My professor hates me? How to deal
My professor hates me and I don’t know what to do
Sometimes college students believe that their professor is out to get them, or that their professor even hates them, but sometimes that isn’t the case. But if that is your perception, it can be difficult to digest.
I was a professor for 15 years, and I will tell you exactly when a professor might dislike you and how to deal with a professor who appears to hate you.
It can’t be any fun to be in a course where you feel like you are treated unfairly by the professor. And most students don’t know how to deal with these situations professionally. It is common to feel helpless if you think your professor doesn’t like you.
If you think that your professor hates you, read this article for some advice FROM A FORMER PROFESSOR.
How do I know if my professor doesn’t like me?
If a college student thinks that their professor doesn’t like them, they should consider the circumstances first, and avoid taking things too personal. Share the details with a few close friends and ask them if they get the same vibes. And then consider if your professor treats lots of students this way or if it’s just you.
I know you might feel like your professor truly hates you, but you might be taking things personal and it might not be how they really feel.
I don’t want to ignore your feelings because they might be legitimate but maybe you are thinking too hard about it.
However, I know that professors are humans too, and they can have strong emotions.
As a former professor, I never hated students. And I never knew of any other professors that hated their students either.
But I did know of professors who were rude and difficult to be around.
But it doesn’t mean that your professor couldn’t have strong feelings towards you. I don’t want to ignore the feelings that you are having, but I do want you to take a step back and think about things first. This could just be your professor’s personality
It is possible that your professor treats lots of students the same as you, but you might feel like you are the only one getting treated unfairly. It might just be your professor’s personality.
Maybe it’s just them and NOT YOU.
If they treat other students better than you, maybe those students built rapport with the professor. Professors could have favorite students after all.
But let’s get into the different ways to tell if your professor doesn’t like you.
I would always recommend that you share your thoughts with someone close to you. And ask them if they think that you are being treated unfairly. Ask several people.
And if they all agree, you might have a good reason to believe that your professor doesn’t like you.
As a former college student myself, I had nearly 100 professors throughout undergraduate and graduate school, and I can tell you some examples of when I thought professors didn’t like their students.
If a professor is outright rude to you on multiple occasions
If a professor unfairly grades your assignments
If a professor ignores you or your questions
If you can say YES to all or some of the above questions, your professor might not like you.
However, they could still just be a mean person deep down, and it might not have anything to do with you.
Either way, you probably feel confused and don’t appreciate feeling disrespected.
Keep reading to learn what you should do if your professor hates you.
What to do if your professor hates you?
If your professor hates you, you need to approach the situation with a little bit of humility and avoid being accusatory. It won’t help the situation if you become agitated or angry with your professor. I would meet with your professor and ask them how they think your progress is in the course and how you could improve.
When you talk to your professor, this discussion can help you understand if they are treating you differently because of your performance in the course or if it’s more a personal matter.
When you talk to them, I wouldn’t necessarily say anything to them directly about you thinking they hate you, but instead, use this conversation as a way to understand more about their feelings.
Your professor may just want to see that you care. If after this conversation, you don’t feel like anything is solved, you may need to talk to a counselor or advisor.
Does your college offer any advising or counseling services? If so, seek them out.
Another way to deal with this situation is to help their bosses understand the situation by leaving feedback on your student evaluation. Most courses have evaluations at the end of the semester so make sure to complete the form.
PRO TIP : The more professional you are in your remarks, the better received the information will be on your student evaluation.
If you have determined that your professor might really dislike you and it’s not just your imagination, you need to understand why this tension exists to begin with.
What happened to make you and your professor have some frustrations between the two of you?
You may not ever find a reason, but it’s worth considering if there is there something that you did.
However, it shouldn’t really matter what happened between you and your professor, your professor should be treating you professionally because that’s their job.
If after a lot of consideration and as a last resort, you could take your concerns directly to their superior or to the Dean of Students or a similar office. There is usually an office for students that is available to deal with any student concerns. Let them handle it.
Before you do this though, make sure you have some documentation to help provide support for your feelings. So keep good records.
PRO TIP: Remember, you won’t have to deal with the professor much longer anyway, so just try to use this as a learning experience as you’ll likely be dealing with difficult people in the future.
But please use your best judgement because I don’t know your personal situation.
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