It’s official. We’ve now all been back in school for an entire month. You (hopefully) at this point know where your classes are, you know who your profs are, and you’re starting to make a friend or two in each of your classes. For most, the past few weeks will have been relatively calm in terms of assignments. Maybe the odd quiz here or there but you shouldn’t have been entirely swamped. Now however, as we creep into the beginning of October, due dates and midterms begin to come up fast and in no time you can end up feeling totally overwhelmed.
(#MidtermSZN) But fear not friends, there are solutions! For starters, you know your TAs? And your profs? They hold these neat things called office hours. Did you know that you, as a student, can attend these and receive help in your courses? It’s truly revolutionary. All jokes aside, professors and TAs do love when students come to visit them during their office hours. They are the best resource you have when it comes to course material. Always check your syllabus first, but many profs are happy to have students drop by anytime during their hours. Do keep in mind though that some prefer an appointment just as a heads up that you’ll be coming- again always check your syllabus. In addition to getting assistance with material, attending office hours is a great way to get to know your professors. They’re all pretty cool people, with things in their lives other than just being your professor! Second, did you know that every faculty on campus has its own Mentoring Centre. In addition to the faculty mentoring centres there are others scattered around campus for a total of 19 mentoring centres. In each you’ll find mentors from various programs within the faculty who are well versed in student life. Most centres offer one on one appointments with mentors, some have specialized study groups and workshops and some even have specialized tutors in addition to their mentors for certain courses. The mentors are bilingual and as such can converse with you in the language of your choice. While some mentoring centres do offer tutors, keep in mind that mentors themselves are not tutors. Finally, a third resource on campus that you can visit for assistance with your studies is the tutoring service offered by the Peer Help Centre on campus. These tutors are students like yourself at the University of Ottawa. They can be of undergraduate or graduate level. To become a tutor, they are required to have earned a B+ or higher in the course they would like to tutor in. When you go in to the Centre looking for a tutor they will give you a list to look over and then you can pick the tutor that best suits you. One drawback of this service however is that the tutors are not free, unlike some other resources on campus. Undergraduate tutors may charge as much as $15/hr and graduate students may charge as much as $25/hr, however payment is determined by you and your tutor, the Centre acts mainly as a point of referral. These services and resources are a great way to find answers to any academic issues you may be having on campus. Don’t forget that your peers function as a fantastic support system as well. Try gathering up a group and meeting in a study room on campus to facilitate some group studying. One person’s weaknesses in a subject may be another person’s strengths!
Happy Studying!
Image 1: https://exacthumor.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/14568c98-f443-446f-b714-ae094938a7a0.jpg?w=1075
Image 3: https://sass.uottawa.ca/en/mentoring
Image 4: http://sfuo.ca/peerhelp/