capitalize on that.”
They also said the best advice they could give a college student was, “Don’t feel like you can’t achieve something just because you’re young, or inexperienced, or don’t have enough money,” “If you set your mind to something and work your hardest, you can achieve anything,” and “Just be sure to be smart about it and to find mentors and advisors who can help you along the way.”
“The Her Campus Guide to College Life: How to Manage Relationships, Stay Safe and Healthy, Handle Stress, and Have the Best Years of Your Life” is now available for purchase through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Target, and more—including a digital version available in the iTunes iBookstore.
Check out “The Her Campus Guide to College Life” here.