Keeping a good relationship with your professors is extremely important in college. Unfortunately, many students make mistakes when it comes to interacting with their professors. You don’t want to find yourself in trouble when you realize that there isn’t a single professor you feel comfortable enough with to ask a recommendation letter from.
Here are 5 things your professor wished you knew:
Being late to class repeatedly.
Professors realize that you may be late once in a while due to circumstances that are out of your control. However, your professor will remember the student who always comes in five minutes late disrupting the entire class. Being late does not give a good overall impression to your professor.
Texting is obvious.
Your professor may not have eyeballs in the back of his head but you’d be surprised at how well professors can tell if you’re paying attention or not. Save the texting for after class. If your professor has to put his cell phone away for 75 minutes, so can you.
Proper email etiquette.
Your professor would not appreciate the same grammar and slang you would use in an email to your best friend. Use spell check, proper grammar, and intellect when drafting emails to your professors.
Refer to the syllabus.
Professors receive tons of questions a day from students. If you have a question for your professor, be sure that it isn’t already covered in the syllabus. Keep a copy and refer to it first if you are unsure about something.
“Did I miss anything important?”
If you miss a class, do not ask your professor if you missed anything important. This implies that not every class is important to you. Instead, ask about a missed assignment or key takeaways from lecture.
Don’t overlook these simple but important tips. A little will go a long way when you’re cooperating with your professors.