Sometimes office hours can be questionable as to whether they’ll be worth it. Perhaps you just got out of high school and have never heard of office hours. Either way, I am here today to explain why I think office hours can really make a significant difference in your college experience AND your GPA. It changed my outcome for many classes and ensured I made A’s when I sometimes wouldn’t have without the strategies I’ll talk about below. Take a look and find out how office hours might just be that little thing you need to start making more A’s!
If you are reading this article, you are probably just like I was in college and wondering if office hours could make any difference. In high school, all they have is class time and that’s about it unless you come after school. Maybe you never needed help in high school and now college is much more difficult. No matter the circumstance, I’m going to explain how office hours allowed me to achieve more A’s and research positions than I would’ve without.
Before I start, make sure you are using these methods to get the best professors for your classes!
If you don’t know what an office hour is, it is essentially a set time each week that a professor sits in their office and agrees to see students for any topic (usually related to the class). It can be in their own office or over zoom or somewhere else on campus. Sometimes it’s once a week, but I found it was normally about MWF or Tuesday Thursday for about an hour each of those days.
Now onto why these are important for your success even if you are already making A’s. These are golden opportunities for a lot of reasons. First, it allows the professor to see that you are trying. If you go in there and tell them “I made X on my first test, I did X, Y, and Z to study, and I really want to improve” and then on your next test say “Well, we improved a couple of points. I did X and Y and changed from Z to another method you recommended. I’m thinking of trying this, what do you think?”, the professor will take note. You get to know the professor and they also see that you are really working to get better.
This exact scenario happened for me in a math class. I had made a high C on the first exam and was really scared that I would end up without an A. Math wasn’t my strong suit and I told the professor this along with what I had done and what I think may help. They worked with me to make some changes and I improved each exam by about 3-5 points. By the end of the class, my strategies had evolved as the professor and I worked on it and I finished with an A in the course. In the case you don’t make it to A territory, it’s not unheard of for a professor to make a deal with students such as only needing to make a 90 on the final for an A when your grade would’ve still been a B or B+. Part of this hinges on choosing the best professors!
For homework, office hours can make a huge difference. I often would do my best to get through the homeworks I was assigned and usually, there were 1-2 problems that none of my friends and I could figure out. Youtube videos, Khan academy, and every other method had left me empty handed. I’d take these to the professor along with my best attempt at the problem and ask if I had done something wrong or to help with the next step.
Almost always, they were extremely helpful and would point out a mistake or a step I’d forgotten that got me to the answer I needed. No stressing, no wasting more time, they simply told me how to do it and would even confirm if my answers to other homework problems were correct. They will literally allow you to take your worksheet or homework in and they’ll tell you what’s not right. Nothing like a free second chance without hurting the grade, right?
When it comes to exams, I found office hours especially shined. I’d usually come in and tell the professor what I was studying and how and then ask for their advice. Often questions like “what would you add to this list?”, “is X topic going to be on the test”, “We don’t have to worry about X concept, right?”. The bottom line is that they often helped guide me to using certain textbook problems that were similar to the test or on the test, or they would help me narrow down the topics on the test. If I could just figure out what was NOT on the test, that meant a handful less flashcards and a couple less pages I needed to study, so I could actually study what mattered.
Now, another benefit is with regard to letters of recommendation. Which student will end up with the better letter? The kid who came into office hours twice a week and they talked to the professor about their interests, struggles, and studying, or the student who showed up to class and left at dismissal, never exchanging a word with the professor. I think it’s a no brainer.
In the letter, they will hit on how long they’ve known you, how you did in the class, your work ethic, demeanor, and any other topics possible. If they’ve never met you, how’re they going to say anything other than “Sally was in my organic chemistry class and was always present and finished with an A”? Given that medical school and other professional applications require 3-6 letters, you are going to need to get to know some professors really well.
What if you find yourself at the end of the semester with an 89.45? Nerve wracking right? Will the professor round up to 90? You’ll have to go to their office hours and ask and let me tell you, it’s a lot less awkward and a whole lot easier for the professor to say yes when they’ve seen the work you put in and they know you as a person. They’ll have a personal connection to you and your name and 89.45 will be more than just a number and a name. I’ve had a few close calls and thanks to going to office hours and showing my work ethic, they usually are more willing to help or give an opportunity to get to that A level.
Now that you’ve read through some of my experiences and thoughts, I hope I’ve motivated you to at least introduce yourself to the professor or go to the office hours regularly. They helped me make at least 3 more A’s than I would’ve without their guidance and study help and you may one day look back and think the same.