What are some of the best resources when struggling in school?

Hi Ameenah, that is a great question! Any person that has attended college would agree that they struggled at least during some part of their studies. Therefore, you are not alone!

If you are struggling in school, communication is definitely key. Reach out to your professors, fellow classmates, as well as friends and family for support. Setting up a support system of people who you trust and care about you will make a huge difference in feeling prepared to handle the challenges of school.

While the resources available at each school vary, I would ask your professors or a Student Center if they offer any extra help or open office hours for you to be able to get some extra studying time in. They also might be able to tell you about study groups or any other references available on the school website or school library.

Lastly, success in handling the large workload that school requires can definitely be achieved by building strong time management skills. This will require you to take time either at the beginning or end of each week to plan out the tasks that you need to get done, and to try and budget the hours during each day that you want to allocate to each task. This way, you can make sure you have enough time to get everything done!

Most importantly, don't be afraid to ask for help no matter what the situation is as there will always be people out there willing to help.

Ameenah, this is a really important question. College is a huge step for many people and every student at some point in time struggles, I know I sure did. Balancing a full academic load, having a healthy social life, being mentally healthy, while at the same time navigating extracurricular activities can be a huge burden and often students suffer through things alone completely unaware that their are resources that colleges provide to health struggling students.

First and foremost is if you are having a difficult time academically, TALK TO YOUR PROFESSORS. If I had a dollar for everytime I had a friend tell me that they were having a hard time but didn't want to go to the professor I literally wouldn't have to work. Professors are the best resource to use as they are the ones grading your assignments; this may seem obvious, but apparently it isn't. They may tell you what is important and something to focus on and what isn't, they may extend a deadline for you, they may help you study, they may tutor you, they can do any number of things to help you so I STRONGLY recommend during syllabus week to go to your teacher's office hours and introduce yourself to them.

If you are mentally in a bad place, speak up...don't isolate yourself. It is often hard to ask for help and admit that you're in a bad place mentally, but it happens to everyone. Talk to your friends and talk to your parents, you've got people that care about you and won't judge you for what you say. If you don't feel comfortable with that, colleges have counselors whose job is to help students who are struggling mentally. Mental health is vitally important, and is something that colleges are become more acutely aware of.

I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any questions!!

Best,

Austin