Katelyn
Should you ask around to get the best teachers in college?
I know in high school you always recommend certain teachers but high school is very different and a lot bigger so how should i go about getting the best teacher? #collegefreshman #school #student
3 answers
Salina Garris, CPA
Salina’s Answer
Katelyn,
One resource I found helpful when I was in college was Ratemyprofessor.com This website has almost every university listed with professors and actual reviews from students. This helped me choose my teachers every semester!
I hope this helps!
Yvonne Koh
Yvonne’s Answer
Hi Katelyn,
Yes! Asking around is one way of finding the best professor in college. Definitely talk to your academic advisor, your seniors, or your friends about a particular professor you have in mind before you enroll in the class! You might be able to get an idea on the professor's teaching style and what he/she is known for.
Rate my professor website: http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ is another great way to finding the best teacher in your college. This website has anonymous student reviews for thousands of college professors across the United States. Each professor is rated based on categories such as "overall quality" or "level of difficulty" and more. You can use this website to compare one professor to another that teach in the same department in your college, before making a decision on which professor's class you want to enroll in. However, don't take the occasional negative rating on this website too seriously. Some students who get poor grades tend to take in out on the professor in their review, which their story might not necessarily be true. Try to find out a common trait of the professor after reading all his/her reviews, and hopefully you will be able to figure out if his/her teaching style fits your learning style.
Another thing you could do is to sit in some of the professor's classes. When you begin your semester, typically there is a week or two for you to add/drop classes without penalty. I would recommend you sitting in two different professor's classes of a particular course for at least a week before you make a decision on which professor's class you would enjoy more. When you are in the class, pay attention to the students as well. Are they interacting with the professor? Is the class full? All these are helpful indicators of what you should expect from the class.
I hope this helps, good luck!
Yvonne recommends the following next steps:
Austin L.
Austin’s Answer
Yes - I agree with using ratemyprofessor.com, but also ask around with all of the friends you make. In college, I also worked part time (10-20 hours per week) at our Accounting Department and I got to know all of the professors in my major (even before I was in their classes). In getting to know them, I got to know which professors I had a good connection with.
Aurelia (Auri) Fenouil