College Students: Does a professor make or break your grade in college?

[Candykiss]

I just made the perfect schedule but than I went to ratemyprofessor.com and most of my teachers had awful ratings

 

The teachers with good ratings were in the evenings...is it worth it to go out of my way for a good professor or does it really not matter?

[AKPuser_ndproud]

JUST drop out u will never go any where 

[creampuff]

Fucking yes. Choose your profs wisely.

[SRS Chaebol]

Rate My Professor is as legit as it gets. But to answer your question - YES. I gave two awful teachers a try and 1 of them I stuck through but ended up with a W and the other, dropped the next day. If I were you definitely go for the teachers who are willing to help and aren't pretentious f**ks. Because they'll be the cause your GPA drops faster than a boat throwing down an anchor. 

[I Was Pon This Wei]

Depends on the class and such.

 

For example, in my university the 2 comp classes I took, the prof. basically held all power in their hands since it was a paper grades only class so one with a bad rating would be horrible to pick since it means they hardly give As/Bs on papers. So for those, I purposely went out of my way to find professors with high ratings since composition was only needed as a GEC for myself.

 

But if it's something like Math, I mean it's up to you. I had probably the most shittiest Calc 3 professor to ever exist and still passed with a 94% but no thanks to the professor. If there's a TA/recitation in the class, go for the better TAs if they list them rather than the prof for your STEM and major courses.

 

BIGGEST TIP: YOUR TA IS YOUR BEST FRIEND IN A CLASS.

[lips ruby blue]

I suppose it depends on the topic. If you can get the material in book form for study on your own, then it doesn't matter much at all.

 

The choice of professor will not make or break anything in any case; you will.

[Loser]

A lot of college depends on you tbh but professors can definitely help/hurt.

 

Some are better teachers than others. Also a lot of other factors

 

Do they speak English well? Are they a grad student? If they're lenient or strict...etc. 

[TAE ZONE]

this is a tricky question :s because it really depends. uh if you can take the same class, but with a "better" professor then I recommend doing that. I usually don't visit ratemyprofessor (and thankfully have had some great and ok professors). however this last semester, I totally regretted not checking that site ;_; it turned out one professor had some really bad reviews..it was a struggle but I survived

[GodBot]

Choose your professor wisely unless you want a paper due every week.

[Kaity]

Sometimes. Those people have had personally bad experiences but everyone is different.

But sometimes you can get a professor thats just a bitch and hates life ugh. it happens.

But those reviews could have been years ago that prof. could have changed changed.

Is it your first year? dont change your schedule first semester just see what happens then next semester once you get to know how the profs are you can choose better

[maryan]

Uhm, not really. From my experience (and my friends'), a lot of the reviews on RMP are exaggerated. Also, many people who attack professors are those who did not effectively use office hours, did not study hard enough, did not attempt study groups, etc. My calculus professor had DREADFUL ratings - and he actually was a shit teacher BUT I ended up getting A's in his class both times I had him because I put in the extra effort needed to understand the material. Another teacher of mine had terrible reviews and she was actually excellent - she merely worked you hard, so I guess lazy asses didn't want to put in the effort 

 

RMP is a good indicator of what to *expect* but to use it to ultimately decide your classes for you is naive and too much of a hassle.

[gno]

the professor you take really matters.

 

I had to take Art History this passing semester, and i signed up for a teacher who in fact had good timing for me since i take metro. 

 

Every one of my friends said i shouldn't take her because she was mean, and no one really passes her. And i got a taste of that and im glad i transferred out of that class after the 1st day.

[D Kawaii Adventurs Of Ayyu]

yeah diffrent professors grade papers diffrently.

 

as in they want people to write in a certain way and if you dont regardeless of whether your answering the dam question, they give u a lower score

it was soo annnoying.

[KoreaxxLove]

I had a professor who seemed to absolutely REFUSE to give anyone an A. She was tough but extremely helpful. So, they can, I guess. But, if you work hard, I don't know if your GPA can suffer all that much. Well, it might depend on the major, too. My major is English. XD

[Miyami]

It matters somewhat but in the end it is still your responsibility. Imo you can't blame the profesor if you failed an exam.

[GratedCheese]

I really think a professor can change your performance. Not only will you get better assistance and teachings from a better professor, hence better understanding, possibly easier. Somethings you'll just end up losing interest in the subject because of how shit your professor might be, the other way around if your professor is good. And you should know that if your interest of that subject drop, there's gonna be lots of effects.

[Candykiss]

JUST drop out u will never go any where 

It's kinda funny I got a full ride than right

[Midna]

YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS

[whispershuzzy]

Ratemyprofessor is not the best source. Yes there are cases of "if there is smoke, then there is fire", but there are times where the professor was not the problem.

edit: Yes a professor can make or break your grade, but if you got a good professory, they are willing to help you and give you a syllabus. Live with those.

[rev1]

Fucking yes. Choose your profs wisely.

[midnightpanda]

Nope. YOU make or break your grades.

[Salty Pretzel]

Depends on what the class is. If you think you can do well (ie great study habits, confidence in the material etc) in a class taught by a terrible professor then it doesn't matter but, if you can comfortably swap for a better professor then you should do that. 

 

However, as you start taking higher division classes, the opportunity to cherry pick your professors becomes very rare. With that in mind, my advice would be to wean yourself off this habit because it will become detrimental especially when you take higher level courses with professors who don't teach the same way as the ~good professors you'd be used to.