so how do I get to know professors successfully?!

[HaleyRX]

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I searched for this, but couldn't find what I was looking for.
I started out college taking the advice I heard a thousand times: "get to know the professors" I went to office hours, I asked questions, etc. I made sure I didn't cross the line into annoying the professors, but I showed interest in the subject matter and even had a couple of professors tell me that students like me are what made them want to teach. (I had a chemistry professor who complained to me that she didn't make enough money, she couldn't get tenure, but she was glad to have students like me who cared about her class..?!) Yet at the end of the semester, when I have a 79, or an 89, I get the C or B respectively. Once I had a 69 but still got the D. I had went to office hours, always went to class, put in a lot of time..but the professor sent the entire class an e-mail saying at the end of the semester we are all numbers on a roster. I understand that this is MY fault and not the professor's but please explain why EVERYONE seems to harp on visiting office hours?
Now I'm not looking for an easy way out here, I'm more than willing to work hard. But I've heard many stories from friends or read online about people who were given the next grade up because the professors knew them. So many people talk about the advantage of knowing the professor. One of the pharmacists I worked with told me to be more direct in saying "tell me what I need to know for the final exam to get an A" or "would you round my grade up? I'm a point short of my goal" but I don't think that is right to specifically ask for favors. It is my fault I fell short and I don't want to be a "grade-grubber." I have a friend who bragged to me that she makes a lot better grades, but she told me it is because she "sucks up" to her professors..once she said she had a mid C going into the final, and almost failed the final, and wrote the professor an e-mail saying she enjoyed the class and would love to take another class if the professor would be teaching it..and came out with a B. The professor wrote her back and thanked her for her interest.
So what should I do to help make sure I get good LORs/ give a good perception of myself? I'm not sure what all my professors should know about me. I usually explain my goal of pharmacy school but I mostly stick to the subject at hand.
I have to admit sometimes I don't visit professors because they never seem to help me. I always seem to understand the material on my own, but when test time comes I do worse than what I thought I would. I ask professors about this but they just say to study more. So after not getting much help, I give up on visiting sometimes. ?? Any suggestions are appreciated!!

 

[Kirbypuff]

A successful way to get to know a professor is to show that grades are not that important to you, but that learning and mastering the subject they're teaching is very important to you. A professor like any other human being wants to be connected with through similar interests. Take a wild guess what they're interested in... the subject they wake up every morning to teach to lazy, uninterested, grade-hungry students. So be the refreshing student who actually cares about the subject! Also, a professor like any other human being does NOT want to be used. If you try to get close to them, but only show your interest in your grades, they will feel like every kind gesture you offer is adulterated with ulterior motives.

Summary: Professors are people too. 🙂

 

[mrblah]

So you want to become a teacher's pet?

I joke with them, ask them about movies, snowboarding, kids, family, or whatever. Professors are like any other people, they don't like it when people only talk to them when they want something (i.e. higher grades, etc).

So when I approach a professor, or when I ask a school related question, I usually close with a personal question, such as "how was their weekend" or "what they think of the elections", or you can also joke with them by saying "so when is the hard material". As for grades and tests, I never ask for a higher grade, but instead I will ask them what I did wrong on a question...and then i'll say "I'm a idiot, how could I not see that......." Always, lighten the mood.

By the way, professors gossip, just like students. Professors know who you are by the reputation you earn from their colleagues. All you do is build upon it.

Lastly, it helps to take as many classes as you can with the same professor. There are many times the professor bumped my grade up to a letter grade, because he gave me the benefit of the doubt, because I made a "silly mistake" from material covered from his/her previous class.

