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5 Tips to Make a Killer First Impression on your New Professors

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SMU chapter.

They say that professors know what a student’s final grade will be within the first month of school. The trick: crank it out in the first month of school and make a kick-ass first impression that will last the whole year long.

1. GO TO CLASS! 

 

Your professor can’t get to know you if you’re not in class! Seriously, just go to class.

2. Ask plenty of questions!

Asking questions is a great way to (1) make sure you understand the material to the best of your ability, and (2) show the professor that you’re engaged and interested in their class. 

3. Do your dang homework! 

No one likes homework; you have to do it anyway, though.  You can’t participate in class if you don’t know what you’re talking about! 

4. Go to your professors’ office hours

Ask them questions, review the homework, have them look at a draft of your paper. Your professors have office hours for a reason — they want to help you succeed! However, don’t go to office hours to ask inane questions or try to suck up. Show your professor that you care about the material, not your grade. 

5. Last but not least, PAY ATTENTION! 

Don’t text in class, don’t mess around on your computer, and don’t talk while your professor is lecturing! 

Now go forth and kick ass, my scholars! 

 

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Mary Chamberlain Harlan is a junior at Southern Methodist University majoring in English and minoring in Women and Gender Studies. An ardent liberal, she is passionate about human rights and works with Spectrum, LGBT Panels, and TEDx SMU to raise awareness for the LGBT community. She has been obsessed with horror movies since age 8, when she first saw Poltergeist, and plans to write her senior thesis on the impact of the horror genre on the modern world.
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