Disclaimer: Anything written in this blog represents the opinions of the author, and no one else. Each blog is written lightly, and is not intended to offend any of the mentioned businesses, locations, students, or staff.

Rate My Professor is a college student’s guide to making his/her course schedule. Everyone races for the professors rated an “A” (meaning they are a great professor) or a chili pepper (meaning the teacher is “hot”). As useful as the site can be, there are several tricks to making it more reliable, as listed below.

1. Give helpful advice. Don’t just say what you like or don’t like about a professor. Instead, say something helpful to future students. For example, instead of writing: “This professor gives too many quizzes. She sucks!” consider writing: “This professor always quizzes on the reading, but if you read the assigned chapters, you’ll do well.”
2. Pay attention to spelling and grammar. I recognize that this sounds silly, but consider this for a minute: If a student doesn’t care enough to at least try to write properly when reviewing a professor, is their review really reliable? You don’t know this person, so far all you know, they wrote just as improperly in the course that they are reviewing. This may have earned them a poor grade, resulting in their negative post on the site.
3. Take what you read with a grain of salt. It is important to pay close attention to the number of students who have reviewed a professor. If the instructor only has a few reviews, you can’t always count on them. Alternatively, if there are many reviews, you can usually trust the grade that the teacher has received. Additionally, the majority of students that write reviews are ones who either loved or hated the instructor. Make sure to consider that the students who are in the middle ground aren’t often accounted for on the site.

Students and professors alike don’t doubt that Rate My Professor is a useful tool. It is a resource for students to learn about their peers’ views on professors they haven’t had yet, and it is a way for professors to learn about what students like and dislike about their course. By following the previous three tips, you may be more satisfied with the information collected by Rate My Professor.