<p>So next year I will be attending a big public university: UVA. Every person that is even slightly knowledgable on the subject of college admissions, after congratulating me, tells me that I will have to stay on top of my classes and make sure I strive to know the professors, etc. But why does that all matter? If I can coast through some of the courses, why try and get to know them? As long as I get good grades, make friends, keep busy with ECs, does it really matter if I put forth the effort to be known by the staff?</p>
<p>if you don't think you'll ever need extra help or recommendations then not really....
but having extra connections always helps when it comes to jobs, grad school, internships...</p>
<p>If the department that your major is in is small. Where you would be likely to have the same teachers for different classes. Then getting to know them would be a good idea. Like someone else said though, it doesn't hurt to have extra connections.</p>
<p>1) you are going to a large public school so there is almost no possible way to know "the staff."
2) there is nothing wrong with "coasting" through almost all your classes. In most cases, your lecture size will be in the 300+, so no one expects you to form any close bonds with the professors
3) (*important) You MUST form a close relationship with some of your professors. And by some I mean five or six over your four years. This is for letters of recommendations, which you will NEED for grad school</p>
<p>You can coast depending on the class. My son attends a large university and finds it easy to get to know some of his professors with very little effort. College is what you make of it. I would advise you to get to know the professors who spark your imagination and are interesting. One way to do this is by asking questions during/after class, stopping by during office hours to ask for suggestions for independent study of something you find interesting (outside reading, etc) or talking about a current assignment, paper, or test. Do not go through college like a ghost. Get to know at least a couple professors and find a good group of friends.</p>
<p>i like me a bad group of friends actually. :) jk</p>
<p>um so basically try to get to know some for recs/connections?</p>
<p>pretty much.</p>
<p>isnt that, like, using people?</p>
<p>you seem really clueless ... Professors are resources the Univesity offers, just like any other resource. They are happy to write recommendations, and they expect to be asked. Did you feel like you were 'using' your high school teachers when you asked them for college recs?</p>
<p>i didnt have to work to get to know them for it</p>
<p>Going to office hours and getting to know a prof you find interesting and inspiring is beneficial to the both of you - your own love for your classwork and the subject will deepen, and many professors take great joy out of passing on their knowledge and forging professional relationships with interested students (that's why they're professors, after all). </p>
<p>Getting good recommendations, breaks on assignments when you've had a busy week, help when you are struggling, etc. are all just nice extras. Your tuition pays their salaries - are they using you? Haha.</p>
<p>the professors are better in office hours, since it's one on one. i hear they will most likely boost your grade up a bit if you go to their office hours. haha. they get so lonely in there. many of them would be really happy to see you. :)</p>
<p>Many people never do make an effort to get to know their profs. And its a good thing, too; if everyone tried then it would fail. There simply isn't enough time for a prof to get to know each of the 250+ kids in a class. Since most don't, it frees up time for those who DO make the effort.</p>
<p>As for why you would want to, the obvious answer is for recs. But there's more than that. It depends on what you want out of your college education. Many people are just after the piece of paper, and perhaps also the training they get if they take vocationally-oriented classes like engineering or accounting. That's fine for them. </p>
<p>But college offers another dimension, there if you want it. In HS the way material is presented is in one tidy package, as if what is in the text is complete and final. The real world of knowledge isn't like that. In biology a text from 20 years ago is hopelessly dated. There are new theories in history, new interpretations in literature, and so on. College offers you a chance to be close to the leading edge, at many schools to even have the opportunity to take classes from the profs leading the charge. If you have a love for learning then the chance to go past the textbooks of today and found out what is happening on the boundaries of thought and knowledge is intoxicating. </p>
<p>But, as I said, not for everybody. Probably not even for most people. You can live a life without regrets if you just learn the material, get good grades, and coast when you can. It's all what you want out of those 4 years...</p>
<p>finally i dont have to play devil's advocate. mikemac wins for giving a non-robotic answer ("you need the rec, matE!")</p>
<p>Ugh I don't like knowing my professors. Besides the fact that I am hopelessly above them in understanding of the universe and their field, I don't feel the need to ask them to consider every hypothesis I have or to interact with them on anything outside of school. I don't feel the need to ask my prof where he came from, or any of the other social graces I've heard some people use. Just seems phony and boring, I mean I don't really care about the life of some dude 20 years older than me.</p>