By A Bonnie, Advice Columnist
Midterm grades are a great way to scope out where you sit academically in your classes. Although your grade can improve or decline as the semester goes on, midterm grades give a starting point on what you can do to make an unsatisfactory grade better.
St. Bonaventure University gives a myriad of on-campus options that any student can utilize to help boost your midterm grades in time for finals.
The Student Success Center, located on the first floor of Plassmann Hall, gives plenty of options to enhance academic growth.
The center holds one-on-one or group tutoring for almost all courses offered at the university. Although the sessions are held via Zoom this semester, it is a great way to interact with other students who have gotten a B+ or higher on their final grade in the course.
If there is not a current tutor for a class that you need help in, the center will reach out to available students who meet the tutoring requirements to see if any of them are willing to be a tutor for the course.
I used tutoring when I was in a difficult writing class. Working with my tutor helped me process what the professor was expecting from me and what I needed to do to get better grades on my assignments, quizzes and tests.
It is important to note that the tutors are not there to do the work for you, but instead lend an aiding hand to help you understand the course work.
The last day to sign up for tutoring is usually three weeks before the final class day.
The Student Success Center also provides assistance through the writing lab.
The writing lab is offered to students who need any essay or paper help no matter what the class is.
If you deem that working with a tutor or a writing lab student is not beneficial to your studying habits, the center is also a place to go in order to learn about different studying techniques.
If you believe that the studying habits you have used for midterms did not work for you, the center can provide you with other ways you can begin studying for future exams and finals that will ultimately improve your grades.
The success center also gives support to students with disabilities.
The center hires work-study students to take notes in their classes for others who have a disability and cannot take their own notes or need to look at a different set.
In my junior year, the center reached out and asked me to be a notetaker for a student who had a disability. I took my notes like I normally would and went to the center to photocopy my notes. I would then put the notes into a designated folder for the student so that the student’s identity was not disclosed to me and they remained anonymous.
The university has a plethora of options for any Bonaventure student that needs extra academic support in their classes. If you did not like your midterm grade, do not think you are alone on this journey because there are on-campus services readily available.
bonavent@sbu.edu
