Your guide to asking your professor for HELP

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How do you politely ask your professor for help?

You’re completing assignments as required, taking your exams, and coming to class, but still not cutting it and getting a low grade, or even worse failing.

Or you might be the perfectionist and wonder how to improve and learn as much as possible to impress your professor.

Maybe you can’t bring yourself to attend class regularly, or you are not studying enough, and you know your grades are suffering because of your bad habits. And you’re wanting to get your grade up before the semester ends.

Do any of those sound like you? Then it's a good idea to talk to your college professor so you can do better next time.

You don’t want to end up having to fail or withdraw from the class if you don’t have to.

I’ve got some really easy ways to help you ask your college professor for help that are sure to give results. As a professor myself, I can tell you the best ways to ask your professor for help.

Can you ask your professor for help?

Absolutely, you can ask your professor for help. Part of your professor’s job duties are to teach, advise and support students. While they cannot help you with everything, they can definitely point you in the right direction. They should be able to help you with questions about the course, your grades, and career questions. And sometimes they can refer you to other college resources or departments that can help you instead.

Why do you need help from your professor?

This is critical. How you approach your professor depends on the reasons why you need the help. Most often students need help to improve their grades. They just aren’t doing well enough on their own and need some advice on how to improve.

This is the most common reason why students approach me. They want to find out why they aren’t doing as well as expected. They want to get some advice on what to do in the future.

I am very happy to help, and always try to be as accommodating as possible. And hopefully your professor cares just as much as I do.

I usually find that the student needs some better study strategies, and will get better results once I provide them with my tips and the right course material to focus on.

But sometimes students are struggling mentally and have lots of personal problems outside of class and don’t know where to turn. These types of things often impact school performance too.

Dos and don’ts when asking a professor for help

Professors are used to students coming to them for help, but most are really hoping to get some extra credit, or a quick fix to get a good grade.

So, it’s very important that you approach it from the stance that you want to get better and you aren’t just looking for extra credit or preferential treatment.

PRO TIP : Make sure you tell your professor that you are wanting help to make sure you understand and master the course objectives. It’s not just about a grade. Professors like to see students really care about the material and this can help show them you’re serious.

I’ll give you some email examples and share with you some advice on the best ways to ask your professor for help. But as always, make sure you are genuine.

How to talk to your professor and ask for help in person?

If you want to talk to your professor and ask for help in person, you should come with a list of questions that you want to ask your professor. You can visit during office hours or schedule an appointment. Ask them how you can be successful in their course and if they have any additional resources available to help you.

It is my recommendation to go in person, whenever possible, because this truly shows dedication.

I recommend checking the syllabus first to find out what your professor's office hours are. Every professor will have to make themselves available to students, even if it’s before or after class. So, take advantage of that time to meet with them.

Now, come prepared. I don’t recommend walking into their office aimlessly and saying something like, I really need a good grade in this course, what can I do? One important thing is to let your professor know you're willing to put in the extra time to study the course material.

Make a list of things that you want to discuss and write down some of my suggestions with your answers to my questions so you're ready.

Remember, professors have a lot of students and they aren't likely to just give you a freebie because it's unfair to other students.

I would approach them with some specific questions. Go through your exams or assignments and see what their feedback was. Jot down how much time you spend studying and how you study. They’ll likely want to know this.

Then say something like, Professor Smith, I am studying 10 hours a week, but not reading the textbook, yet coming to all the lectures. I see that you mentioned on my assignment that I am not analyzing enough sources for my assignments. I also did not score well on the exam. I did study by reviewing my lecture notes for 4-6 hours. Be honest.

Finally, review the course objectives for the class. You might wonder what these even are. Look in the syllabus. They are almost always in the syllabus. They may be called course objectives, mandated learning outcomes, etc.  These learning objectives are things that you should know by the end of the term.

Look them over before you go talk to your professor.

Find out which ones you don’t think you are going to accomplish. Are you falling short somewhere?

Pick out those learning objectives and tell your professor that you are struggling with those specific ones. They’ll be impressed you even looked at the objectives, or even cared about them to begin with.

If you just said something like, I need a good grade, can you help me? They’ll have to ask more questions and you might not be prepared. They need to understand more about the student's ability. And it might look like you really don’t care about their class and just want a good grade instead.

You probably know why you aren’t doing well in the class so share that with them.

