I have read the topics about teaching assistants, professor office hours, and academic advisors. I am though wondering what other academic support services Hopkins offers to students. During my college tours I heard from other schools that tutoring centers exists, computer help labs, writing centers, etc.

What kind of academic support do Hopkins students have access to?

The physics help room is seriously the greatest thing ever.  Graduate students just sit down with you and discuss whatever questions you have about the topic.  Usually there are only two or three students there at any given time, so you get a lot of individual attention.  I've been going for an hour or so every two or three weeks, and it's been helping my grade immensely.

In addition to these university-wide academic help programs, most, if not all, classes also have their own review sessions.

For example, my Orgo class has a review session with one of the TAs every week. My Nervous System does one better and the professor actually holds a review session every week. Some classes, like these two, hold these reviews every week while others have reviews preceding exams. It is an excellent way to have your questions answered and to be able to reflect on the material.

In addition, while it may not be official academic help, professors and TAs have office hours for a reason. If you show up, and have a question or concern, they will go out of their way to help you and clear material up. In fact, professors are often appreciative of your initiative to seek help and that reflects in their response towards that.

Since I'm not taking Calc 2 or 3 I don't have the opportunity to use the Pilot Program, but for the 2 weeks I was in Calc 3 I heard all about the program and it seemed like it was extremely helpful to those people who did it.

When I have academic problems I have a sort of process that I go through. First I'll go to the professor, but only if it's absolutely necessary. I was used to going to my teachers in high school so this was a hard habit to break. Usually I'll do this if I have questions about something that happened at lecture (in most of my classes my TAs aren't in the lecture so they couldn't answer).

Next I'll go to my TA which is usually where the process stops because all the TAs that I've had have helped me understand everything so much better than I would without going to section or their office hours.

Next if I'm still having problems or if I just want to get a better grasp on the material, I'll go to review sessions for my courses that usually happen before exams where they do a pretty thorough review of the unit the exam will be on.

If I'm not feeling to comfortable with a certain unit or if I just want to study even more because I'm a bit anxious about the exam, I'll sign up for the Learning Den Program related to my class. The Learning Den holds study sessions almost every night of the week for up to 10 students. You have to sign up for these sessions but its as easy as going to a website and picking the time you want to sign up for. Most of the Learning Den Tutors are TAs or graduate students so they always know what they're talking about. Sometimes you can even sign up for individual sessions with their tutors.

Finally I'd just like to mention the help rooms that they have (which Sarah mentioned). If you have a problem with Physics or Calc homework they have a help room that's open where graduate students (who once again are usually TAs in classes relating to the subject) are waiting around to help you explain problems. I've never had any experience with them because I've always gotten my answers before I needed to go there, but its great to know that it's available. Similarly they also have a writing center where you can go if you need help with papers or if you just want someone else to read it over for you.

The Writing Center, as several of my peers have mentioned, is absolutely phenomenal.  Since going there, I have never been disappointed with my grades on papers and my professors actually mentioned that they saw an improvement in my writing.  It's really an invaluable resource that should definitely be used every time you have a formal paper to turn in.

The Learning Den is also exceptional.  I honestly don't know if I ever would have made it through Physics without the nearly-individualized attention I got from the tutors there.

When I had exams for Calc 3 last term, I used the math help room quite a bit. Not only were there other students I could work on homework with, but there were also TAs who had taken the class and were helpful! Office hours are also a great way to get some clarification, and a great way to get to know your Professors!

I abused the Learning Den for organic chemistry help. For physics, it doesn't really work out with my schedule so I've been going straight to the professor haha. It works because he is always available when I don't have a class, which happens to be when most other students have classes. But yea I loveee the Learning Den because if you come with questions (key--COME WITH QUESTIONS otherwise there's no point...you won't know what to ask and the tutor can't help you) they will be able to answer them and make things clearer.

I think we forget that we can only be helped as much as we are prepared to be helped...tutoring and stuff only helps if we come with at least a vague inkling of what we don't get. Coming and saying "I don't understand anything" doesn't really do much (i learned the hard way)