Before you begin your quest for academic excellence, let’s cover a few of the basics with a handy FAQ about Appointment Tutoring.

“How do I get a tutor?”

Sign up online through our website! Because it’s a Google form, make sure you log into myUMBC and check your mail, which will in turn sign you into your UMBC google account. Our form is UMBC exclusive, meaning that you will not be able to see it unless you are signed into your UMBC google account.

After you sign up for tutoring, you will receive a weekly (yes, weekly) appointment with one of our trained peer tutors. Our appointment tutoring is small group, meaning that no more than 3 other people will be tutored with you at the same time.

Bring your textbooks, your questions, and a willingness to learn! Our tutors are here to help you, but they can’t if you’re not prepared for an active learning session.

Unfortunately, no. The purpose of LRC tutoring is to help you learn the material, not cram for a test. We want you to be successful, not just in one class but all of your classes as well. The best way to do that is to learn the material now and work through it with consistent support.

Check your UMBC Google calendar! You should have a weekly event. If you can’t make it, you need to email the Learning Resources Center. Clicking “no” on the event isn’t enough.

The short answer to that question is to check our website. We tutor mostly 100-level and 200-level courses, with a few 300-level courses for good measure. If your course isn’t listed, you can always request it on our website. 

Hello Retrievers!

The Writing Center is currently recruiting strong writers from any discipline to become writing tutors! Becoming a writing tutor is a great way to help fellow students succeed, to refine your own writing skills, and to make some extra money on campus in a fun, relaxed environment. UMBC's Writing Center, located on the first floor of the AOK Library, serves all UMBC students who are seeking writing tutoring for any class. 

Tutoring writing is a wonderful experience, but it's also a serious commitment, so there are a few steps you'll need to take if you're interested in joining the Writing Center staff. First, you'll need to submit a resume, a brief statement of interest explaining why you would like to work in the Writing Center, and two writing samples totaling at least 8 pages. You can email me the materials, or you can place them in my mailbox in the English Department on the 4th floor of the PAHB ASAP. Once I have read your materials, I may ask to set up a brief interview with you. If you're a strong candidate, I'll give you permission to enroll in English 321, which will be held this coming spring from 5:30-6:45 on Mondays and Wednesdays. English 321 is a four-credit course that offers you internship credit. The course will teach you how to tutor writing effectively, and about halfway through, you'll begin interning in the Writing Center with an experienced mentor. Upon successful completion of the course, you'll receive CRLA (College Reading and Learning Association) Level 1 certification, and you'll be eligible to be hired as a tutor by the Learning Resources Center. Pay currently begins at $8.75 an hour. Later, if you choose to pursue CRLA Level 2 or Level 3 status, you may be eligible to receive a raise.

You must plan to attend UMBC and work in the Writing Center the semester after you complete the tutoring course. If you plan to study abroad or take a leave of absence, please let me know, so that we can work out a time when it's more practical for you to take the course.

I would love to hire as many dedicated tutors as possible, but space is limited, so the application process is competitive. If you are interested, please act quickly and submit your best work. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to let me know! 

 

Best,

Anissa Sorokin

Writing Center Director, UMBC

Hi Retrievers! Despite the nice weather, the semester is progressing quickly. And while visions of Halloween costumes and Pumpkin Spice might currently be dancing in your head, we at the Learning Resources Center are thinking about midterms!

Yes, the dreaded ‘M’ word! The most recent marker of your achievement in your courses! Everything that you’ve learned this semester has been leading up to this moment! Are you prepared?

We’re sure some of you have already signed up for weekly appointment tutoring (you can now do so through our Facebook page! Just click the sign up button). We know some of you have been regularly visiting our Math Lab and Writing Center.

But for those of you who have the option, have you tried PASS_S.I.?

PASS_SI are peer assisted study sessions conducted by S.I. leaders. PASS_SI leaders are trained students who have taken the class before and passed with a high grade. At a PASS_SI session, leaders will guide students through core concepts of the course and will share the strategies they used to be successful in the course.  The study sessions are informal seminars where students review notes, discuss readings, develop organizational tools and prepare for examinations.

 

S.I. is designed for courses that have been considered historically difficulty. Currently, S.I. if offered for BIOL 141, BIOL 142, BIOL 302, BIOL 303, CHEM 123, GES 120, MATH 150, and PHYS 121. If you are currently in those courses, check out the S.I. schedule to find the best session for you!

