academic success,  awkwardness,  profs

weirder things have happened

do people actually go to office hours, or is that weird? – can you go without having specific questions about the course?


hey there,

yes, people do actually go to office hours.

to be honest, whether it’s weird or not depends entirely on your ability to hold a one-on-one conversation with your professor without letting the anxiety take over. but most times, your professor will carry the convo and do their best to make you feel comfortable! they’re also always happy to connect with their students, i’ve only ever met one prof who wasn’t :D.

however, i totally get the hesitation about going to office hours. a lot of the time, i find myself wanting to ask my professors about their research, but hold back because i know so many students ask them about it to try to get some RA position. but at the same time, i rarely ever have clarifying questions to ask my profs about course content or assignments, since most times it’s TA’s that do the marking.

so, here are two things that have helped me get more comfortable with attending office hours, whether that be with a TA or prof:

  1. eliminate the one-on-one aspect of office hours. bring a friend in the course, and say that you both had some similar questions about the course content or assignment! or that you’re both interested in hearing more about their research. this makes a load of difference, making it feel a lot more like a casual hangout than a Meeting With The Prof.
  2. if you don’t have specific questions about course content, there are other things you can chat about: like their research, their career advice, other classes they’re teaching, advice on navigating the department, and grad school. that last one is especially applicable for chats with your TA’s.
  3. but ultimately, course content is the main topic of most office hours meetings. here are some helpful things you could ask concerning the course:
    • could they explain a complicated lecture slide in more depth?
    • could they help you with some specific practice questions you’re working on? or practice questions from past exams?
    • could you run your final essay topic by them, and flush it out more?

your office hours interactions will also just depend on the prof or TA in question. most profs will want to get to know their students, some more than others. you’ll probably be able to determine this friendliness with a quick vibe check on how they lecture.

also, it’s a whole lot easier to go to office hours to connect with your prof if they have a set time. if you have to reach out to make an appointment with them, you should probably come prepared with questions to ask.

overall, i’d say attending office hours is one of the best things you can do to get the most out of your courses, despite how scary or awkward it can seem. i know most people don’t go because they don’t have specific burning questions, but i encourage you to *sparkle emoji* make up some questions! because having your profs actually know who you are can come back and do you some good in the future. man, i gotta start practicing what i preach…

This may contain: spongebob holding up his hand while standing on the floor

but yeah, it’s totally normal to go to office hours. the best answers come straight from the source and talking directly to your profs can really help you do better on your assessments.

hope this helped!

over and out,

aska

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