Tutoring through DO-IT's AccessSTEM

I started college last fall at the UW with a very heavy course load of 18 credits. My reading disability made the work quite a challenge, especially in chemistry. That was why I jumped on an opportunity posted on the DO-IT online discussion list-free tutoring for students with disabilities pursuing science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (funded by the National Science Foundation as part of the AccessSTEM project). It was really easy to set up. I just contacted the Chemistry Department and they gave me a list of tutors. I contacted several of them via email, and I was able to find a great person. She just had to fill out some paperwork at the DO-IT office, and we were all set.

We met at Starbucks once a week for an hour. I created a list of questions and homework problems beforehand, which we would go over during our session. My understanding of the material really improved. One of the things I was having trouble with was synthesizing all of the little pieces of information I needed to learn in a way that made sense. My tutor was really helpful in this respect. She drew pictures of what the molecules were actually doing, which cleared up at lot of confusion I had when reading the textbook.

I want to thank DO-IT for making this tutoring possible. It really made my first quarter go much more smoothly than it would have otherwise. I recommend that other students consider getting a tutor or finding out if there is a free tutoring center on campus. With the help of my tutor and a lot of hard work I was able to get a very good grade in the class!