Impressing Your Professors

You never get a second chance to make a first impression, as the saying goes. You want your professors to develop an impression of you as a hard worker, smart, and studious. To make a good impression on your professors:

• Be on time for class.
• Look as if you are focused and paying attention in class.
• Participate in classroom discussions.
• Don't work on other items on your to-do list during class time, whether it's an assignment for another class or balancing your checkbook.
• Sit toward the front of the classroom.
• Be respectful of the professor's time. Don't show up five minutes before his or her office hours are over and ask to go over a 30-page research paper.
• Turn in your assignments on time.
• If you have a problem, discuss it with the professor yourself. Do not ask one of your parents to call the professor for you.
• Smile and be friendly.
• Be polite and respectful in your attitudes and behavior.

Your relationship with your professors is crucial to your success in graduate school. These are the men and women who will be teaching you, advising you, mentoring you, overseeing your research, and serving on your dissertation committee. Make sure that they see you as the excellent student you are.