Don’t stop at this meeting. After you implement the things your professor says, you’ll want to check in later after more assignments and exams are completed and see how they think you’re doing then. You'll have a better college experience seeking out additional resources to improve for your college career later.

PRO TIP : Come with paper and pen to take notes about their feedback. This is critical. They’ll see how important it is for you and remember that later.

How do you email a professor and ask for help?

If you want to email your professor and ask for help, you should review and be familiar with any feedback that your professor has already provided you on assignments. Be ready to ask your professor specific questions regarding the help that they can provide.

Let me give you more detail.

Since email is such a convenient way to communicate these days, it’s probably the approach you’re going to take and seems to be one of the easiest ways to get ahold of your professor.

Sometimes professors don’t have office hours because they’re an adjunct professor, or students can’t make it to their office hours because of their schedule. And finally, students may be intimidated to stop by in person.

Email is an alternative, but you might not get a quick response. Therefore, in person is best. But I will still give you my best recommendation for emailing your professor for help.

I have a sample email below. Double check their email address and make sure it's spelled correctly. You can usually find their email address in the class syllabus.

Sample email asking professor for help (template)

Dear Professor Smith,

I am in your English 101 course. I am reviewing my grades and your feedback on my assignments, and realize I am not doing as expected. I know that I can improve but wanted to get some advice. I am studying 10 hours a week by reviewing my lecture notes. I come to every class. I pay attention and take notes. I looked over the course objectives and I think I am struggling with your learning objectives 7.1 and 7.2. I just can’t seem to grasp these concepts and it’s holding me back. I was hoping I could get some advice, and ways to improve. Do you have any tips for me and my circumstances?  I am open to coming by and discussing this further and can even show you my lecture notes to see if I am focusing on the most significant material. I would even appreciate a detailed critique of my past coursework. I look forward to your response.

That’s it. Your email can be short, but direct. You are talking about specific things that you can’t seem to understand and have a specific request about your performance.

It really isn’t enough to just say, I am not doing well on assignments, I need help. Your professor doesn’t know anything about your academic rigor and the amount of time you put into your coursework, so it’s important to share that with them.

They’ll be better prepared to help you. And they’ll see that you’re not just looking for extra credit. Hopefully their advice is stellar, and you improve.

Remember, you’ll have to put in the work.

You don’t want to just expect your professor to give you grades you didn’t earn because you asked them for help. You want to better yourself and your knowledge. And if you’re serious about it, you’re very likely to see some improvement.

How can my professor help me?

Professors can help college students by providing their advice on how to improve in their course and by providing them with clarification of the material. If the professor cannot help the student by themselves, they might refer the student to college services.

Your professor can help you in lots of ways.

Professors are there to help you master the course objectives. Course objectives are usually printed in your syllabus.

And your professor is given the task of making sure you meet all those course objectives.

If you don’t think you can master those objectives, your professor should be able to help you sort through all the material and clarify any information that you may need help with to make sure you are successful in their course.

Your professor can also help you by sharing information with you about the college resources that are available. They will be to explain what services are offered and how they can benefit you.

Another way your professor can help you is to provide you with some career advice. Since they likely know their field well, they should be able to give you some general advice, or at least point you in the right direction.

Honestly, there are lots of ways that professors can help you but those are some of the most common scenarios where students would need help from their professor.

What to do after you’ve asked your professor for help

After you have asked your professor for help, you should follow through with all their advice. Take it seriously. If you’ve done all the things they’ve suggested, and still aren’t improving, you need to reach back out to them. After you've done a future assignment, look at their feedback and keep the communication channels open to get additional information on your academic performance.

If they don’t have any more advice, it may be a good time to investigate tutoring if you haven’t tried it already. You may have free resources on your college campus to seek more help too.

Maybe you are really struggling understanding a course concept and need extra support and the college may be a great resource to find academic assistance.

The last thing you want to do is give up. Your determination will show your professor your work ethic, and they’ll be impressed. Maybe you will need letters of recommendation one day, and they’ll be glad to help you out.

PRO TIP : Don’t wait until the end of the semester and don’t ask for extra credit. Come with a list of questions to ask them, and don't be afraid to ask for extra help.

And finally, if you think that their advice was helpful and saved you from lots of frustration, let them know by thanking them. They’ll appreciate it.

You got this.

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