While transitioning from high school to college presents many changes for a person, I think there’s always something that tends to be overlooked: the change from having teachers to professors. You are no longer referring to your professor as “Mister” or “Miss,” in fact they might look at you funny if you do. Instead they are now “Doctor so and so” and they are going to be some of the most important people you can connect with in your college experience.
Professors in college can be very different from teachers in high school. If you miss a test because you were hungover or decide not to show up to class most of the time, they are not going to care. In high school, if you were absent a certain number of days, your teachers might have called your parents or warned the school of your absence. In college, if you miss a certain amount of classes without legitimate excuses, you’re professor is not going to tell on you. They’ll simply start dropping your grade on the down low. That’s not to say that they are heartless creatures directing the classes that could mold your future. I’m just stating that whatever effort you put into the class, they’re going to put back into you.
If you try in your class, your professor will help you. You don’t even really have to be good at the subject, as long as you’re making it obvious that you’re trying your hardest, your professor will be willing to invest time in helping you. The work you’ll be facing in college won’t be like the standardized tests or workbook pages that we remember from high school. Instead it is something that the professor has hand-picked or created themselves because they believe it’s what you need to know or learn. This next part mostly relates to classes that aren’t science or math related, since those classes tend to have answers that aren’t up for interpretation, but is nevertheless valuable. In those classes where you have to solve a question that doesn’t involve an equation, it’s great to know your professor, because then you know what they want. I have one professor that likes my essays to be blunt and to the point, while another one prefers that I have better flow to my sentences. And another one of my professors likes references to a specific aspect of the class in papers. Since I know my professors and I know what they want in their answers, I know how to pass their class.
While passing is obviously an important part of any class, professors also have connections that any college kid would kill to have. Most of the professors teaching courses related to your major have numerous connections within your major. Since I’m assuming most people’s majors are related to what their desired future career will look like, your professors can help. If you get close enough to a professor that they are able to learn about what you want your future to look like, they can suggest people for you to talk to or programs for you to join in order for you to succeed in your desired career choice.
Do not underestimate your professors. Sure, some may be intimidating whereas others could care less about some of their students, but when you find one that inspires and intrigues you, they can become some of the most influential people in your life.
If you go to a small school like Rollins, it's even easier to connect with your professor. So I highly encourage you to open up and give it a try, you never know what will happen.
