The Overlooked Importance of College Professors

When choosing which college to attend, we often consider things like the school’s graduation rate or how successful its graduates are at landing jobs. Georgetown University Professor Jacques Berlinerblau says it’s even more important to examine professors — what their roles are, how they interact with students, and the involvement in their curriculum.

Berlinerblau notes that professors can make or break a student’s college experience. Many professors do not give their undergraduate students enough attention. Berlinerblau describes this situation as a ‘nationwide crisis’ because he feels too many people spend too much money on uninterested professors. He believes that only 10-25% of professors truly value undergraduate teaching.

Berlinerblau suggests finding colleges with smaller class sizes. This allows for more student-professor interaction and can improve students’ grades tremendously. Additionally, he suggests browsing college websites for concrete evidence of professor-undergraduate pairing to make sure your incoming college student can receive proper attention for the next four years.