6.046 is considered to be a very time-consuming and challenging course. Although the TA staff is available at designated TA hours, and beyond that by arrangement with your recitation TA, you might need some extra help. Keep in mind that the TAs may not be able to help you on homework problems if you have not first tried to understand and solve the exercises. Their purpose is to familiarize you with the material covered by the problem sets (and subsequently the exams) and the techniques used to solve them.
Apart from the TAs, the department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science provides one-on-one peer assistance in many basic Course VI subjects. During the first nine weeks of the term, you may request a tutor who will meet with you for a few hours a week to aid you in understanding the course material. You and your tutor arrange the hours that you meet, for mutual convenience. Information for this free service is available at the HKN webpage.
Tutoring is also available from the Tutorial Services Room (TSR) sponsored by the Office of Minority Education. The tutors are both undergraduate as well as graduate students, and all tutoring sessions take place in the TSR (Room 12-124) or the nearby classrooms. You can request a tutor via telephone (253-8406), email tsr-asst@mit.edu, or through the web page.