McGraw on a Page - Fall 2022

Welcome to the McGraw Center!

At the McGraw Center our goal is to help you take full advantage of the academic opportunities available at Princeton while also maintaining balance and achieving your goals. We offer completely cost-free services and programs that will equip you to master the inevitable challenges, attain personal goals, and achieve success so that you truly THRIVE here.

The McGraw Center regularly receives as many as 10,000 visits each year from Princeton undergrads with well over half of the first-year class working with tutors and learning consultants and attending workshops. Nearly 20% of first-year students get academic coaching (academic life and learning consultations) at McGraw and the average effectiveness rating last year was over 94%. Additionally, literally 99% of students said they would recommend the workshops they attended. So that you can see what your fellow Princeton students said about their experiences with McGraw services, we’ve included quotations below.

To learn more about when and why you might want to use our services, check out our guide for students, made in an engaging comic format. Given recent extraordinary circumstances, it’s even more important than ever that you engage the resources available, so McGraw has expanded our offerings as you re-adjust to in-person learning while adapting to Princeton academics.

Learn more about tutoring, workshops, learning consultations, and study group matching and course jumpstarts

on our website and review the information below!

Visit our Virtual McGraw Preview to view video introductions to these programs and more. All these individualized and small group services are supportive, effective, and fun.

Where do I start?

Learn about what McGraw is offering this Fall by reviewing this document/page, clicking on links and exploring our website. ALL our services will be in-person so you can develop not only skills and strategies, but on-going working relationships with fellow students, tutors, consultants and staff. Many resources will also be virtual or online: learning consultations, and workshops as well as online materials (see the links below).

Why use McGraw?

McGraw provides spaces for students to work individually and in personalized small groups to develop the knowledge, skills, strategies and mindsets that are essential to academic success— and maintaining wellbeing. As a first-year student focusing on adapting your academic approaching the face of new demands is essential—all students should expect to make changes. In Princeton’s distinctive academic environment, with rigorous expectations around reading, learning in class, p-sets, assignments and papers, and managing time and tasks, you’ll experience unfamiliar demands requiring new strategies and methods. As a result, you might find yourself asking, "How do I...?"

All Princeton students encounter new courses, assignments, and new learning demands, so these questions are to be expected. At McGraw we pride ourselves on breaking down the many unfamiliar, often invisible expectations with you and guiding you toward new Princeton-specific strategies and techniques to help you answer these and other questions—and implement the solutions. At McGraw you will receive practical, personalized, Princeton-specific advice on methods of learning, time and task management, overcoming procrastination, and tackling assignments, among other things. When you find yourself thinking, “How do I…?” know that McGraw is here for you.

 

What does McGraw offer?

You can use all of these effective, cost-free, unlimited services designed for all students:

How do I use McGraw services?

All McGraw services are offered in-person and some also virtually in Fall 2021. Some services, like Study Hall Group Tutoring, you can just drop in during the many hours its offered, and other resources are always available online. Other services, like learning consultations and workshops, you sign up using our online scheduling system. (If you have any difficulties, email [email protected] and we’ll help you out.)

In addition to McGraw’s website, look for our weekly email newsletter, LearnPrinceton, and regular flyers. You’ll get timely advice and learn about upcoming workshops, learning consultations, tutoring and other programs. To automatically receive up-to-date information, subscribe to McGraw’s events calendar.

What else should I know?

The McGraw Center services are provided by Princeton students and individualized to you! They are confidential, informal, low-key, personalized and focus on developing your know-how to adapt to Princeton academics—no grading or evaluation. Not only are services cost-free, they are, effectively, unlimited, so try them all out! Your fellow Princeton students said this about their experiences with McGraw services:

  • "Our learning consultation was super helpful, informative, and fun. I'm sure what I learned will help me not only this semester, but also for a long time from now."
  • "This workshop makes you much more self-aware--the reason you procrastinate is not always what you think."
  • “McGraw’s online resources helped me to organize the many parts of my project and to articulate my thoughts both visually and verbally.”
  • "In my consultation, not only did I learn some extremely effective strategies which I am already using, I also found it very helpful to be able to talk and brainstorm freely."
  •  “I don’t think I could have learned as much or got the grade I did without McGraw tutoring—THANKS!”

We’re here for you; we’re here to help you thrive! Come to McGraw to connect with your peers, get personalized guidance to learn the skills and strategies to succeed in your classes and have time to take advantage of the many opportunities Princeton has to offer while maintaining balance in your life.