willing to give class and prof advice?

[PsyTiger]

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Hey all! I was hoping there might be some more advanced students willing to advise us newbies on the ropes of choosing classes and the best professors? I think some of you have offered help on various threads, but if you don't mind getting a bunch of PMs, then maybe you wouldn't mind posting here with what program you attend, or just listing your 2 cents, so people like me can hit you up for some advice!

I will be attending CSPP San Francisco this fall and am now trying to register for classes - without knowing anything about the professors, it's kind of a crap shoot, so knowing who's best or what classes to avoid would be really helpful! (Anyone at CSPP-SF, feel free to PM me!)

Thanks in advance from all of us newbies for your advice! 🙄

 

[Ollie123]

I'd actually say that for the most part, that sort of thing (picking classes based off the professor), doesn't happen terribly often in grad school. At least not here, and I'd never heard people talking about it in my undergrad.

For one because usually you don't have a choice as the further advanced you get there is usually only one professor even qualified to lecture on a given topic. Anyone in the department is probably capable of teaching the biopsych section of psych 101, but an advanced neuroscience seminar is another matter😉 Of course some people wuss out and will try their best to avoid the more hard-nosed faculty members because they're afraid of getting called out, but I don't recommend that route.

So my general advice would be to let the topics guide you more than the professors - pick courses that are relevant to your career goals and make do with whoever is teaching it. Grad classes are alot more self-directed in terms of what you get out of them anyways.

 

[JockNerd]

ratemyprofessors.com is maybe a better place to do this sort of thing?

Like Ollie said, though, you don't really get to choose. Unless CSPP has so many people in the cohort that they have multiple sections for each class, but I doubt that's true.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I've seen elective options after the first year, but before that it seems that everyone has to take the same courses, which function like pre-reqs for higher level courses in your 2nd, 3rd, etc years.

 

[PsyChris]

It was more a matter of my resistance to professors and bad scheduling on my part that made classes bad for me in undergrad. Once I got into the courses of my degree I did very well.

I think a "good" professor really depends on your perspective. Most college freshmen do not want a proffessor that is going to give essay exams and force them to read 5 or 6 abstract books in their first semester of college (thank you Dr. Green).

 

[PsyTiger]

Thanks for the tips... There are a couple of classes at CSPP that have a different sections, so knowing more about the professors would be helpful in those instances.

JockNerd, thanks!! for the rec of ratemyprofessors.com - I found a bunch of helpful info on there!