Happy studying!

Good Morning, Retrievers!

If you are reading this message, then congrats! You have officially survived the first week of the Fall Semester. You have braved syllabus day. You've done your first homework. And slowly, but surely, you are preparing for your next test.

And what better way to prepare than with tutoring through the Learning Resources Center!

The Learning Resources Center is your one-stop shop for academic support for many undergraduate courses at UMBC. Papers got you down? Visit The Writing Center! Need help with Math? Visit our Math Lab (now located on the first floor of the library, right next to our Writing Center). Need help with any other course? Sign up for weekly Appointment Tutoring through our website!

Before you begin your quest for academic excellence, let’s cover a few of the basics with a handy FAQ about Appointment Tutoring.

“How do I get a tutor?”

Sign up online through our website! Because it’s a Google form, make sure you log into myUMBC and check your mail, which will in turn sign you into your UMBC google account. Our form is UMBC exclusive, meaning that you will not be able to see it unless you are signed into your UMBC google account.

After you sign up for tutoring, you will receive a weekly (yes, weekly) appointment with one of our trained peer tutors. Our appointment tutoring is small group, meaning that no more than 3 other people will be tutored with you at the same time.

Bring your textbooks, your questions, and a willingness to learn! Our tutors are here to help you, but they can’t if you’re not prepared for an active learning session.

Unfortunately, no. The purpose of LRC tutoring is to help you learn the material, not cram for a test. We want you to be successful, not just in one class but all of your classes as well. The best way to do that is to learn the material now and work through it with consistent support.

Check your UMBC Google calendar! You should have a weekly event. If you can’t make it, you need to email the Learning Resources Center. Clicking “no” on the event isn’t enough.

The short answer to that question is to check our website. We tutor mostly 100-level and 200-level courses, with a few 300-level courses for good measure. If your course isn’t listed, you can always request it on our website. 

Are you or someone you know excellent in a certain subject? Why not become a tutor for the Learning Resources Center! LRC tutoring is a great way to be involved with the campus and meet a bunch of people, while sharpening your skills in a subject and gaining experience!

In order to be an LRC Tutor, you must have a 3.0 GPA and at least 28 credits under your belt.

If this sounds like you, awesome! Apply through our website now!

The Math Lab and the Writing Center will close on the last day of classes (tomorrow) at 1 p.m.! So if you haven't stopped by yet, now is the time to visit!

For all you lucky people taking Summer classes, there will be walk-in Summer tutoring. The Writing Center and the Math Lab will be fully operational! Soon, our website will be updated with specific times and courses offered.

Some of the summer course offerings will include:

• BIOL 141
• BIOL 142
• BIOL 303
• CHEM 101
• CHEM 102
• PHYS 111
• PHYS 112
• PHYS 121

As usual, all of our tutoring is FREE! To find out more information about Summer Tutoring, visit our Summer Tutoring page (to be updated), our SI website, and our Facebook page!

Special thanks to the Office of Summer and Winter Programs!

If you didn't already know, it’s not too late to sign up for Appointment Tutoring, or visit our Math Lab or Writing Center! Check out our past posts for more information and to sign up. (You can even sign up for Appointment Tutoring through our Facebook Page! Just click the “sign up” button!) Registering for classes? Make sure you complete any necessary Placement Testing before your registration date! 

Tis the season for Letters of Recommendation! Whether you need them for grad school or scholarships, now is the time to get them. Here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind:

• Ask the right people- Make sure you ask professors who know who you are and that you've worked with before. If you know that you didn't go to class for the majority of the semester, it’s safe to say you shouldn't ask that professor for a letter of recommendation.
• Ask EARLY—It should go without saying that professors are busy people. They grade papers, they teach lectures, attend meetings, do research, etc. As shocking as it may seem, they cannot just drop everything to write you a letter of rec. Ask well before the deadline if you want them to help you. We suggest at least a month’s notice.
• Give as much info as possible (especially the deadline)—It’s really hard to write a letter of rec when the professor doesn't know why the student wants it. Are you applying for med school? Are you trying to get an internship? These things matter. Make sure you let your professor know what program you’re applying for, some info about the program, the deadline, and why you think you’re a good fit. It’s helpful to provide your professor with your resume or a personal statement of your accomplishments.
•  Follow up!—If you haven’t heard anything at least one week before the deadline, email your professor to check in!

