College is all about the experience. You move to a new place, meet new people, and try out different things. In classes, each professor is very different and they all have unique teaching methods.

You have probably heard these following statements when choosing which class to take: “Don’t take him, he is a really hard professor,” or “You should take this class. It was a really easy A.” We tend to base our class choices on which professors are the easiest at grading and who are funny and relatable. This is the sad truth when it should not be the case at all. We should not be afraid to take certain classes if we know that the professors will be much harder.

It is very interesting because every single professor is unique and they can decide how they want to run their class. The only guidelines are the material that they need to teach. The rest is up to them. Ideally, all teachers would have the same rigor and would teach at the same level. Unfortunately, that is not the case at all. It is the worst feeling when you take a class with a very hard professor and someone else it taking the same exact class but is having no problems at all because their class is easy all thanks to their professor. When you get a terrible professor it can be really hard to try to keep going and want to do well when you think that there is no hope.

Try to remember why you are taking that class- whether it's for your major or just a general. Make sure that you listen to all of the material presented to you and go to office hours. Maybe the professor isn't so bad one-on-one. You can also get a free student tutor which many universities provide. There are resources that can help you so do not try to survive your class alone. As much as it sucks having a bad professor, try not to let them get in the way of your learning and the reason why you are at school in the first place.