Interesting Findings

[Psychty]

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So I have just been looking up the POIs that I chose at the schools that I applied to on ratemyprofessor.com. Some have gotten good reviews and some have gotten some bad reviews. Though I do not necessarily believe just because someone has bad reviews means they are a terrible person or advisor, at least this is what I hope.

 

[daydreaming]

I would not put much weight in those types of sites. Keep in mind the possibility (no data on this just my personal bias) that people may be more likely to post that have had a strong emotional reaction towards the professor on trial. And undergraduates especially may want to get back at the professor for giving them a poor grade.

There are, I think, better venues to obtain information about professors such as asking their grad students.

 

[Psychty]

Yes, I definitely agree with you. I always check my professors before taking a class some reviews are inaccurate but there are also a lot that are accurate, it just depends. Though it interesting to look them up anyway haha.

 

[Metta]

So I have just been looking up the POIs that I chose at the schools that I applied to on ratemyprofessor.com. Some have gotten good reviews and some have gotten some bad reviews. Though I do not necessarily believe just because someone has bad reviews means they are a terrible person or advisor, at least this is what I hope.

I would agree that reviews on ratemyprofessor.com and similar sites offer little information for us. Remember that most (often all) of their ratings are drawn from a large group of undergraduates; a professor who is, for example, seen as "too tough" by Psych 101 students may be ideal for grad students. Also, only the most motivated students will post reviews, which often means those few students who either really liked or really disliked a professor. It's all too easy for a professor to make one or two students unhappy by simply being firm with deadlines, assigning "too much" reading, or similar.

I've known some wonderful professors who get poor reviews on ratemyprofessor.com for those kinds of reasons. For instance, one of my very favorite professors often teaches the stats and research methods sequence. Some students find the material difficult, and project that onto him ("he's a very tough professor"); then, because he "won't" (can't) make the material easy for them, he's "unhelpful". Students who are motivated to put time and effort into learning the material find he's exceptionally fair and helpful, but their reviews on ratemyprofessor.com don't eliminate the bad ones. Another professor I know often gets poor reviews because she offers a fair amount of constructive criticism to her students. She's fair about it, never nasty, offers many compliments as well, and is always willing to accept constructive criticism herself. For students who want to learn and develop, she's great. But some students don't "get it"; they only hear the criticism, and so they don't like her. I could go on, but you get the idea, I'm sure.... 🙂