Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant and useful
Review: Overall, an excellent book. Well written, and interesting. The advice is very down-to-earth, and many ideas can easily be implemented in any college classroom. Especially Light's chapter on the role of student writing in college, filled with advice on specific classroom techniques, will help anyone teaching composition or using writing as a substantial element in a college course, even if they have considerable experience.
Rating:
Summary: The Bowling Alone of Education
Review: Professor Richard Light, long known around Harvard for his dedication to his students, has written a book which accomplishes the rare feat of being engaging for both his academic colleagues and the rest of us, students, parents and anyone concerned about the undergraduate experience. He has done for education what Robert Putname did for sociology in Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community: bring a rigourous statistical approach to bear on an important social issue, and then explain the results with lucid language and clear lessons learned.
Rating:
Summary: This is a MUST for students, parents AND educators
Review: Read MAKING THE MOST OF COLLEGE: STUDENTS
SPEAK THEIR MIND by Richard Light . . . this is a book
that is definitely NOT for everybody . . . but if you're a high
school or college student, a parent of either, or a teacher or
administrator at any level of education, then you should
obtain a copy and devour it as soon as possible! . . . Light,
a professor at Harvard's Graduate School of Education,
researched students at that institution for over 10 years . . . but
what he has to say applies to virtually any school at any level.I've been teaching for some 30 years--can you believe it? (I was
a child prodigy, of course, having started at the tender age of
7. NOT.) . . . Yet even I managed to get several ideas that I plan
to implement just as soon as I can. I liked the author's use of verbatim quotes from
students . . . in addition, his overall findings made sense to me:
1. Learning outside of classes, especially in residential settings
and extracurricular activities such as the arts, is vital. 2. A large number of students say they learn significantly more
in courses that are highly structured, with relatively many quizzes
and short assignments. 3. Professors increasingly are encouraging students to work
together on homework assignments. 4. Some undergraduates, when asked to identify a particularly
profound or critical experience at college, identify a mentored
internship not done for academic credit. 5. For most students the impact of racial and ethnic diversity on
their college experience is strong. 6. Students who got the most out of college, who grew the most
academically, and who are happiest organize their time to include
activities with faculty members, or with several other students
focused around accomplishing substantive academic work. 7. I was surprised by students' strong attitude toward writing. 8. A large majority of undergraduates describe particular
activities outside the classroom as profoundly affecting their
academic performance. 9. Students talk about [foreign] languages with special
enthusiasm.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read for Every Educator
Review: Richard Light has written a volume that every college educator, high school principal/teacher, and parent should read. His insights into the college experience, ranging from living arrangements to coursework to volunteer experiences are drawn from hundreds of interviews with current and graduated Harvard students. Although at first glance, the reader might want to make the assumption that Harvard students are different from the norm, quite the opposite is true. Light's lecturing at various higher education institutions has come up with correlations from large state universities and small liberal arts colleges alike. The main crux of the study isn't overly shocking - students need close contact with faculty and other students who will challenge their minds and engage their hearts. Attention from others is the key correlating factor to having a successful and rewarding college experience. Of particular interst are the chapters on diversity and on study skills; both might be of particular interest to high school educators in terms of equipping high school students with the personal and study skills necessary to succeed in college.
Rating: 
Summary: probably useful but certainly not scholarly
Review: That this book is garnering the rave reviews that it seems to be getting is a crushing indictment of modern education. Light serves up a list of what should be very obvious suggestions for parents, teachers, and students: make personal connections with faculty, personalize advising, smaller classes better, lotsa good education happens outside of classes or in tutorials, good writing counts,etc. etc. but one gets the feeling from both him and earlier reviewers that this is all somehow new and different for the author and his audience. How very strange and very sad. beyond that, it is hard to "place" the book. In the introduction we are told that the book is based on extensive interviews with "more than sixteen hundred undergraduates", but the numbers keep shifting -sometimes there are vague references to "hundreds" sometimes to "forty" or "fifty". Sometimes we hear that something was "barely statistically significant" -but we GET no statistics, sometimes we hear about percentages, but we get no sample size. This is particularly disconcerting in that the author identifies himself at one point as a statistician. maybe he feels that numbers will scare off his audience (an odd thought given that he emphasizes rigour as a factor that ATTRACTS and satisfies students)but his technique of giving us pages of anecdotes makes it hard not to wonder how much he is picking his illustrations for pre-conceived points. The reference section doesn't help much as the vast majority of citations refer to un-refereed reports, public speeches, theses, and dissertations. Nowhere do we get a clear picture of any precise methodology, and nowhere do we get any real instruments of assessment. A truly telling quote from one of the few journal citations reads "And of course if you believe that participation speeds learning, as most people do, this task raised the level and maintained it at each session". I say "truly telling" because this seems to capture Light's overall standard of evidence -anecdotal common sense is quite sufficient. Maybe, but then why all the coy mentions of his samples? Why the periodic invocation of (undocumented) statistics? The problem becomes increasingly of concern as we move into the author's argument for "diversity" on campus. It is clear from the outset that Light thinks that "diversity" is good, but he never really tells us what this means, and his technique of telling us nice two paragraph stories further reinforces the impression of special pleading. I would feel much more comfortable about this whole book if either it contained a true statistical appendix or made reference to refereed publication of the results. As it stands all I can say from my own anecdotal personal experience is "that which is true ain't new, and of that which is new, we are given barely a clue".
