Since our earliest talks with publishers, we’ve been adamant that our book needed to be as interactive an experience as possible. The physical, printed copy of The Freshman Survival Guide book has always been intended to be the centerpiece of a larger discussion about making the transition to college life.  The Freshman Survival Guide was written for students who are at the threshold of what is likely the biggest change they’ve ever experienced in their young lives: their first year at college. While the book is incredibly comprehensive and covers nearly every topic they’re likely to encounter, college life is tremendously dynamic so we knew it would be essential to supplement The Freshman Survival Guide with real-time advice, updates and answers.

That’s why–in addition to the web-based tools, surveys, information, quizzes etc that we referenced in the Online Survival Guide sections throughout every chapter of the book–we also created the Interactive RA (iRA) in partnership with ResidentAssistant.com, the nation’s leading online resource for residence life. Some students don’t feel comfortable approaching their local resident assistant for any number of reasons (e.g. their issues are too personal, they are afraid of getting in trouble, they simply don’t like their RA etc).  We wanted to offer students the option of contacting an experienced RA online with some of their more delicate issues. The iRA blog is a similar supplement to the advice in The Freshman Survival Guide. Our team of iRAs will be updating the blog regularly by posting important tips and insights from their own experiences as well as answering your questions. Make sure you check back regularly or join our Facebook page or Twitter feed (@freshmanguide) to receive our blog updates.

Thanks.

Bill McGarvey