It’s no secret that office hours can be awkward. Just the thought of being alone with your professor can be daunting, but have no fear. The visit will be well worth it. “What exactly are the benefits of going to office hours,” you might ask. Well, let’s find out.
Your grades will improve.
This one might seem like a no-brainer, but going to office hours before you need help will make it easier to reach out to your professor when you do. Whether you’re uncertain about the instructions on an assignment, or you can’t decide a final paper topic, it’ll be much easier to reach out to your professor for help after you’ve already built a connection with them.
You’ll have the opportunity to have productive conversations.
If you aren’t struggling in a class, it’s easy to brush off office hours as unnecessary, especially if you’re busy. But sometimes making the effort to meet with a professor once, for 30 minutes to an hour can stimulate you far beyond any website or video game that you would go on in your free time later that night. Your professors are incredibly knowledgeable. If you find something they mentioned in class interesting, ask them about it in office hours. Your professors will not judge you for not knowing about something, and they’re usually eager to share their opinions and experiences. You might even learn to really like a professor you didn’t like before.
You’ll have an adult in your life.
I know it sounds strange, but having an intelligent adult in your life can really influence you. During my first semester at college, I was struggling in Chemistry, so I ended up going to many an office hour. I spent up to six hours a week with my professor. We got to know each other really well, and she helped me through the toughest transition in my life to date, which was going to an out-of-state college. Don’t forget that your professors care about you.
Your professors aren’t just professors, they’re resources.
The benefits of going to office hours may seem small, especially if you’re in a big lecture hall and you don’t even remember your professor’s last name. But, you may never know what your professor did to end up as your professor, and it might be exciting to find out. Many of the U’s professors aren’t just professors, they’re professionals. Your Journalism 1001 professor may have been a major news outlet executive before he was assigning papers about the effects of Twitter on media to 20 year olds. Your professors are resources just waiting to be tapped into. Who knows, your professor could end up being the connection that gets you your next job, or maybe they were undecided just like you and can offer some advice.
All in all, I think we can agree that office hours can be beneficial in so many different ways. It’s up to you to find out how they’ll help you!