In college, you quickly learn that before you schedule any classes you should log onto 'ratemyprofessor' and see what you're getting yourself into. If you're not so lucky and can't pick and choose who you have classes with, doing this might put a damper on your semester. After my first year, I've realized that you can pretty much group professors into 3 groups.
1. The "I'm super excited to teach, but I don't know how to do it" professor
This type of professor can be hard to deal with for those that absolutely need a professor in front of them lecturing and doing examples on the board to learn. Either they've been with the college for so long because they love their job SO much or they're fresh out of grad school. These professors know so much, but they can't figure out how to properly relay the information to a room full of college students. Taking their classes may leave you more lost about the subject than you were before you even walked in.
2. The "I know more than you and don't really care about your grade" professor
These are the worst profs. You get a bad grade, don't understand why, and you send them an email requesting to know why you did so bad. Maybe they didn't properly teach the material, maybe you didn't pay enough attention; it doesn't really matter. But when you're waiting weeks on end for them to reply to one simple email, that's how you know you have yourself one of these professors. You could email them that you're on your deathbed and can't make it to class and they still wouldn't reply to you.
3. The "just right" professor
These are your favorite professors. The chill professors who genuinely care about you doing well in their class. They're not so outgoing and excited to teach that you get a headache from their energy, but they love their job enough to care about how you're doing. After all, their teaching style and how well you do in their class reflects back on them come annual review. Even though hard to come by, when you find one of these professors, take as many classes as you possibly can for you major. You won't regret making a connection with a staff member. It can be super beneficial.
Even though there's probably more professors who don't fit into these three groups, I've noticed that these are the types that are most recurring. College is far from a breeze, but finding those professors you truly connect with can help you on so many levels - from getting the grade you want to truly understanding what they're putting in front of you. After all, you can't learn unless you're motivated to. You can read a textbook all day and not learn anything, but you can learn so much from an hour lecture from an engaging, caring professor.
