I remember being a senior in high school seeing a constant onslaught of videos with “tips on going to college” or “this one thing got me through university!” In every one of the videos, using Rate My Professor (RMP) was listed. It is a highly trafficked and useful website that people from all over the country use. During my first semester it really came in handy as I had no one else to consult on this topic. It was my one and only guide to picking the “correct course.” I liked every single one of my classes freshman year, except one. This professor was new to the school and did not have a page attached to RMP that I could find. 

Due to this, I was not warned about the methods this professor used or any negative issues that occurred with them. I ended up hating the class, but by the end of the semester, they had a page with several bad reviews. Many students I know steered clear of this class taught by them due to the reviews and stories passed around via word of mouth. Since then, I tend to rely more on my friends who have taken courses with certain professors to give me a good interpretation of what I am in store for. However, I still leave reviews for every professor I have had, both good and bad, to make sure that students are well-informed about the educators they will spend a whole semester (or more!) learning from.

I sat down with two Holy Family University students to discuss their experiences with Rate My Professor. Cameron Bristow ‘25 is a senior accounting major and Alex Corso ‘26 is a junior nursing student at HFU. Bristow says that the top factors he uses to select a section are the instructor and the time it is offered. Corso says his number one factor is finding a section his friends are taking because it is essential to have classmate support while in his nursing classes. Both Bristow and Corso have used RMP in the past to select professors by examining the reviews listed on the site. However, sometimes only one instructor is teaching the class, but Bristow looks anyway to get a sense of the professor before starting. 

Most of the reviews have aligned well with what they experienced in class. Corso says, “I started to realize most students only write a bad review for the professors if they had an out of normal experience with them.” Bristow says, “Sometimes, there is a review that is completely out of left field like I don’t know what happened to you, but that isn’t what I experienced during class.” Bristow has written his own reviews on RMP and says they were all positive, “If I have any negative feedback, I put it in the course evaluations at the end of the semester.” Both students recommend using Rate My Professor if you are unsure about an instructor, but always ask around to other students if you can. Corso says, “Asking around to others who have taken the course is the best way to go because you can get an honest opinion… and even ask questions to follow up about their experience.”

I interviewed three Holy Family University professors to gain insight and advice about the site. Dr. Janet McNellis and Dr. Carol Braunsar are professors in the School of Education. Professor Raena Shirali is an associate English professor in the School of Arts & Sciences. The overall consensus amongst the instructors interviewed is that RMP can be used positively, but the reviews should always be taken with a grain of salt. 

Professor Shirali says, “I think it makes sense for freshmen, who might not know enough of their peers well enough to ask questions about which classes are best to take and why. But I would caution freshmen against trusting reviews from any further back than the previous academic year–faculty change our syllabi and courses constantly, based on the feedback we receive in evaluations. So RMP’s reviews become inaccurate every time a semester changes!” 

Dr. McNellis recommends reaching out directly to any prospective professors in order to understand their teaching style and whether it is a good fit for students. None of the instructors interviewed look at their own RMP page, so it is not the best option to achieve change when it comes to instructors. It is recommended that students use the built-in course evaluations that Holy Family includes at the end of each course. These evaluations are taken extremely seriously and are examined by both the instructors and supervisory faculty members. Dr. Braunsar, Dr. McNellis, and Professor Shirali urge students to fill out these evaluations so that they can adapt their courses to new student needs. 

Some professors do look at their pages frequently in order to gauge outside student feedback. However, one thing to note is that instructors can reach out to Rate My Professor and challenge reviews if they feel the student left an exaggerated negative review. If you choose to leave a review make sure it is concise and has correct information. If there is a serious issue that you feel needs to be urgently addressed and you cannot speak directly to the professor about it, you should contact the Dean of Students. They are equipped to be a third party buffer between you and faculty if needed. You can also utilize Counseling Services’ 20 minute problem solving sessions to discuss different approaches or book an appointment with a Student Success counselor to address any core issues. Many students do not feel confident enough to discuss their concerns with the source of their grief. The important thing to keep in mind is to never suffer in silence. Speak up about issues you have and try to make change by contacting on campus resources for help. 

There are pros and cons to using Rate My Professor. Some pros include being able to compare different professors’ qualities (e.x. tough grader, so many papers, amazing lectures) and difficulties to find the best match for you, avoid taking classes with objectively bad instructors, making sure that other students are more informed about their possible instructors. Some cons are that angry students could leave false or exaggerated reviews, bad reviews could affect future or current employment opportunities, and HFU already has its own anonymous class/instructor evaluation system that is submitted through Canvas. However, this evaluation is only viewable by faculty, not students. It also does not let you leave reviews whenever you want. The system is open for one week at the end of the semester. 

Students seem to reap more benefits from Rate My Professor than instructors. Many instructors do not look or do not trust the reviews posted on the platform. They are more likely to use the in-house Holy Family evaluations over the RMP reviews. I encourage students to use both as it is beneficial to other students to be able to see reviews as well as instructors to see more directed feedback. Conduct your own research via RMP, asking students directly, and reaching out to professors. There is no true way to know how a professor will work for you without taking the class, so try your best to work out any issues with the instructor. Students everywhere, especially on smaller campuses with less faculty (Holy Family!), are using RMP to determine which instructors are the most compatible with how they learn. Rate My Professor is here to stay as a resource for students!

Amanda Knipe is a senior English major with minors in Business Administration and Creative Writing. She is currently working with HFU’s literary magazine, Folio, as Editor in Chief.

Feature photo courtesy of buzzfeednews.com