Office Hours and Why They're Awesome

This is mostly meant for you incoming freshman- but this still applies to all students.

Today I'm going to get up on my little soap box and preach about office hours and how awesome they are.

I get it- you might be that straight A student from high school who never needed to study, never asked questions, never needed help with anything.  I was right there with you.  There was so much pressure as one of the "smart honor students" that even when I did need the help, asking for it was downright embarrassing. 

When I got to college, that had to change fast. 

College courses are fast paced.  Things you used to spend an entire academic year on are now squished with even more content into fifteen weeks.  Most of the time, your professor can't cover everything in the classroom, and you're expected to do a lot of your learning on your own time outside the classroom.  Especially in the big introductory classes you'll be taking in giant lecture halls, you might feel really distant from your professor and the information being forced down your throat.  It's a lot to swallow at once.

Professors understand this.  Most of them will even admit the text book you're using for class isn't perfect (because they rarely are).  This is exactly why professors hold office hours.  For certain hours during the week, your professors are sitting in their office for the very reason of being available for you.  If you cannot make their scheduled hours, professors are always willing to schedule a special appointment with you if you reach out to them.

These office hours are an amazing resource.  Not only can you get help and clarification on topics you are struggling with, but having the one-on-one time helps your professor put a face to a name.  Now instead of being another body in the classroom, you have a relationship with your professor.

Establishing relationships with your professors helps in a lot of ways.  Many Virginia Tech scholarships require professor recommendations, so having your professor know more than "he/she showed up to class and did decent on my tests" will definitely make for a better recommendation.  Since Virginia Tech is a big research university, many professors have research they would love to have students help out with.  Even if their research isn't in a topic you're interested in, they might have a colleague who has something more up your alley, and once again a good recommendation can get you further. 

And who knows?  If your professor likes you, maybe they'll let you blow something up on the last day of chemistry lecture.  (I suppose personal experiences will vary, though.)

So freshies and upper classmen alike- don't pass up this amazing resource and visit your professors in office hours.  You might just find the hardass in the front of the classroom is secretly a big teddy bear.  Just don't say it to his or her face.

As I finish this up and step down from my box, I have one last thought to leave you with- who better to prepare you for your tests than the person writing them?