By The Princeton Review
No one said that college would be easy, but don’t worry, you have lots of resources available.
Learning Centers
There is a 99% chance that your school has a Learning Center or a place where students can get help with their classes. Most offer one-on-one tutoring, study groups, skill-building workshops and other services to help you succeed in school. LCs are usually funded by the university, so these services are free to students.
Learning Center tutors are often upperclassmen or graduate students, but all are typically trained and evaluated, so you can be assured that they are qualified. Sometimes you can drop in, but usually you will need to book an appointment with the tutor and they will provide academic assistance for the specific class you are having trouble with.
Maybe you just need to connect with a study group. The on-campus LC will be the place to go to find an existing study group or help you create one. Again, these will be specific to a course, so you will be grouped with people studying the exact same material. They typically meet at a set time daily or weekly and you can attend as frequently as you like.
LCs also provide workshops to assist with study skills, writing, time management, or other topics designed to help you succeed in school. Workshops could be single sessions given several times throughout the semester, or a series of seminars that need to be taken in sequence. Get the schedule at the beginning of the term and plan ahead.
Office Hours
I don’t know of a single Professor or Teacher’s Assistant that does not have office hours. Office hours usually come in two flavors – walk-in and appointment.
Walk-in office hours are just that. You may be surprised at how few students take advantage of them. Still, it’s possible that you could find yourself in line to meet your professor. Don’t let that stop you! You will often learn something very valuable by listening to another student’s question, because chances are they have similar problems.
Sometimes an appointment is required, but either way, your professor or TA is available to you. It’s important to remember that your teacher wants you to be interested in their class. You also don’t have to visit just because you have a problem. Ask them what got them interested in this subject or what it takes to be successful in their class. Professors will not be sympathetic to students who don’t take advantage of office hours, but later come to complain about a grade or give excuses about missed classes. Also, you might need to ask a professor for a letter of recommendation and the easiest way to establish a rapport is through office hours.