Cory Weeks sits in a room with more than 700 students, each of whom paid $25 to be there.
Most of them have already been there three or four times this semester. A lot of them plan to come back another three or four times.
Weeks said every time he goes, he laughs so hard he almost forgets he’s there to study for an exam. And maybe that’s the point.
Weeks is one of the countless UF students who rely on tutoring centers such as TutoringZone and the Teaching Center instead of their professors to pass exams and classes.
According to its website, TutoringZone, at 1010 N. Main St., offers affordable, professional and entertaining tutoring for both large and small groups.
Weeks, a freshman majoring in electrical engineering, said TutoringZone has helped him do well on his exams in calculus and chemistry this semester.
“It seems like in my calculus and chemistry classes a solid 50 percent go to TutoringZone,” he said. “All you see is the Smokin’ Notes packets in class, and you know they’ve been to TutoringZone.”
Students who attend TutoringZone sessions are given bright red packets called Smokin’ Notes to study from.
The packets are often more than 100 pages long and contain study materials for each individual exam for a class.
The Smokin’ Notes are filled with examples and practice questions.
“That’s what I like about the Smokin’ Notes,” Weeks said. “The examples are talking about partying and celebrities, but it’s related to calculus or whatever the review’s for.”
He said that although he thinks the $25 payment for each exam review is high, he will continue to pay for tutoring. He said he knows they are a conducting a business that is very high in demand.
“Even if I had a great professor, I would still go because I want to make sure I know everything that’s going to be on the test,” he said.
Margaret Kelsey, director of communications at TutoringZone UF, said she believes the reason why TutoringZone is so popular among students is because of the teaching style.
“It’s effective because we try to hire tutors who speak on a very student level. Pop cultural references and humor are put into the examples. They can relate and think about it in their day-to-day lives.”
Kelsey said many UF students just need to hear the information another time or a different way from their professors.
“Our bigger classes have attendances of almost 1,000 students per exam,” she said.
UF Provost Joseph Glover, who is the senior vice president of student affairs, said he doesn’t think the fact that so many students rely on TutoringZone reflects poorly on UF.
“It doesn’t make the university look bad,” he said. “It shows the students’ desire to do well and their anxiety.”
He said it’s the student’s responsibility to master the materials and the course. How they go about doing it is their choice.
“I think that some students find those programs useful,” he said. “If that’s what the students feel is useful and they want to spend the money, they are free to do so.”
Another popular destination for UF students who need tutoring is the Teaching Center, located on the ground floor of Broward Hall.
The Teaching Center may be a smart option for students struggling with classes and money.
Unlike TutoringZone, the Teaching Center’s services are free.
“The Teaching Center is obviously better because it’s free, and we offer a lot more subjects,” said Meric Augat, a tutor at the center.
Augat, who has been a tutor for two years, said the other centers don’t offer many of the classes the Teaching Center does. As a senior mathematics major, he specializes in helping students with upper-level math classes such as differential equations, abstract algebra and advanced calculus.
The Teaching Center allows students to schedule one-on-one tutoring sessions or walk in for help.
Civil engineering sophomore Jon Wang said the Teaching Center has helped him pass calculus, physics I, chemistry and statics.
“Now I’m here every week because I have physics II homework due every week,” he said. “If I have a lot of homework due, I’ll come two or three times a week for two hours at a time.”
Wang said he is unable to complete all of his homework without help from tutors because his professors go too quickly and the subject material is very difficult.
The director of the Teaching Center, Winifred Cooke, said about 35,000 to 38,000 students receive help from the center each year.
Despite the fact that the Teaching Center’s services are free, many students prefer paying the price for TutoringZone because it is less work.
At TutoringZone, the instructors go over everything that’s going to be on an exam. At the Teaching Center, students who ask for help are usually required to come prepared with specific questions or problems.
“Our goal is mastery of the content,” Cooke said. “The other places are just for preparing for a test. We want long-time learning.”
