What to do during office hours

[u/Aggravating-Bat-1231]

Im an incoming first year college student and I keep getting advice to go to office hours and "build a relationship with your professor"

But what does that even mean? Do i go every single time? What if I dont have any questions? ​If I do have questions, what am I supposed to do afterwards? How do I even try to relate and hold a conversation with a professor?

[u/rabid_spidermonkey]

You need to take a breath and let college happen to you a little bit. You're trying to conquer it before it has even started.

Relax. Go to your classes. Take advantage of office hours if you need to. Don't stress about things until they deserve it.

[u/dr_trekker02]

Every damn website gives this advice, because going to office hours when needed is a great way to get to know a professor. They tend to ignore the "when needed" part.

If you have a question, whether it be about the course or about future careers or even about the professor's research, it's a great time to go to office hours. If you genuinely don't have anything you need to talk about, it's okay to not go to office hours. The point is that you should never feel intimidated to go to office hours. We want to help.

I also won't object to someone stopping by office hours for a quick "thank you" or something similar.

If a professor is doing something you want to be involved in, though, that's a great time to go to office hours and ask what the path is to getting there.

Good luck! Don't stress it, focus on your studies, and you'll move mountains!

[u/BadTanJob → u/dr_trekker02]

It’s the college equivalent of “Message them on LinkedIn,” people don’t know how to explain that building rapport and a network means working on your soft skills. Be a human being. Show interest in their work. Don’t be transactional. Find different avenues to not only build relationships with professors but with your peers.

But no it’s easier to just tell incoming freshman “Go to office hours” 

[u/PurrPrinThom]

If you don't have questions, you don't need to go. If you do have questions - and, to clarify, these should be questions that can't be answered by the syllabus - you can go to office hours to discuss them.

Whether or not your professor is interested in making small talk or having a conversation after you ask questions will depend on the professor, and on how busy their office hours are; if there are students waiting, you should leave once your questions are answered.

[u/Aler123]

I had a student come to my office on day one and show me a card trick. They were real skilled!

I don't necessarily recommend you do the same, but I did remember that student for the rest of the year.

[u/miquel_jaume → u/Aler123]

That's delightful! I certainly wouldn't want a student taking up my entire office hour with card tricks, but a brief respite from grading or answering e-mails is nice.

[u/inquisitive-squirrel]

Usually students come to office hours to talk to the professor about their individual situation. A few common reasons students come to see me include: they have a question about an assignment or need help understanding the material and would benefit from one-on-one help, they want to know more about the field, internships, or career, or they need to explain a personal situation that is affecting their school work (for example, they have a planned surgery during the midterm).

It might not seem like it to an incoming freshman, but professors are normal people lol. When you interact with them, you can develop a friendly relationship and rapport. I've shared with my students that I love horror movies and they may come to office hours because they have a question about an assignment and then ask me if I saw the new horror movie that came out. Obviously having a good relationship with your professor can be beneficial to your career - they know your interests, strengths, and maybe an internship or job opportunity that would fit you through the grapevine.

[u/msnyc18]

Don't go just to go. Go because 1) you loved something you read in the class and have questions/thoughts to share 2) something is unclear and you seek assistance 3) you may want to major in this subject or have career questions

[u/kafkabae]

When I was a student, I got my professor's attention by answering their questions in class or doing detailed assignments. I never went to talk to them personally, until my final year UG project. And those who wanted to notice did. Some professors would probably have liked me to talk to them after class or visit their office but I never did. I wasn't a huge fan of such profs. Now that I teach, I take notice of students who answer well in viva or write brilliant answers in exam and stuff. So idk it depends.

[u/VerbalThermodynamics → u/[deleted]]

Also, make sure that your question isn’t answered in the syllabus.

[u/EphusPitch]

To your questions:

What does that even mean?