 

[kbv]

I searched for this, but couldn't find what I was looking for.
I started out college taking the advice I heard a thousand times: "get to know the professors" I went to office hours, I asked questions, etc. I made sure I didn't cross the line into annoying the professors, but I showed interest in the subject matter and even had a couple of professors tell me that students like me are what made them want to teach. (I had a chemistry professor who complained to me that she didn't make enough money, she couldn't get tenure, but she was glad to have students like me who cared about her class..?!) Yet at the end of the semester, when I have a 79, or an 89, I get the C or B respectively. Once I had a 69 but still got the D. I had went to office hours, always went to class, put in a lot of time..but the professor sent the entire class an e-mail saying at the end of the semester we are all numbers on a roster. I understand that this is MY fault and not the professor's but please explain why EVERYONE seems to harp on visiting office hours?
Now I'm not looking for an easy way out here, I'm more than willing to work hard. But I've heard many stories from friends or read online about people who were given the next grade up because the professors knew them. So many people talk about the advantage of knowing the professor. One of the pharmacists I worked with told me to be more direct in saying "tell me what I need to know for the final exam to get an A" or "would you round my grade up? I'm a point short of my goal" but I don't think that is right to specifically ask for favors. It is my fault I fell short and I don't want to be a "grade-grubber." I have a friend who bragged to me that she makes a lot better grades, but she told me it is because she "sucks up" to her professors..once she said she had a mid C going into the final, and almost failed the final, and wrote the professor an e-mail saying she enjoyed the class and would love to take another class if the professor would be teaching it..and came out with a B. The professor wrote her back and thanked her for her interest.
So what should I do to help make sure I get good LORs/ give a good perception of myself? I'm not sure what all my professors should know about me. I usually explain my goal of pharmacy school but I mostly stick to the subject at hand.
I have to admit sometimes I don't visit professors because they never seem to help me. I always seem to understand the material on my own, but when test time comes I do worse than what I thought I would. I ask professors about this but they just say to study more. So after not getting much help, I give up on visiting sometimes. ?? Any suggestions are appreciated!!

some professors want to see their students' passion of learning as well as their progress. So passion alone is not enough.

professors reserve the right to move up/down the letter grade, esp. the classes that have a higher degree of difficulty, at their discretion.

your grades are on the transcript, but LORs are from selected individual professor. The grade alone can't show the interviewer the candidate's whole picture, but the LORs can.

don't always listen to others, but verify the rumors from various sources. listen but think of who said what and why.

getting to know your professors doesn't mean asking for a better grade favor. your intention is to ask them to help you understand their materials better. it also helps your professors realize that they should have been clearer or changed their method of teaching (if a lot of students comment that they don't understand the materials).

be flexible and adaptive. if you're sure you understand and do well on the exam, why bother to come to the office often? (unless you like talking to him/her or want him/her to get to know you better) save the time for the classes you're struggling. or if the professor isn't willing to help, don't go there. by the time of the class's evaluation, write sth constructive on that. So choose the class/professor wisely.

 

[PharmD321]

So you want to become a teacher's pet?

I joke with them, ask them about movies, snowboarding, kids, family, or whatever. Professors are like any other people, they don't like it when people only talk to them when they want something (i.e. higher grades, etc).

So when I approach a professor, or when I ask a school related question, I usually close with a personal question, such as "how was their weekend" or "what they think of the elections", or you can also joke with them by saying "so when is the hard material". As for grades and tests, I never ask for a higher grade, but instead I will ask them what I did wrong on a question...and then i'll say "I'm a idiot, how could I not see that......." Always, lighten the mood.

By the way, professors gossip, just like students. Professors know who you are by the reputation you earn from their colleagues. All you do is build upon it.

Lastly, it helps to take as many classes as you can with the same professor. There are many times the professor bumped my grade up to a letter grade, because he gave me the benefit of the doubt, because I made a "silly mistake" from material covered from his/her previous class.

+1!!! I agree! another technique I like to do is participate in class and show them that you know the subject and that if you make a mistake ask them what you did wrong and show that you are always ready to learn. The professors also like when you raise your hand and try to answer all the questions that they ask in class.

 

[medicalCPA]

I had a professor who would never round up grades at the end of the semester. Her reason was, she gave lots of extra credit during the semester, and if after figuring in the extra credit you got 89.9, then that's all you should get since that B was your original grade anyway. The burden was on you to do well enough to be bumped a letter grade after the extra credit. It may be similar with your professors.

Being bumped up a letter grade should not be the reason you want to know your professors. From their comments, it seems they would write you a good LOR anyway. Just show them you care about the subject, and once in a while, get them to talk about something that's not class-related.