Class of 2014: Freshman Blog

A couple of weeks ago, I was really struggling with a course – Microeconomics. The material just didn’t come easy to me. I spent countless hours just trying to understand my notes and the reading. I didn’t do too well on the first examination; to be honest, I got a C. At that point, I realized, why am I not getting help? So I decided to meet with my Microeconomics TA. Even though I couldn’t meet with her during her office hours because I had class during that time, she still met with me on another day. The first meeting, we spent a couple of hours just going over the concepts and then into depth. I met with her again the following week (now it’s routine) and finally, the material clicked! My notes made complete sense. And now, I actually enjoy this course.

Out of this experience, I noticed that my TA was very willing to help. One, she was patient and very informative. Two, she just didn’t recite the concepts and repeat what the professor said – instead, she thoroughly explained the concepts and went beyond that by doing practice problems and examples, step by step. Third, my TA has been extremely helpful to my section as a whole too – she held extra office hours before midterms, and held a nightly review too. After taking my Microeconomics midterm exam on Monday, I felt that I did quite well. I left the room pleased with my performance because I understood the material and that’s all that matters to me. As long as I get it, I’m good to go.

Photo credit - Rachel Reed '14

Hopkins provides so many resources to us. This semester, I’ve found all of my TAs to be so helpful. To be honest, I didn’t take advantage of my TAs in the first semester. But after meeting with my Microeconomics TA, I realized that I understand the material so much better and because of that, it is absolutely worth the time. Hopkins also has the Learning Den, in which it offers small tutoring groups on certain courses. There’s also the Writing Center, which provides feedback and assistance on your writing (Lauren C. talks about this: http://blogs.hopkins-interactive.com/lauren/2011/02/the-writing-center/). There’s departmental help sessions like the Math Help room and the Physics Help room and they are open almost all the time. Even students in the same class help tutor each other through the PILOT program, in which students of the same class work on problems and help each other. There is also countless and various tutoring and review sessions. My friends, classmates, and myself have found all of these resources to be extremely helpful. The best thing about all of this is the availability and flexibility. And, it’s free. The resources are there for us. Seize the opportunity and take what you can get!

Hitting the books!