Looking to jumpstart your GPA? Most college students believe that straight A’s can be achieved only through cramming and painful all-nighters at the library. But Cal Newport knows that real straight-A students don’t study harder—they study smarter. A breakthrough approach to acing academic assignments, from quizzes and exams to essays and papers, How to Become a Straight-A Student reveals for the first time the proven study secrets of real straight-A students across the country and weaves them into a simple, practical system that anyone can master. You will learn how to:

Streamline and maximize your study time

Conquer procrastination

Absorb the material quickly and effectively

Know which reading assignments are critical—and which are not

Target the paper topics that wow professors

Provide A+ answers on exams

Write stellar prose without the agony

A strategic blueprint for success that promises more free time, more fun, and top-tier results, How to Become a Straight-A Student is the only study guide written by students for students—with the insider knowledge and real-world methods to help you master the college system and rise to the top of the class.


Cal Newport graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth in 2004, where, using the strategies outlined in this book, he learned thirty-six straight A's in a row. Also the author of How to Win at College, he is studying for his Ph.D. in computer science at MIT.