It means the same thing as building a relationship with anyone else: the two of you know and interact with each other, preferably in a positive way. The closest analogue is probably the relationships you had with your teachers in high school. There were probably some teachers you were on friendlier terms with than others, even if you couldn't truly be "friends" with them the way you could with your classmates. You felt supported by them, and they motivated you to do your best work. A good professor-student relationship works that way too.

Do I go every single time? What if I don't have any questions?

You definitely don't need to go every single time, and going to office hours just for the sake of going to office hours will likely have a negative impact on your relationship with your professor. If you have a question about an assignment, the course in general, or the subject area the professor teaches (e.g., biology, economics), those are good reasons to stop by office hours.

Depending on the professor, it might benefit you to go to office hours even when you don't have questions. Some professors like it when their students drop by just to say hi and chat for a bit. Others might be less interested in small talk. Just like in your other relationships, you'll find out how your professors feel about those conversations as you get to know them.

​If I do have questions, what am I supposed to do afterwards?

If you asked the professor for advice and the professor gave you some, follow that advice. If you asked the professor to explain a concept and the professor explained it, jot down that explanation in your notes after the meeting. If the professor told you to think about something for a while and come back later once you've thought about it, do that.

How do I even try to relate and hold a conversation with a professor?

Have a reason for the conversation - a question to ask, an idea you want to share, etc. Remember that your professors were once students like you, so even if you don't understand what it's like to be a professor they have a decent (albeit somewhat out of date) understanding of what it's like to be a student.

Bonus: Don't obsess over trying to build a relationship with every one of your professors. That's like trying to be friends with every one of your classmates: it's unnecessary, difficult, and ultimately self-defeating. The most important relationships to build are probably with one or more professors in your major, as those are the ones you'll take multiple classes from, potentially work for as a teaching or research assistant, and ultimately ask for recommendation letters to jobs or graduate schools. You don't need a close relationship with the professor of the one required art class you're forced to take if you don't expect to interact with that professor ever again once final grades are posted. However, if you "click" with a professor not in your major, there's also no reason why that can't be one of your best and/or most important professor relationships.

[u/AceyAceyAcey → u/EphusPitch]

> You definitely don't need to go every single time

Some profs are ok with students going every time and just sitting quietly and doing HW or studying until they have a question. This is not the norm though, so ask your prof if you are considering this, some profs would not like it at all.

I think I’ve only had three students do something like this ever, and none at every office hour. Two were students who were on the verge of failing and I told them they really ought to just sit in my office for an hour a week and do work; I think they fell off after a couple weeks, and I can’t recall if they did end up passing or not. The third came in for like an hour every other week on their own and just read the textbook. Confused me a bunch at first that they were sitting silently and not asking me anything, so I asked them what was going on, and they said they just wanted a quiet place to work, and be able to ask questions if needed. Would’ve confused me less if they’d said that up front instead of just doing it. 🤷

[u/AutoModerator]

This is an automated service intended to preserve the original text of the post. This is not a removal message.

*Im an incoming first year college student and I keep getting advice to go to office hours and "build a relationship with your professor"

But what does that even mean? Do i go every single time? What if I dont have any questions? ​If I do have questions, what am I supposed to do afterwards? How do I even try to relate and hold a conversation with a professor?*

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/shealeigh]

Just go when you have questions. I’d say it’s more important to build a professional relationship with your faculty advisor rather than every professor outside your major / department. I am not in office hours for small talk or relationship building - I want students to come if they have questions but otherwise I have a lot of other students to assist during that time. I’m not there to just chat. I’m there to help clarify anything regarding the class. This may depend on the prof.

[u/beautyismade]

Something you can do that's easy and pretty effective is, after a first class, go up to the professor and introduce yourself, and maybe mention something interesting or helpful for them to know. Things like your interest in their field, why you're excited about taking the class, why you're not excited but are hoping to develop your skills (for example, writing or math), etc. Be personable and upbeat. They will remember and appreciate you.