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but not solid
Review: This book has been billed as representing the significant results of an extensive research project. In actuality, the author presents a clearly explained list of practical suggestions for professors and advisors to use when trying to improve the quality of students' college experience. These suggestions are compelling, in large part because of how Light presents them. However, as research, Light's book is weak. The book gives little explanation of his research design, Light does not share is data collection instruments, and he gives no information about his method of data analysis or the results. Consequently, the reader cannot determine whether Light's list of suggestions is based on sound research methods or whether he assembled a list of suggestions based on some interesting things he heard some students say. The difference between these two is critical to the validity and reliability of his claims.
Rating: 
Summary: A Must Read for Every College Freshman!
Review: This book is a report on an assessment project initiated by Harvard and directed by Mr. Light. The project assesses how various aspects of life at college - both in and out of the classroom - contribute to an overall learning, growing experience for the undergraduate. Mr. Light places great value on listening to what students had to say about their own college experiences. In fact, by conservative estimate, perhaps at least one third of the content of this book is material quoted from the students who were interviewed. The book contains countless candid comments, observations and reflections from students regarding their experiences at college. The findings are recounted in anecdotal form which makes for interesting and engrossing reading. This is not a dry reporting of findings - it is, rather, filled with personal stories from the lives of students. At least one "overarching theme" was revealed through the interviews: that of "the interplay, the complex interaction, among different parts of campus life." (p. 209) Who is this book for?
· of equal benefit to students, faculty and administrators
· provides potentially useful advice and suggestions for all parties involved in the education process of undergraduates
· While some of the material presented would seem to be advice directed toward students, it can also prove helpful to faculty and administrators as a way to give some insight to the mind, emotions and life of the students they are there to serve. Because it is anecdotal and personal with many lengthy quoted stories from students, this book is an easy and enjoyable read. It would be quite accessible for students and might make a good read for freshman orientation classes. I'd certainly suggest any college bookstore sell and prominently display this book at the opening of each school year. However, for this purpose, I would want to see a paperback version with a colorful cover to appeal to students. Content summary: Following an introduction, chapter 2 ("Powerful Connections") discusses how beneficial it is for students to integrate various aspects of their lives in college.
Chapter 3 ("Suggestions from Students") reviews many of the different kinds of extracurricular activities students partake in.
Chapter 4 ("The Most Effective Classes") looks at various ways that pedagogy can contribute to effective learning. Some concrete ideas are mentioned that faculty reading this might incorporate in their own classes. This chapter also takes a specific look at issues related to science and foreign language classes.
Chapter 5 ("Good Mentoring and Advising"): the most important advice for students: get to know at least one faculty member reasonably well and have that faculty member get to know you reasonably well. (p. 86)
Chapter 6 ("Faculty Who Make a Difference") looks at what "good" teachers do.
The remaining three chapters (one third of the book) deal with issues of diversity on American college campuses. I found these chapters exciting and almost inspiring! I can see students reading these chapters and being inspired to take active steps to build personal relationships across ethnic, racial and religious lines. Chapter 7 ("Diversity on Campus") discusses the ways diversity provides for rich learning experiences both inside and outside the classroom. Chapter 8 ("Learning from Differences") begins with an extensive look at religious differences (of personal interest to me). There are several kinds of learning noted here that can take place through an exposure to religious diversity. This chapter also discusses the value of diversity in living arrangements to add to the learning experience. In fact, much of this learning does not take place in a religion class but, rather, in the larger context of the college campus. Chapter 9 ("What College Leaders Can do") reinforces the findings of the prior two chapters by stressing that the college sets the pace and models the encouragement to look on diversity as a positive and potential learning experience.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book for a mother.
Review: This book is ideal for me as a mother who is sending my daughter to a large college and I just want to know what she will face. The author has laid out a bunch of choices very clearly. Excellent clarity. All new for me. I recommend this book highly.
Rating: 
Summary: "You didn't go to HARVARD, so you suck"
Review: This book should be on the harvard reading list. The author is big - headed and won't let you forget that he's from Harvard, and rubs it in about Ivy Leagues.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent educational advice for students and faculty alike
Review: This small volume is an excellent compendium of practical advice for students, faculty, and university administrators on how build strong educational environments. The author, Richard Light, is a professor of education and an educational researcher, and the conclusions he presents are powerful because they are based on more than ten years of detailed interviews with students. The students were asked to describe their best teachers, the classes that had the greatest impact on their lives, the social experiences on campus that have been most valuable to them, and the things that universities could do to further strengthen the educational environment. What makes a great professor? (It's not theatricality.) What makes a great class? (It's not the quality of the PowerPoint slides.) What makes for great advising? (It's not telling students to get their requirements out of the way.) How can teachers constantly improve their classes? (It's not by handing out an evaluation form at the end of the term.) Light places particular emphasis on the social environment that universities provide for their students. This is something that has been woefully neglected for more than a generation on many large campuses, and attention to it by faculty is badly needed. I am an advocate of decentralized residential colleges within large universities, and such colleges can provide precisely the kind of environment that Light recommends: stable, rich, genuinely diverse, and full of opportunity. One popular topic is notable for its absence: technology. There is no discussion of teaching via the web, nothing about distance learning, nothing about video conferencing, yadda, yadda, yadda. The message is clear: outstanding education comes from personal contact, not remote access. If you are a college professor, this book may be the only general-purpose "education" book that you will ever need. And if you are a student, or the parent of a student, this straightforward guide will help you "make the most of college."
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