Professors are a major part of any college experience, and depending on whether you like yours or not, it can make or break your semester. This generation has been blessed with websites like “Rate My Professor”, that help ease suffering and help avoid the worst rated professors. Unfortunately, some professors are unavoidable when it comes to fulfilling your class requirements, so I am here to help you navigate the different types of professors you will be faced with in college.Â
- The Mean Professor
Many professors start off the semester putting on a strict facade so you will respect them. Usually, as the semester goes on this act is dropped, but sometimes you don’t get so lucky. You may encounter a professor in your college years that will make you rethink your major, and in the worst cases, college as a whole. These professors may be unavoidable, but the best advice I could give to you is to do your work and lay low. Make sure to befriend your classmates so you can keep up with your assignments, study together, and not suffer on your own. With these kinds of professors, your best bet is to attempt to get out of their course unscathed.Â
- The Sarcastic Professor
Similar to the mean professor, the sarcastic professor can be hard to deal with if you do not take sarcasm lightly. Whether the class is too early for joking around, or you just want a straight forward answer for a question rather than being ridiculed, the sarcastic professor can get annoying, instead of funny, very quickly. Your best bet when having a class with one of these professors is to have thick skin. As long as you have a sense of humor while still being respectful, your professor will most likely leave you alone if they know their sarcasm will not get to you.Â
- Your Favorite Professor
Nothing is better than having an amazing professor who makes you love their course. Occasionally, certain courses may be boring in their nature to you, and a professor’s ability to make them interesting is a special talent. When you have a professor you really enjoy, do whatever you can to make a lasting connection with them. Friendly professors can really come in handy if you ever need a recommendation letter, mentor, or even a job. Try your best to get your favorite professors’ emails to keep in contact with them, and don’t be afraid to reach out and check in on them! They will appreciate it more than you know, and this will help you keep that connection with them!
- The Disaster Professor
Unfortunately, I am going to have to stress you out again to keep things realistic here, but you will have a professor who is just all over the place. These professors will have you obsessively checking Canvas, sending them emails almost everyday, and have you texting your fellow classmates constantly. For some reason, these professors cannot follow their own syllabus, and love to pick the worst due dates. The best bet when having a professor like this, is to make a group chat with your classmates so you can all keep up with the due dates. If things get really bad, you can always come together with your classmates and contact the school, because you should never be struggling to the point where you want to rip your hair out.Â
- The M.I.A Professor
Last but not least, we have the professor who is always missing in action. Whether it is an online asynchronous class where the professor just chooses not to teach, or a professor who just loves to cancel class, these professors make for a very interesting semester. The best thing you can do in this situation is appreciate the fact that you do not have a mean professor, just an absent one, and try your best to keep up. In my experience with M.I.A professors, they really take their time. You may not have more than one assignment a week because they do not want to grade, and you will have a lot of surprise days off. More often than not, you will end the semester unscathed, not even knowing the professor’s name, and hopefully with an A.Â
Professors definitely contribute to your overall college experience, so it is important to know how to deal with them. In the end, if you make meaningful connections with your good professors and avoid the bad ones, you will be successful in your college years, and in the rest of your career.Â