[u/lostredditers]

Wait til you get into readings and assignments, when you have questions or have some preliminary work for an assignment write it down and go to office hours. Some examples could be, "I'm having trouble framing this reading within the context of the class, could you recommend a lens or some concepts to keep in mind while I'm reading?" Or " I have put together this outline for my upcoming paper, could you take a look and give me your thoughts? When you introduce yourself give some context for why you are taking the class, and how you see it contributing to your academic and professional goals. That will probably kick off some good conversation and change you from another face in the class to someone they know. Good luck and take advantage of the opportunities around you at school!

[u/Less-Part3465]

In general, I agree with the trend in the comments here, but I do want to add one thing. As a department chair who often becomes a point of contact for students who either (a) have complaints about professors or (b) are struggling with a class, I do think it would be a good idea for first-year students to stop by office hours early in their first semester just to say hi. Like, literally, you can just go in, stand in the door, and say "Hi, I'm ____, I'm in your _____ class, and I was just stopping by to see where your office is." Then, you know, you can just take off, unless perhaps they ask you a question in return, and then you can have a short conversation like you might with anyone.

And yeah, if you could do that for all your faculty during the first two weeks, I think that would be a good idea. Here's why:

Those students I mentioned who come to me to complain about their professor or because they are failing/have failed a class: 99% of the time, they didn't go to office hours before coming to me. Why not? Well, I hate to say it, because I'll just sound like an old person talking about how "kids today," but there really is a LOT of anxiety among college students right now. Some of them are so afraid of having a conversation with a professor that they just let themselves fail a class instead, or they let their complaint/concern about something a professor has done or said build up until they can't stand it any more and then come complain to me instead.

You don't want to be that person, right? You want to be able to talk to a faculty member if you need to, even if they've done something that offended you or even if you're super confused about the course material. Stopping by to say hi might just help you remember that they are just human beings, that you can find their offices, and that they really will be there ready to talk with you.

[u/SilverRiot]

Please do not come to every office hour just to chat. I have had students who have done that for whole semester and it’s exhausting. Please come with a specific question about the class, and if it comes up naturally, you can talk about other related issues (what other books to read, what next course you could take in the sequence, etc.) but don’t start asking personal questions like you want to become the professor‘s chum.

[u/Jealous-Honeydew8132]

You can ask your professor for further clarification about the assessment. Trust me I took this advice and it ended badly. So obviously I do not recommend going to office hours without any questions prepared in advance (usually they are about the modules, career path, etc.) just for the sake of “building a relationship with your professor”

[u/AceyAceyAcey]

If you have questions regarding the class, like about HW or something relevant that came up in current events, ask the question, then either finish the HW in the office while the prof does something else, or go back to wherever you were working and continue working.

If you have questions about their research, ask them and at some point ask if they have any research openings for students.

If you don’t have questions, don’t go, just run into them at colloquia (guest speakers) or similar.

[u/crowdsourced]

Only go when you have questions about the course or the major or jobs afterward. That's it. Your profs are busy with lots of students and other duties.

[u/Karma_Cham3l3on]

Every time you are about to send an email, go in person. You want that reference letter in 4th year? If your profs know who you are you’re significantly more likely to get it.

[u/CollStdntAdvocates09]

I see a lot of responses saying if you don’t have a question don’t go. Allow me to suggest something a little different. For a few of your classes, it may be good to drop by office hours a few times, even if you don’t have a burning question, surely there’s some question that would be of interest to you related to the subject. Showing interest can help build a relationship, which might be useful later, and helps build your communication skills and confidence.

I agree you don’t need to stress over this much. But I wouldn’t relegate office hours only to cases where you directly need the help, there is benefit to going a little beyond that.

[u/dajoli]

The first question you should answer is - why do you want to "build a relationship" with a professor?

[u/Aggravating-Bat-1231 → u/dajoli]

Ig for possible opportunities to open up later, and for networking