College Success Tip – Get to Know Your Professors

Make the effort to get to know each of your professors during the first week of class each semester.  By staying after class to introduce yourself or stopping by their offices to exchange a handshake, you will instantly separate yourself from everyone else in your class. This will take you a few minutes, which are well worth it.  A couple of reasons why this is important:

• Professors are the ones who grade you, so keep them happy
• Many of them are well connected in the industries that they teach, which could help you during your career search
• They might be able to write a recommendation for you to get into an organization or graduate school, or serve as a reference when you are applying for internships/careers

Having professors on your side will never hurt you and will more than likely help you at some point.  You cannot walk into their offices when you need a favor and expect them to drop everything to do it – get to know them first, build a relationship and then use them as a resource if they can help you.

The Bottom Line:  Your professors are human and will favor the people who they like.  If you build a relationship with them, your chances at being able to re-submit a project, get a recommendation or be excused to miss class become much better.  Little things like this will make your life much easier.