It is time for students to register for classes, and each student goes about choosing their professors differently.
Lauren Hurney, freshman in psychology, said she has used a few different methods in choosing her teachers. Hurney said she went into her first semester blind, choosing her teachers strictly on the classes with convenient times.
However, her second semester, she used Rate My Professor, a website where students can see other student’s reviews of instructors.
According to Hurney, her first semester went better for her because she went into her classes without any opinion of her teachers and was able to form her own.
“Rate My Professor can help you know what the teachers are like once you are already in the class, but, when I used it, some people said the teacher was easy and some said the teacher was hard,” Hurney said.
Hurney also said Rate My Professor was not a necessity for her because she has an older sister in the same major. She opted to let her sister help fill her in about certain teachers before she chose which classes to enroll in.
On the other hand, Caitlin Macrina, sophomore in human resource management, and Antoinette Russell, freshman in molecular biology, strongly recommend all students use Rate My Professor.
“Rate My Professor can make a difference in your success in the class,” Macrina said.
According to Macrina, she and a friend decided to take the same course, but chose different professors. Macrina used Rate My Professor, and her friend did not.
Macrina said she believes the website lead her to choose the better teacher and has a higher grade than her friend in the same course as a result. However, Macrina said Rate My Professor could be biased.
“There are students who will give the professor a bad rating just because they fail the class on their own,” Macrina said.
Overall, Macrina said Rate My Professor can have a positive impact on student’s grades. Russell agreed and said she picks her professors primarily on what ratings they have on Rate My Professor.
Russell said this works best for her because students opinions give her an overview of the professor’s teaching style, and allows her to choose the professor with the best style for her.
“Not using Rate My Professor my first semester caused me to get one of the lowest ranked professors at the University and left me with a lower grade in the class,” Russell said.
Russell also said she used Rate My Professor the next semester and was pleased with all of her teachers. Choosing professors can be a crucial decision no matter which way you go about it, Macrina said.
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