How Do I…?

To get the most from your courses, you should seek out and engage opportunities for learning beyond those afforded by class time and in assigned texts. You might want to go to a professor’s office hours to pursue a topic more deeply than class discussion or readings have allowed, or because you are encountering difficulty with assignments or quizzes. You should definitely visit office hours if you are struggling in a course, as the professor is the best source of advice on how to improve your performance. If you are not sure what kinds of questions to bring to office hours, a learning consultant at the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning can help you to frame course-specific questions to ensure that your meeting will be productive. Most professors post their office hours on Blackboard and on the course syllabus. If hours are not posted, ask your instructor when he or she is available. 

Before requesting a peer tutor, students are expected to seek help from the course instructor and to attend any review sessions and study halls that are offered for that course. Individual peer tutoring is not intended to replace conversations with instructors or any other course-based support. Sometimes a professor will recommend peer tutoring, or a student may continue to have difficulty after making initial use of these resources and wish to request individual tutoring through the residential colleges. Tutoring is only available for introductory course, not for upper-level departmental courses.

It’s important to prepare for your tutoring sessions by attempting some sample problems and identifying particular concepts where you are having difficulty. One of the best ways to use tutoring sessions is to go over sample exams from previous years. You should discuss with your tutor the times and frequency of meetings, and agree on your goals for the sessions. If at any point you feel the tutoring is not productive, please make an appointment to meet with your dean or assistant dean, who can assist you in finding a new tutor or other form of support.

Any student can benefit from a free one-on-one conference with an experienced fellow writer at the Writing Center. Every writer needs a reader! The Writing Center fellows are trained to consult on writing projects in any discipline. You’re welcome to bring writing in any form — ideas, notes, an outline or an early draft. Writing Center fellows can offer advice about the writing process, from getting started to revising, and they can work with you on the essential elements of academic writing, such as thesis, organization, use of sources and clarity of ideas and sentences. To make an appointment or to look up drop-in hours, visit the Writing Center’s website.

All academic support resources for Princeton undergraduates are available free of charge.

Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS) provides a variety of mental health care services to all students at Princeton. They are particularly sensitive to the stresses of undergraduate life and the many academic and social pressures that you may encounter in your years at Princeton. You may contact CPS directly for an appointment by calling 609-258-3285.

Any counseling that you seek out for yourself will remain completely confidential. If you discuss your situation with your dean, assistant dean or director of student life, they too are bound by the rules of student privacy to maintain your confidentiality at the highest level. No information about visits to CPS may be released to deans, parents or professors without your explicit permission.

The University’s policy is to meet students’ full demonstrated need each year. Award amounts may vary from year to year, based on changes in your family's financial circumstances and Princeton's cost of attendance. If your family situation worsens during the year (for example, a family member loses employment) you may request a review of your award based upon new information covering the most recent calendar year.

Under Princeton's financial aid policy, student loans are not required in initial aid awards. But loans are available upon request, and students most commonly use them to replace their campus job if they can’t work, to purchase a personal computer or to help with the cost of an approved summer school course. A financial aid counselor must determine your eligibility for need-based loans; you can make an appointment by calling 609-258-3330.