How college students annoy profs w/emails (written by one)

Do professors get annoyed when students email them?

There are times when college students should worry about being annoying when emailing their professor, but it’s not likely that most students will be bothering their professor by sending an occasional email.

As a former professor, I am going to help you understand why your professor would be bothered by your emails, and how to AVOID being a nuisance.

I don’t want you to be afraid to reach out to your professor, but there are just some things that you probably shouldn’t email your professor about. I will explain those situations in more detail so keep reading.

And I will give you some examples to help you understand what would be acceptable to email your professor.

Why would professors be frustrated when students email them?

Professors won’t typically be frustrated when students email them because that is part of their job duties, but students can make their professors annoyed by their emails if they ask a question that is easily answered by checking the syllabus or if the email is unprofessional or demanding.

Let’s talk about this a little more. Professors have hundreds of students, and if every student emailed them their questions before researching the answer themselves, they’d be backlogged with emails.

Professors rely on students to research the answer before they contact them. This is why we lay out all of our policies, in the syllabus, to help students get their frequently asked questions answered independently.

Here are some reasons why professors might be bummed to see your email in their inbox.

• If you asked questions that can be answered in the syllabus

• If you asked for things that they clearly won’t do like retake an exam or award them extra credit

• If you were impolite or demanding in your email

• If you sent multiple emails back-to-back without waiting for a reply

But please don’t forget that professors should welcome emails, and even if the answer can be located in the syllabus, most professors will reply with that information.

For example, students would email me all the time about things that were stated in the syllabus. If the answer was easy, I might just reply with the information. But I always made sure that I let the student know that this information is located in the syllabus too.

So, even if you email your professor a question that you should be able to find the answer to yourself, professors will typically respond anyway. However, I would sometimes let students know that the answer is located in their syllabus and they should review it for clarity.

I put the research on the student to find it themselves. I might do this if I had a lot of emails from students with the same question, or if this is the third email I have received from the same student with a question that can be answered in the syllabus. I don’t want the student to make a habit out of it.

So, don’t be surprised if your professor directs you to another source to find the answer. They are trying to help you be more independent.

And please don’t be disrespectful in your emails. It won’t benefit you to be unprofessional and demanding. For example, if you want that extra point to bump up your grade, don’t try to intimidate them or be coercive. I’ve had lots of really rude emails over the years, and it never helped the student’s situation.

If anything, those unprofessional emails may get ignored by your professor. Or they could send it to their supervisor or the appropriate office for review. You could get disciplined for sending the email if it was inappropriate.

Another thing that might make your professor frustrated with your email if it is riddled with grammatical errors. Emails that are hard to read or aren’t edited will look really sloppy and unprofessional.

So, take the extra time to proofread and make sure you don’t use slang like saying TTYL for ‘talk to you later’ or using the number 4 instead of spelling out ‘for’ because this sends a bad impression to your professor.

How do you send an email to your professor without annoying them?

If you don’t want to annoy your professor when you send them an email, be respectful, research the answers yourself before hitting send, ask direct questions, and make sure your email is free of grammatical errors.

It is pretty simple to avoid being annoying when you email your professor.

The most common email I would get from students were questions that were answered in my syllabus. You should make sure that before you send your message that you have tried to locate the answer yourself.

Your professor shouldn’t have to do all the hard work for you or waste their time answering questions that are located in your syllabus or the assignment instructions. So check everywhere first for the answer.

I really preferred when students would ask me specific questions so that I can make sure I answered it completely. If you are vague in your email, your professor won’t know exactly what you want.

So, don’t ask broad questions, or leave them questioning what exactly it is that you want. Be specific and direct.

Will professors be mad if you email them constantly?

Professors might get mad if you email them over and over again because you didn’t get a quick enough response or you are disrespectful in your emails. Your professor may also get annoyed with constant emails if they are unnecessarily sent.

Emailing back-to-back

Look, I understand. You sometimes have an emergency and you really want your professor’s response and you want it FAST. But your professor should have their response time outlined in their syllabus. If you aren’t giving them a few days to respond, you aren’t being fair.

Emailing too often

If you are emailing your professor constantly because you really have questions about the course or a career in their field, you shouldn’t be apologetic. I mean, you still want to be respectful of your professor’s time but emails that are worthy should be well received by your professor.

I would say that a student who sends a dozen emails over the course of a semester is not bothering their professor. But if you are sending several emails a week, it might get to be a bit too much.

Instead, maybe you should wait and condense your emails in one, if possible. Or you should try and schedule an appointment with them to discuss your concerns instead. This way it can be quickly resolved without a lot of constant emails.

Can you email a professor too much?

Yes, college students can email their professors too much because professors have hundreds of students and won’t have enough time to respond to an abundance of emails. While responding to emails is part of a professor’s job, they cannot possibly respond to hundreds of emails a week, at least not with enough detail.

It is okay to email your professors with your questions, but make sure they are questions that you cannot find the answer to yourself.

Also make sure that you are keeping your emails to a minimum and thinking about your professor’s time. Again, don’t hesitate to send a necessary email but remember that you can send too many.

I will usually suggest to students that they go by, in person, to talk to their professor if they have multiple questions. Or wait to ask their multiple questions in one email to condense it.

To help you understand more about emailing your professor, you should check out my other article about times when you should NOT email your professor.

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