I think it’s fair to say that these past two years have been a whirlwind for all of us. There’s been constant change with Covid-19 guidelines, lockdowns, even just getting used to a mixed schedule of some online and some in person classes can be difficult. With this time of year being smack in the middle of midterm season and finals just around the corner, school may start to feel overwhelming. Maybe even more overwhelming than usual.
We should all hopefully know that it is more than okay to reach out for help when things start to become unbearable. But, this can sometimes be scary, especially when help means reaching out to people that are your higher ups like profs.
Personally, the thought of reaching out to a prof for accommodation is absolutely terrifying; I wouldn’t even know where to start. However, I know a kind student willing to give her advice on this daunting task! Check out the interview about the process and learn some neat tips and tricks from someone who has done it before!
INTERVIEWING A FELLOW STUDENT
This fellow university student reached out for accommodations from professors after some difficult circumstances in her family life. Here is our interview with her advice!
Gen: Thanks so much for meeting with me to give me and so many other students advice on how to reach out to our professors and to share your experience. I really appreciate you coming to chat with me!
Student: Not a problem! I’m happy to help and try my best to give advice to those looking to reach out.
Gen: So my first question for you is, what was your overall experience reaching out to a professor during this difficult time?
Student: For the most part, it was pretty good and easy, but it does vary from professor to professor. Some of them are a lot more understanding and don’t need a lot of details versus others who want as much detail as possible. Overall, it was a fairly positive experience.
Gen: I’m so glad to hear that! Were you nervous at all to reach out? If so, how did you overcome that fear?
Student: Yeah, I was very nervous to reach out! I was in a place where I really needed accommodation and hoped that the process would be as easy as possible. I didn’t feel comfortable giving out all the details of my current situation. I think one way to overcome it was to draft all of my emails beforehand and then I had someone that I trusted go through them with me to get their impression. You want it to be polite, but also convey that you really need help and hopefully communicate that effectively. So, yeah I would definitely say have someone you trust read your emails with you!
Gen: That’s a great idea and makes a lot of sense to know that someone you trust agrees that you are getting your message across! My last question for you is, what’s some overall advice you would give to any students looking to reach out?
Student: If I were to give advice to someone who is going to reach out to their professors, I would say give as much detail as you feel comfortable with in that moment because it’ll help them understand where you’re coming from. For the most part they are understanding, if not, you have to figure out if this is something you can solve with further communication or ultimately just drop the class. There’s also many other support services available such as academic accommodation that I would highly suggest as well!