Hope’s Promise Publishing invites you to submit contributions and to become a part of its groundbreaking upcoming publication tentatively entitled

“The African American College Student Survival and Success Guidebook: Black College Graduates Share Their Candid Advice and Real-Life Experiences on How to (& How Not to) Make the Most of the Entire College Experience”

Question and Answers:

There are a few other books now available for future Black college students. Why add yet another book to what is already out there?:

This book is not in competition with the other Black college guides currently available. It is a supplement to them. It is not designed to replace other books out on the market that provide guidance as to how to select colleges, get into college or where to go for financial aid. This is a completely different kind of book designed to impart advice and engage future college students from a number of diverse perspectives on how to make the most of and take full advantage of the college experience.

What inspired you to want to put together this book of experiences and advice for Black high school students?:

If I could choose to do college all over again I would do so many things differently. I’m sure a lot of us would. I didn’t get any real advice before going off to college and I realize that I could have benefited greatly if I would have. I just assumed that I would do the same things I had been doing in school all those years, but now I was away from home and was expected to be an “adult” because I would be on my own. Students need a lot more than that to have a complete college experience – and do more than just get through or survive the college experience with a degree!

Aside from my own personal experience, after teaching Black students on the college level, I was disturbed to find that there continue to be many African American young adults who go off to college without having been given any advice or a true reality check as to what is required to succeed in the college environment.

NOW, I would like to provide a resource so that future African American college students can avoid many of the mistakes I (along with many other college grads who have gone through before them) made and be on their way to leading a full, well-rounded and successful college career.

Bottom line: I want Blacks to succeed in college – on every level. In my work with assisting people with getting into law school, I have discovered that there are many people who have already graduated from college who really want to get into a law school who are realizing that what they did several years ago (when they didn’t know any better) is having a very real impact on their futures.

Things would have been different if they would have known what to expect and had some guidance on how to make the most of their college experiences to increase job possibilities, chances for getting into graduate and professional school, opportunities for their futures, etc. Not being focused, making less than stellar grades, getting caught up in the wrong things and with the wrong people, and not being able to prioritize correctly, or just not having any balance have come back to haunt them several years later. Why should people have to continue to make the same mistakes over and over when they can learn from others' mistakes and successes and benefit from their wisdom?

Hope's Promise Publishing would like to provide an honest, real and easy-to-read resource from the diverse voices of a variety of Black people who have been there and successfully gotten through on what young Black high school graduates and even returning and older students need to do to make the most of and take full advantage of their college experiences. The hope is that this book can provide the inspiration and motivation to help high school, new and even returning college students move forward and understand the pitfalls, challenges and triumphs that lie ahead.

The book will feature chapters on everything from affirmative action in admissions, succeeding in academics, the social scene, pledging fraternities and sororities, the job search, dating, sex and relationships, coping with racism and discrimination, campus diversity, studying abroad, among several others. No relevant topic regarding the college experience will go uncovered - nothing!

This book will be different because it is not one person’s advice and experiences, but the editor will include the contributions of hundreds of people who attended HBCUs, private colleges, state universities and Ivy League institutions from across the country.

Contributors will be asked to share the best real-life and hard-hitting advice given to them or things they had to learn the hard way and divulge personal experiences where real-life lessons can be gleaned, so that others don’t have to reinvent the wheel and which can enable them to chart a course for a truly successful and full college experience.

The editor's/publisher's goal is to make this book a compilation of various experiences and pieces of advice from a large diversity of Black college grads so that the book is not only comprehensive and full of important information, but also extremely engaging, thought provoking, interesting, funny and very easy-to-read.

The completed book will essentially be a must-read for young African Americans (and really anyone) graduating from high school ready to embark on their college careers. Be a part of this impactful publication! It would be a privilege to include you!

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO THIS IMPORTANT BOOK PROJECT! If you are interested in contributing, please send an e-mail to info@hopespromisepublishing.com and the editor/publisher will e-mail you a questionnaire and further information that you can e-mail or mail back with your submission. You can also write or call the publisher directly at

Attention: Black College Student Guidebook
hope's promise publishing
P.O. Box 631234
Houston, Texas 77263-1234
713-867-5923

Please pass this message along to your friends and associates who might feel they have something to share with our future Black college students.

Featured chapters will include (but are not limited to the following):

• College Expectations Versus College Realities
• College Advisement and Pre-College Preparatory Programs
• Admissions: Choosing and Getting into College (College Choice and Acceptance)
• Affirmative Action and Minority Admissions Programs
• When You’ve Made the Wrong Choice: Transferring and Taking Time Off
• Academics: Course Selection, Choosing a Major, Making Good Grades, Developing Strong Study Skills, Exam Preparation, Academic Preparation Seeking Help, Academic Support
• Financing Your College Education (Scholarships/Fellowships/Grants/Work Study/Financial Aid/Debt)
• Cultivating Relationships With Faculty, Staff and Administrators
• Seeking Mentors
• Overcoming the Burdens of Being a First Generation College Student
• Living On and Off Campus
• Choosing Friends and Associates
• Life as a College Student/College Culture
• The Social Scene
• Dating, Sex and Romantic Relationships
• You Can’t Make It Alone: Sources of Support During the Journey
• Co-Curricular Involvement
• Extra-Curricular Activities
• Challenges of a Non-Traditional Student
• Full-Time Versus Part-Time
* Returning to College
• Going Greek: Pledging Fraternities and Sororities
• Creating Balance: Your Physical and Spiritual Needs
• Studying Abroad
• How to Spend Your Summers
• Coping with Racism, Prejudice and Discrimination
• Diversity
• The Internship and Job Search
• Preparing for Graduate and Professional School
• College Graduation
• After College: The Realities of Life/Facing the Real World