Is Rate My Prof Giving You Biased Advice?

Selecting the right college classes can have its challenges. You want to find a professor who’s fair and uses techniques you find helpful, such as visual aids or plenty of examples during lectures. Using a platform like Rate My Professors might sound helpful, but it can actually give biased advice that could turn you away from a qualified instructor.

Ratings Aren’t Always Accurate

Checking ratings might seem like a great way to find the best instructor in a given subject, but it could lead you astray. You might end up taking advice from someone who had a personal disagreement with the professor and left a bad rating to ruin their credibility. Rate My Professors also has nothing in place to stop students from posting multiple reviews and acting as different individuals to boost negative ratings.

Focus on Non-Academic Topics

Another problem associated with using Rate My Professor is how certain professors, especially females, are sometimes discriminated against. Some reviews may focus on female professors’ clothing and physical attributes rather than providing meaningful information about their abilities or teaching style. These reviews might not provide any relevant information, but they can still damage the professor’s average, so consider what people are actually saying before taking their low ratings into account.

Other Ways to Select the Best Professor

Rather than relying on a website to determine who won’t overload you with homework, consider what qualities you want in a professor. This could be a hands-on teacher or someone who provides meaningful discussions students can learn from. Ask other students and find out who they’ve had in the past and what they thought about their class. You’re likely to get more answers about the way a professor teaches and less about the way they look in a dress.

Finding the right professor can seem like a challenge, but talking to others and getting their feedback can help you make a well-informed decision. Tread carefully when going online for personal advice. Websites like Rate My Professor can be useful tools, but they can be just as harmful if you take the wrong ratings to heart.

~Here’s To Your Success!