Clara MacDonaldWhen Amazon Prime Video dropped the television adaptation of Elle Kennedy's Off Campus series on May 13, 2026, millions of fans who had already read the books tuned in to watch Garrett Graham and Hannah Wells's story unfold on screen. The show — earning a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes and already renewed for a second season before its premiere — immediately sent readers searching for the original novels, with "off campus books" trending across Canada within days.
At the heart of the story is a dynamic that resonates far beyond romance: a college athlete who is academically struggling and a student who agrees to tutor him. What begins as a transactional study arrangement evolves into something deeper — but the tutoring relationship itself is central to the plot. For Canadian students watching the series and reading the books, it raises a question worth taking seriously: how many students are quietly in the same situation as Garrett, and choosing not to ask for help?
The "Off Campus" Effect on Reading
Elle Kennedy's Off Campus series — beginning with The Deal and continuing through The Mistake, The Score, and The Goal — was one of BookTok's defining phenomena long before Prime Video acquired the adaptation rights. According to reporting by E! Online at the time of the premiere, Kennedy herself commented on what the TV adaptation did better than the books: the visual medium brought the campus world to life in ways that made the academic challenges of the characters more visceral and relatable.
The renewed attention on the books is significant. A generation of students who encountered the Off Campus world through social media clips and streaming are now turning back to reading — a shift that aligns with broader data on how screen adaptations drive book sales. For students who are already reading more because of Prime Video, the cognitive benefits of sustained literary reading extend well beyond entertainment.
What the Books Get Right About Academic Struggle
The fictional Garrett Graham is a hockey star who has been coasting academically, showing up to class irregularly and falling behind in coursework. It takes Hannah — a dedicated student who has her own reasons for agreeing to the arrangement — to help him develop consistent study habits and genuine engagement with the material.
This scenario is not fiction for thousands of Canadian college and university students. Academic pressure in Canada's post-secondary environment has intensified. According to a Statistics Canada study on student mental health and academic performance, first-year students report some of the highest rates of academic anxiety, with many citing uncertainty about how to seek help as a key barrier to improvement.
Student athletes face compounding pressures. Varsity athletes in Canadian university programs balance intensive training schedules, travel commitments, and academic requirements simultaneously. The athletic infrastructure that supports performance — coaching, sports medicine, nutrition — is rarely matched by the academic infrastructure that should support learning. The gap is real, and Off Campus captures it accurately even in a fictional setting.
Why Students Don't Ask for Help
The reluctance Garrett shows at the beginning of The Deal — not wanting to admit he needs a tutor, worrying about how it will look to teammates, feeling that asking for help undermines his identity as a capable person — mirrors patterns that Canadian educators report regularly.
Research consistently shows that students who struggle academically tend to delay seeking support until a crisis point: a failed midterm, a performance improvement plan, or a grade that threatens eligibility. Waiting until the situation is urgent makes the challenge harder, not easier. Early intervention — ideally in the first sign of difficulty, not after it compounds — is the approach that produces the best outcomes.
The study partnership in Off Campus works because it is structured, consistent, and built on trust. Hannah shows up, holds Garrett to schedule, and adapts her approach based on how he learns. That is, in essence, what a qualified private tutor does.
What Effective Academic Support Actually Looks Like
For Canadian students navigating high school, CÉGEP, college, or university, effective academic support is not simply getting answers to homework questions. A skilled academic tutor:
- Identifies the specific knowledge gaps creating difficulty, rather than addressing symptoms
- Builds consistent study routines tailored to the student's schedule and learning style
- Explains concepts in multiple ways until the student genuinely understands, not just memorizes
- Helps develop independent study skills that last beyond any single course
- Provides accountability — the structure that many high-performing students who suddenly fall behind genuinely need most
For student athletes specifically, a tutor who understands the rhythm of a competitive season can adapt the academic workload to periods of peak training demand, ensuring that important coursework does not slip during tournament stretches.
When to Consider a Tutor
The Off Campus story shows tutoring beginning after Garrett is already in academic difficulty. In practice, the best time to start is before the crisis point. The following situations are common triggers for Canadian students and families:
- A course that was manageable in earlier years is suddenly much harder
- The transition from high school to university or college creates an unexpected skills gap
- A student is spending significant time studying but not seeing results in grades
- A sport or extracurricular commitment is creating time pressure on academic preparation
- University entrance requirements or scholarship standards require grade improvement in specific subjects
Expert Zoom connects Canadian students with experienced, licensed tutors who specialize across subjects and grade levels — from high school mathematics to university-level sciences, languages, and professional certification prep. A first consultation is often enough to identify the most effective path forward.
Whether you found yourself googling the Off Campus books after watching the Prime Video series or recognizing something of your own academic situation in the story, the lesson from Garrett and Hannah is straightforward: asking for help sooner makes it easier, and a good tutor changes more than just grades.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. Academic programs and support services vary by institution. Students should consult their school's academic advising office and independent tutoring professionals for personalized guidance.
