Elliot Felix (MArch ’06) founded brightspot strategy – now a Buro Happold company – and has helped more than 100 colleges and universities use design thinking to improve what they offer, how they are organized, and how they operate.
In his new book How to Get the Most Out of College (Alinea Learning, 2022), he shares what he’s learned about how colleges and university work so that students and families can make it work for them.
At a time when college is as confusing as it is costly and a degree as essential as it is evasive, he provides a practical “insider’s guide” for students to design and create their own college experience using the 127 tips in the book as building blocks. Each covers what to do, research on why to do it, suggestions on how to do it, and a student story.
Because it’s not just where you go to college but how you go to college, the book helps students imagine how they can take charge and create their own college experience – one where they feel a sense of community and belonging, get the advice and support they need, and find the right program and career path for them.
The book contains three sections. The first helps students understand themselves, their goals, and their college options. The second covers the common facets of college life: classes, community, campus, careers, and more. The third provides specific advice for different student identities including first generation students, students of color, students with disabilities, students with children, international students, transfer students, veteran students, and student athletes.
How to Get the Most Out of College is the top new release in the academic development category on Amazon and was recently featured in Forbes. Elliot credits his experience at MIT for putting him on the path to helping students full time. While part of student government, he conducted surveys, facilitated town hall meetings, and compared the architecture department with others to understand and address student concerns. Having done hundreds of similar consulting projects professionally since, the book is a chance to give back and help level the playing field, including a “buy one, give one” model where for every copy sold, one is donated to a student in need.