Alex Chediak - Thriving at College: Make Great Friends, Keep Your Faith, and Get Ready for the Real World!

Advance Praise for Thriving at College

Most Christian young people go to college without specific goals and are unprepared for the challenges that await them. While some prosper spiritually, most get derailed, and an alarming number abandon their faith. Alex has written an insightful and useful book to help college-bound people know what to expect, how to prepare for it, and what to do to avoid the pitfalls.

Randy Alcorn, best-selling author of Heaven

Written by an insidera former student, now a professorthis book addresses all the issues a student might face. It will be an excellent gift for all high school seniors.

Dr. Jerry Bridges, best-selling author of The Pursuit of Holiness

College represents one of the most strategic transitional moments in the lives of most young Christians. In this book, Alex provides good wisdom and sound, practical advice to young Christians seeking to navigate the world of higher education while simultaneously maturing into faithful Christians.

Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Thriving at College is a significant how-to volume to help new college students and their families prepare for and adjust to the numerous transitions that accompany the college experience.

Dr. David S. Dockery, president of Union University

Many in my generation look back on their college years with regret, wishing we had been more intentional and focused during our time on campus. Before you invest four years of your life and tens of thousands of dollars, spend a few dollars and a few hours to read this book.

Bob Lepine, cohost of FamilyLife Today

A commonsense approach to ten common mistakes concerning time management, sex, grades, relationships with parents, and other things that might seem simple but rarely are.

Dr. Marvin Olasky, editor in chief of World magazine

Alexs goal is to spare college-bound young people from entering college thoughtlessly and then drifting after they are there. The book has all the right ingredients to meet that goal.

Dr. Leland Ryken, professor at Wheaton College

All the things I speak to college students about are here: maintaining your faith, developing nurturing friendships, having wisdom in relationships, becoming mature, finding balance, growing in spiritual maturity, seizing opportunities. A must-read for kids headed to college and those already there.

Tedd Tripp, best-selling author of Shepherding a Childs Heart

When Alex talks about thriving at college, he speaks from experience. He has spent a lot of time on campus: from undergrad to professor. Put all of that together, along with a wide knowledge of Scripture, and you have the ideal author of a really helpful book.

Dr. Michael Horton, professor at Westminster Seminary California

Ive been a campus pastor for the last seventeen years and have seen a lot of excellent books on how a Christian student should go about being a truly Christian student. Chediaks book is the best Ive seen.

Ben Patterson, campus pastor at Westmont College

A handbook of practical wisdom for the would-be college student. Essential summer reading for every incoming freshman.

Dr. Gene Veith, provost of Patrick Henry College

Alex cuts through the nonsense to tell you exactly what you need to know: college is a pivotal season that carries great promise, but you have to take specific steps now to thrive. Thriving at College is a cheat sheet, a strategy session, and a pep talk rolled into one.

Lisa Anderson, host of Focus on the Familys The Boundless Show

It would be hard to find a better book for the new college student than Thriving at College .

Mark Cosgrove, professor at Taylor University

For more endorsements, see www.alexchediak.com.

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TYNDALE and Tyndales quill logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Thriving at College: Make Great Friends, Keep Your Faith, and Get Ready for the Real World!

Copyright 2011 by Juan Alexander Chediak. All rights reserved.

Cover and author photographs by Stephen Vosloo copyright 2010 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Designed by Jessie McGrath

Published in association with the literary agency of Wolgemuth & Associates, Inc.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible , English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2010 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NKJV is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Chediak, Alex.

Thriving at college : make great friends, keep your faith, and get ready for the real world! / Alex Chediak.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-4143-3963-4 (sc)

1. Christian college studentsReligious life. 2. College student orientation. I. Title.

BV4531.3.C483 2011

248.83dc22 2010054362

Build: 2021-04-21 22:37:17 EPUB 3.0

To my students:

May your hearts be steadfast, trusting in the Lord. May you be zealous for good deeds. May you live godly, pure, fruitful, and productive lives that make Jesus look beautiful to others.

Foreword

College can be a wonderful and a dangerous place. Weve seen some of our peers flourish and find their identity at school, and weve seen others completely lose their wayor even self-destruct. Is the college experience inherently bipolar, good for some and unavoidably bad for others? Or is there another possibility: that each outcome is a path we can choose to take? In this terrific book, former college student and current college professor Alex Chediak says the answer to that last question is Yes!and we wholeheartedly agree.

For most high school graduates today, going to college is the default. As a result, a lot of teens end up drifting from high school into college without any clear plan in mind. Maybe you are going to make your parents happy or to get away from somewhere or someone, or maybe college just sounds like a fun, new experience. Whatever your motivation, entering college without a sense of purpose is dangerous.

Why? Because for most young adults, college provides at once more freedom and more responsibility than youve ever had before. Whether you choose to focus on the freedom or the responsibilities of college will determine whether you thriveor just survive. At college there are no parents to make you read your Bible, do your homework, get sleep, eat well, or do laundry. At collegeeven at Christian universitiesthere are friends who are willing to support whatever lifestyle you choose to engage in: from bookworm to party animal.

So college is both a crisis and an opportunity. A crisis, because while embracing the freedom of campus life can lead to temporary fun, the end result can be a lifetime of regret. An opportunity, because embracing the responsibility of college can result in incredible intellectual, spiritual, social, emotional, and physical growth.