How to Rate High with Your Professors
You’re sitting in a lecture hall with ninety other freshmen, clutching the course syllabus and counting down the minutes before the end of class.
At the front of the room, a professor who has more doctoral degrees than you can count explains his expectations for the class. “Class participation,” he begins, “means that I expect each of you to actively contribute in class. Be on time, be prepared, and ask intelligent questions.”
As you scan the room, you wonder how your prof could possibly know if each person was participating or just sleeping with their eyes open. You ask yourself how to make an impression and rate high with your professor when ninety other people will be vying for his attention. Well, my friend, read on…
Professors love it when you ask good questions, but make sure you’ve done the assigned reading before you make him or her explain nuclear fission or Byronic heroism. Asking a basic question that is covered in the textbook will only highlight the fact that you haven’t done what you’re supposed to.
Even if you don’t plan on asking questions, you should always aim tocomplete the readings before class in case you are called on to add your verbal contribution to the class. Some professors will specifically target the students they know are unprepared.
If you have done the reading and still don’t understand something after it has been explained, ask for clarification. Chances are, someone else in the class is equally as baffled.
If you don’t feel comfortable asking during class or you run out of time,see the professor after class or during office hours. Office hours are specifically designed for that purpose, and since most universities require professors to hold weekly office hours, oftentimes professors will be sitting in their office just waiting for someone like you to pay them a visit.
Office hours are also a great resource to ask for your prof’s input on a project or assignment. In addition to yielding helpful information and approaches to tackling your assignment, this will help you determine sooner rather than later if you are on the right track to meeting his or her expectations in your papers and exams. (It’s awful to receive a paper back, only to realize you have not really answered the question that was asked.)
Plus, if you start feeling crunched for time on a major project, you will be much more likely to secure a deadline extension if your prof has seen your earlier progress and knows you are not just trying to bail out of the consequences of procrastination.
You should also go to office hours if you feel you’ve been given an unreasonable grade on a paper or exam. Don’t approach the professor after class or storm their office the day exams are returned and accuse them of ruining your life. Instead, give yourself a day or two to calm down and gain some perspective. Once you can calmly and logically explain your confusion, the professor should be willing to sit down with you at office hours and adjust your grade or at least explain his or her reasoning.
If you are still unhappy about a grade and how it will impact your average, ask them how you can improve on the next assignment, perhaps with a tutor, study group, or more one-on-one input from the professor. Most will be sympathetic if they know you are genuinely trying or are concerned about losing a grade-dependent scholarship.
Remember that professors are people too. Keep in mind that many of them have families, social lives, or second jobs before you grumble about how he or she “takes forever to grade assignments” or “always forgets the lecture slides.”
Take the time to get to know them as people or show an interest in their field, because they’ll appreciate it. Ask what research they’re working on or what books they’re writing, and you’ll be amazed at how accomplished some of your professors are. (I had a writing professor who starred on a Chinese soap opera and sold a non-fiction book to a major publishing house before she turned 30!)
If you make a good impression, they’ll be more than willing to write a letter of recommendation and help you find an internship or research opportunity, which is well worth the extra time and effort.
Susan Johnston is a communication student at Boston University in Massachusetts. When not working the in the admissions office at BU or studying for classes, she enjoys writing, scrapbooking, singing, and acting. Copyright 2003 iamnext.com. May not be used without permission.