The words mid-terms, deadlines and reports often strike terror into the hearts of unprepared students.

Fortunately, there are several places to go for help with these dreaded assignments.

The Writing Center provides a free proofreading service, the Academic Success Center offers tutoring, and Student Counseling Services offers stress management help for students who are having trouble coping with mid-terms.

The Writing Center assists those who are troubled with reports by helping students brainstorm, organize, proofread, as well as help check mechanics and spelling in their writing assignments.

Katie Henning, a sophomore in landscape architecture, said the Writing Center employees like students to bring in the assignment sheets from the professor, and to have a rough draft of their assignment for them to read over.

Appointments help keep things running smoothly, and students can schedule an hour of appointments per week. The sessions are usually a half-hour long.

“We try to keep it to a half-hour so everyone can get assistance,” Henning said. Students who need more help can schedule another half hour, she said.

Open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Tuesday nights in Ross Hall Room 418 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., the Writing Center can help with just about every class offered at ISU.

Tutoring is offered in Room 276 of the Student Services Building. Students can be tutored in groups of up to four for $3 an hour, or individually for $6.50 an hour.

Students sign up for hours they are available and the subject they need help with. A tutor will pick the place on campus for them to meet, Deb Dewall, a graduate administrative assistant for the dean of students office, said.

A group will usually meet three hours per week, which will cost a student $9, and the students must show up for at least two of those hours or they will get dropped from the group.

The same tutor stays with the group to help discover each individual’s learning style, Dewall said. There is usually an influx after the first tests and mid-terms.

“Generally we have some students drop if they’re doing well, and others might take their place,” Dewall said.

The Academic Success Center not only offers tutoring, but it also offers the Academic Learning Lab.

A brochure handed out by the center states the ALL is designed to help students with problem study habits and to develop learning strategies as they apply to college studies. Lab hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with no appointment necessary.

There are open workshops on Stress Reduction offered by the Student Counseling Services Mondays from 4:10-5:30 p.m. These workshops are for students who want to learn relaxation techniques.

“Things really pick up in September and October because students find they have to work and school is harder than expected,” Ron Jackson, a staff psychologist at Student Counseling, said.