It’s that time of year again: class registration. There is no doubt that signing up for classes can be a daunting process. It’s a frantic, chaotic race that involves carefully planning your schedule in advance and hoping the courses don’t fill up before you get the chance to sign up. Ratemyprofessors.com has been a game changer for students arranging their semester calendars, but is this a website you can trust? We’ve compiled 3 reasons as to why you should take each review with a grain of salt.
1. The website is solely based on opinion
Everyone’s experience as a student is different. A class that is easy to you may be difficult for someone else. People also have different study habits. You may favor a class based on writing papers, while another person may prefer infrequent exams. You are better off signing up for the classes that interest you, regardless of professors’ reviews and forming your own opinions. Who knows, maybe you will enjoy yourself more than you thought.
2. Rating websites tend to attract distraught students
Let’s add some perspective. Rating websites really only attract people from two extremes–those who are elated from their experience and those who are outraged. You never see reviews that cover the middle ground because lukewarm students aren’t motivated to post about their experiences online. It is likely that the negative critics received poor grades (whether or not they actually did the work is another question entirely). Remember that the popular opinion may not be represented in a handful of poor reviews. Harsh critiques are probably largely outnumbered by the number of students the professor ACTUALLY teaches. This means that there are a lot of experiences unaccounted for. That professor may not be as scary as they seem.
3. Typically, the highest rated professors teach the easier courses
When you receive decent grades for minimal effort, it’s easy to give compliments. If you were to take the reviews on Rate My Professors to heart, you may miss out on truly meaningful courses that are a bit more challenging. Nothing worth doing is easy. So, don’t be afraid to challenge yourself, push yourself to new lengths, and explore what happens when you refuse to give up. It will feel so much more satisfying when you walk across that stage accepting your degree knowing that you earned it through hard work. (This is why everyone loves a good underdog. It’s refreshing to see genuine effort paid off).
After reading this, hopefully you realize that you can’t believe everything you read on the internet. Try signing up for all your classes without consulting Ratemyprofessors.com and see how your semester goes! Going into your classes without any preconceived notions of your professors may work to your advantage! Good luck and happy registration!