The surprising reason why professors have favorite students
About the author
Hi there. I am the prolific professor with 15 years of experience teaching online and in-person. I have a graduate degree. I have a passion for education. But I’ve also worked in the professional world (outside of education) too. Thanks for visiting.
Do professors have favorite students?
Yes, professors likely have their favorite students and it could help you out if you’re a college student and you happen to be their favorite.
Being the favorite student can definitely come with some perks. But it could also be lead to higher expectations. I will talk more about this later.
Sometimes professors might have their favorites but you may never really know. Other times, you can totally tell that a professor favors some students.
If you are one of their favorites, it probably benefits you. If you aren’t one of their favorites, it’s probably annoying to see your classmates get treated better than you. And it leads you to be frustrated about this behavior.
Either way, you found yourself here to get answers. And I am going to give them to you. I was a professor for 15 years and I know A LOT about this topic. I won’t hold back anything, and I will tell you everything I know.
What happens if a professor has favorites?
If a professor has favorite students, there can be some serious consequences.
A professor might ignore other students and primarily focus on their most favorite students instead.
The other students might get behind in the class because they don’t get the same attention. Or the least favorite students miss class because they don’t feel like they belong.
It can be saddening to see your professor treat other students better and it leaves the other students wondering what they did wrong to deserve this treatment. They likely disengage altogether.
If a professor has favorite students, it could lead to some disruption in the classroom because their favorite students might get preferential treatment. Maybe they are the ones answering all the questions during class, or the professor spends more time helping those students and ignores others.
And if you are one of your professor’s favorite students, your professor might end up having higher expectations of you. They might expect you to answer all the questions during class. They might expect you to always be present. And get good grades. All this could lead to the student feeling pressure to be perfect, and they could be afraid of letting their professor down.
A professor has authority in the classroom and this type of relationship isn’t positive if a professor openly has favorite students.
You can see how this can really lead to a disaster. It is NEVER a good idea for a professor to let themselves get too personal with their students and have favorites (at least not openly). Professors should remain objective at all times and have the upmost integrity.
Now, it might be a different story if a professor has favorites but never treats students differently. If you cannot tell that your professor has their favorites, they might still have them but just do a really good job at hiding it.
A professor can obviously have students that they would claim as their favorite, but no one should know. That is ideal.
Why would a professor have favorite students?
A professor might have favorite students because they are new and inexperienced. This might be confusing but once I explain, you’ll get it.
If a professor is new, they might not feel too comfortable in the classroom yet. They might try and make their students their friends instead of creating a professional relationship with everyone. When they do this, they get too relaxed and develop friendships. This can lead to the professor making favorite students.
Or they are young and immature. Sometimes when you have a professor who is around the age of their students, they can get too personal and they just don’t maintain professionalism. Students may feel too relaxed with these professors and often become too chatty.
And if they are inexperienced they might have trouble setting boundaries in the classroom and managing students. This creates an environment where students can make the rules and dominate the classroom.
All of these situations can make a professor more susceptible to creating favorites.
Did this professor have favorite students?
When I first started teaching a long time ago, I was new and did not have the BEST classroom management. This allowed some of the most boisterous students to lead the classroom discussions. And these students tested boundaries often.
While I was still very professional in every interaction I had, and I never made friends with my students, I just couldn’t figure out how to speak up and reign in control with this group of students.
This led to other students thinking that I had favorites but I didn’t. It was just that my classroom management SUCKED. I was just too timid at the time to say anything and get everyone under control.
I feel terrible that other students felt like I had favorites, and I never let it happen again. I took some training on classroom management and reminded myself that students may perceive the interactions that I have with other students as favoritism.
It never happened after that. This is why new and inexperienced professors are the ones that seem to have their favorite students.
What makes a student likable to professors?
Professors may like students more who attend class as required, answer questions during class (but not too often) and come by during office hours.
These students are always sitting in their seats BEFORE class and are ready to learn. They may miss class occasionally but probably email their professor to let them know why they won’t be there.
They engage in classroom discussions often. These students care about their education and they might stop by during office hours to get to know their professor and talk about their goals.
If you don’t know how or why you should stop by during your professor’s office hours, check this article out to get some insight.
When a professor sees students LOVING the subject and excited about learning, it makes professors thrilled.
But look, a professor shouldn’t play favorites. It’s never a good idea.
What to do if your professor has favorites?
There might be little you can do if your professor has favorites, but I have a recommendation.
When you get to leave a student evaluation for the professor, you should mention your concerns about their favoritism if it’s applicable. This lets them and their supervisor know about your concerns and they can then deal with it accordingly.
This is how I found out that my students thought I had favorites when I first started teaching. I did not have any favorite students but because I did not manage those students, they thought I did.
I changed immediately, and I really appreciate the student who took the time to write that in my evaluation.
Should professors have favorite students?
It is not ideal for professors to have favorite students because they may treat other students differently.
And it could blur the lines between students and faculty. Professors should maintain a professional relationship with students otherwise it could impact the student’s learning.
So, I would say that professors should avoid labeling students as their favorites and they should definitely not show any favoritism to certain students because they might alienate other students in the process.
What are some signs of professor favoritism?
If a professor has favorite students, they probably give them extensions when they refuse to give them to other students. Or they let them come the class late without any repurcussions. And finally, they let them off the hook for things they do that other students are held accountable for.
I suppose professors might also talk to these students more (before and after class), and talk to them in a more friendly tone.
What is worse, these professors might bump up a student’s grade because they are their favorite.
These are all the reasons why a professor shouldn’t have favorite students.
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