Rate Your Priorities Instead of Your Professors

Sergey Podlesnykh/Staff Writer

After getting discharged from Active Duty Military service earlier this year, I’m still adapting to college life. Last semester, I didn’t know “Rate My Professor” existed and chose my classes based solely on my academic preferences. With Spring enrollment underway, I tried picking classes using this wonderful tool, but soon realized it does more harm than good.

“Rate My Professor” sounds like a great idea at first. It tries to shed light on the terra incognita of future classes and provide guidance for students unsure about their academic choices. However, after browsing through countless professor reviews, I noticed a simple striking pattern; professors get great reviews from A-B students and poor reviews from those who underperform. The value of such ratings is questionable and frankly it resembles the President labeling the elections as “unfair” and “very bad”, simply because he doesn’t like the results.

Some of the reviews from “Rate My Professor” reminded me of my WhatsApp group chats from previous semesters. There were plenty of people who didn’t like some instructors, but those were also the same people who disliked the subject and struggled the most.

Did I personally enjoy my professors? Not to diminish their importance, but their style and personalities were secondary to me. I picked my Summer classes based on my personal preferences and to meet my criteria the classes had to sound interesting and have academic appeal. As a result, I enjoyed my classes, the professors, received satisfactory grades and didn’t spoil group chats with vain excuses.

A common dilemma I–and many others–have faced with “Rate My Professor” is choosing between an uninteresting, unrelatable, “easy A” class with a 5.0 professor rating or a “would not recommend again” 3.0 professor of a challenging class that excited me. I contemplated for a while, but then closed the tab. Tastes differ and I chose to  follow my heart.

“Make your hobby a job, and you won’t work a day in life” – this can be projected towards academic studies as well. If you pick a class that you have a genuine interest in, how can you not like it? I can already hear the objections, “What if none of the offered classes appeal to me?” If you find yourself in a situation where a multitude of options to meet your requirements do not not entice you enough, maybe you should reconsider your goals and values.

Why are you in this major if it sounds boring and doesn’t excite you? If you got pushed into an unwanted major only because that’s what your parents expected, or your friends liked, or the graduate salary sounded promising, it’s not the professor’s fault you don’t like the class.

Drop the crutches of “Rate My Professor” and embrace the challenges. 

I already hear another objection. “I like classes and professors within my major, it’s the mandatory core curriculum that spoils the party.” To put it bluntly, 1000 and 2000 classes of any field shouldn’t present a sizable issue for a person capable of pursuing a degree.

Consider it a life lesson: there will be times when you will have to do things you’re unfamiliar and uncomfortable with. There will be scenarios when you will have to meet, cooperate and coexist with people that you don’t like, don’t agree with or don’t understand. 

In the future, complaining about your boss or coming up with excuses of “hard work” will not help you succeed in your career. Drop the crutches of “Rate My Professor” and embrace the challenges. 

Consider it a mild test of your resiliency, flexibility and adaptability, all valuable qualities for a college graduate. At the end of the day, your “easy A’s” will become only a cover of your book. If you keep choosing “easy” classes simply to drift through degree requirements, what will you bring to the table at your future job?

Sounds like you’ll definitely be faking it, but I can’t guarantee you will make it too far. If you claim that you won’t have to bring anything to other tables, because you will start a table of your own, you have all the more reason to pick a path of challenge. 

Life will not let you choose an “easy A” scenario. If you don’t take an opportunity to learn how to overcome obstacles in the kiddie pool of college, the ocean of reality might swallow you with the next tide. Step outside of your comfort zone and choose a class that sounds thrilling, regardless of the challenge and the professor’s rating. Your future self will thank you.

DISCLAIMER:

The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

Photo by Vladislav Babienko on Unsplash