Do you have any other helpful tips? Feel free to leave them in the comments!

Yes, the dreaded ‘M’ word! The most recent marker of your achievement in your courses! Everything that you've learned this semester has been leading up to this moment! Are you prepared?

We’re sure some of you have already signed up for weekly appointment tutoring (you can now do so through our Facebook page! Just click the sign up button). We know some of you have been regularly visiting our Math Lab and Writing Center (now in one convenient location).

But for those of you who have the option, have you tried S.I.?

Supplemental Instruction, or S.I. for short, are peer assisted study sessions conducted by S.I. leaders. S.I. are trained students who have taken the class before and passed with a high grade. At an S.I. session, leaders will guide students through core concepts of the course and will share the strategies they used to be successful in the course.  The study sessions are informal seminars where students review notes, discuss readings, develop organizational tools and prepare for examinations.

 

S.I. is designed for courses that have been considered historically difficulty. Currently, S.I. if offered for the following courses:

If you are currently in any of those courses, check out the S.I. schedule to find the best session for you!

Happy studying!

This post goes out to all you wonderful STEM majors and you wonderful Arts, Humanities, and Social Science majors who are just trying to fulfill your Math and Science GEP requirements. The semester is really picking up! Most of you have had your first quizzes and some of you have even had your first test. Hopefully, everything went well. If so, great! If not, this post is for you!

If you haven't already heard, the Learning Resources Center operates a walk-in Math Lab where you can get help with many 100 level and 200 level Math courses! We also offer limited walk-in science tutoring if you have quick questions and don't want to commit to our weekly appointment tutoring (which is pretty awesome, by the way).

Are you on the fence about visiting? Have a few questions? Hopefully, this post will answer them all!

The Math Lab has moved! We are currently located next to the Writing Center in the A.O.K Library. We're open Monday through Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

It might be easier to list the Math courses that we don't tutor! We offer: MATH 100, MATH 106, MATH 131 (during the semesters that it is offered), MATH 132 (during the semesters that it is offered), MATH 150, MATH 151, MATH 152, MATH 155, MATH 221, MATH 225, MATH 251, and MATH 301. We also have tutoring for STAT 121 and STAT 355. Some of these courses are only tutored at certain times. Check our website for more information.

We dabble. We offer tutoring at certain times for CHEM 101, CHEM 102, CHEM 351, PHYS 111, PHYS 112, PHYS 121, and PHYS 122. We also offer tutoring for ENES 101, ENME 110, and ENCH 215, for all you engineers out there. 

Is the Math Lab the same thing as the Math Gym?

Not exactly. While both places can offer you help with Math, the Math Lab tutors you based on what questions you have for the current class material. The Math Gym helps you strengthen your basic Math skills through supplementary work. Both offer different things, but they both are designed to help you succeed in Math. We definitely recommend both!

Have a question that wasn't answered by this FAQ? Post it in the comments or on our Facebook page!

 

Hi Retrievers!

We are officially in the fourth week of the semester, which means it’s time to talk about one of the LRC’s lesser known programs! The Early Alert Program (formerly known as the First Year Intervention) is one of the many services that the Learning Resources Center offers UMBC students. The purpose of the program is to let students know that they are in danger of receiving a D or F in a certain course. From now through March 30th, you may receive an alert in myUMBC. So before you panic (and please don’t panic!), we are here to answer some of your questions about alerts!

Uh oh! Your professor sent you an alert because you are in danger of receiving a D or an F in that course. The first thing you should do is to contact your professor to figure out what your exact grade is and what you can do about it. Next, visit our Action Resource Center to see if there’s any services at UMBC that can help you improve your grade.

It is possible, but you could just barely be passing. If you are in a course that has a second level to it (such as MATH 150, or BIOL 141), you MUST receive a C or higher to move on to the next level. If you are trying to fulfill your GEP requirements with a course, you MUST have a C or higher for it to count. This is why we ask professors to let you know if you are in danger of receiving a D.

So remember, if you get an alert, don’t panic! Talk to your professor and figure out what you need to do to be successful in your course.

Did we miss a few questions? Ask them in the comments section below, or you can post them on our Facebook page!