Palo Alto College has many services that cater to students’ needs, like tutoring, daycare and job placement that students may take advantage of while they’re in college.

Most of the services offered are free, but many students don’t know they exist. These services are provided to help students achieve their educational goals.

The tutoring services are free of charge and have flexible hours to fit any schedule. Palo Alto College offers math, reading, science and writing tutoring in the Gutierrez Learning Labs and Brazos Hall. These labs aid students who need help with a subject, want to study or just want to become more familiar with the course material.

"The tutors know a lot about the subject, and it really helped me out," said Jasmine Flores, a sophomore Education major. Tutoring services also provide equipment, such as calculators (Math & Science) and computers and models (Science).

Most of these labs are open every day all year round. For more information on lab hours and days, call the Math Lab at (210) 486-3273; Reading Lab at (210) 486-3262; Science Lab at (210) 486-3281 and (210) 486-3232; and Writing Assistance Center at (210) 486-3257.

SMARTHINKING is another free tutoring service that PAC offers. It is an online, 24/7 tutoring service that students can use regardless of the time and place. It provides tutoring in Math, Bilingual Math, Introductory Anatomy & Physiology, Biology, Organic Chemistry, Physics, Economics, Finance, Accounting, Statistics, Spanish and Writing.

"I really like it [SMARTHINKING], because it’s available anytime and it’s free," said Ariella Montenegro, a sophomore Social Work major.

For more information, log onto ACES, then click on My Courses, then click on the SMARTHINKING icon (left side). Send an email to support@smarthinking.com or call (888) 430-7429 ext. 1.

Palo Alto also offers a daycare center, The Ray Ellison Family Center. The daycare is open to children of Palo Alto College students, PAC Faculty/Staff, Texas A&M students and community members. The program also provides breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack and rest time after lunch.

The program’s purpose is to provide high-quality early childhood education that supports the growth, development and education of children and their families. The cost is affordable and students and staff receive discounts. Their hours of operation are 6:50 a.m. to 5:50 p.m., Monday through Friday. The REFC is licensed for 66 children.

"The daycare is very convenient because it’s on campus and affordable," said Ezequiel "Zeek" Reyes, a sophomore Radiology major. For more information about costs and hours, visit the center, their website www.accd.edu/pac/REFC/ or call (210) 486-3500.

The Ozuna Library offers many free services, as well. Online databases, reference librarians, a broad collection of books, a children’s library, free Internet access and free Wi-Fi are all available for student use. The library is place where students may study, research and have a quiet place to do homework.

"The Library is very helpful in knowing that if I have any last-minute homework to do, I can do it using their Wi- Fi, or crank out an essay before class, or find an important book for a research topic. I can always refer to the library for any of those things," said Ray Guevara, a sophomore Criminal Justice major.

The Library also offers 10 cents per page printing by using a printing card that can be used at any of the five Alamo Colleges.

"I think the printing prices are very affordable, and the printing comes in handy," said Jeremy Ayala, a sophomore Kinesiology major.

PAC also offers Job Placement for its students, which helps them look for part-time jobs, full-time jobs, internships and co-op opportunities.

The website for this service is www.myinterfase.com/pac/student. The website is available for all PAC students searching for jobs. The steps to use this service are: register as a new user, upload your resume and browse job listings. Job Placement Program Specialist Larry D. Carter, who also approves the online resumes, said, "It has everything you need."

For more personal one-on-one assistance, visit the Center for Academic Transitions located inside the Student Center. Call their general phone number at (210) 486-3131, or contact Carter at (210) 486-3118 or lcarter32@alamo.edu. No appointment is necessary, and they are open Mondays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more Information on Student Services, go to www.alamo.edu/pac. Click on Current Students located on the top toolbar, then click on Student Services for a list of all the student services are available. Notice, however, that Tutoring has its own link.