by S. J.

Created on: July 07, 2008

There is a common dilemma that comes about every semester, when a student is scheduling his or her new classes. Of course, the first and biggest issue concerns what days and times the classes will be. If the student is working part or full time- or even if the student simply wants a chance to sleep in every other day- the weekly schedule is a big issue.

But one possible problem that comes with the scheduling is whether or not you'll be able to stand the professor teaching those sections of classes. Will you wind up with an easy one who will curve every test, a tough one who gives out better knowledge than actual grades, or someone who is utterly impossible to please no matter how much you spend on your term paper?

It may seem little more than a game of chance, where you might accidentally overhear an upperclassman mentioning the professor of choice, but there are several options out there that you can consider to save yourself- and the professor!- from a potentially unpleasant semester.

1. Go to ratemyprofessor.com. This is the simplest answer, and often the only step you need to take. Rate My Professor is a website where students will leave reviews on various professors for their schools. Simply look up your university, then you can search either by name or department to find the professor you want to look up. You don't need an account to view the first few reviews for each professor. Read through the reviews; if you find something consistently good or bad about the instructor, then you should take that into account when choosing a class.

2. Let's say that your professor or university can't be found on the website. In that case, it's time to go talk to your advisor. Set up an appointment with him or her, and discuss your choices for classes (as well as the professors available). Often, they will be able to grant you a recommendation.

3. Is your advisor "iffy" on giving you advice? Check out the department the professor works for. Find out where their office is, and go in and investigate. If nothing else, this will give you a chance to...

4. Find some students who have already had that professor in a previous class. Don't feel shy about asking students- especially if they're majoring in that department- who their favorite professors were and why. Nor should you be afraid to ask about the worst ones! More often than not, the other students will be more than happy to wax eloquent about the instructor of their dreams... or nightmares.

Remember, as a student, you and/or your parents want to get your money's worth out of every class that you take. Why pay to suffer through a class with a professor you'll be miserable working with? Do the research, add everything up, and come to your conclusion. Maybe after discovering the afternoon professor is fond of dealing out 80-page papers every other week, getting up early for the morning class won't seem so bad after all.

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