Social Anxiety Support

Faded Lines · 09-15-2009, 10:40 AM

Getting to know professors and being in a large amount of clubs on campus really just isn't my thing. I have yet to find the desire to go to a professor's office and start chatting with him. It produces anxiety, and I don't necessarily need any help...yet. I keep hearing from everyone, "Get to know your professors! Get involved! Do everything, blah blah blah!" Well, what if I don't? What if I go through my college years just getting good grades, playing intramural soccer and perhaps doing one internship? Then what? What if I never meet with my professors outside of my class?

Amocholes · 09-15-2009, 10:51 AM

That's fine. Getting to know your professors doesn't mean becoming friends with them. It doesn't even mean having a coffee with them. Get to know how they think, read what they have written. You don't need to know that they're having problems at home and might be divorcing their wife. As for getting involved, doing the soccer and interning are both good. On the other hand if you come across a group that interests you, don't be afraid to try it out.

steelmyhead · 09-15-2009, 03:07 PM

Getting to know professors can help for recommendations for future jobs or graduate schools. You usually need three recommendations. But also finding out about what their research is about can also be interesting in itself.

stewbert · 09-15-2009, 03:58 PM

It's always a good idea to speak with your professors outside of class, so that you're not just another student. But it's not the end of the world if you don't. I didn't get to know any of my professors and I graduated just fine. In fact I've got 3 of them writing grad school recommendations for me right now. They were happy to do it even though I'm sure none of them really remember me.

SilentLoner · 09-15-2009, 05:40 PM

You could hang around the group of students that stay after to ask questions and act like you had one of the questions the professor answers for another student. Its better than nothing.

britisharrow · 09-15-2009, 05:55 PM

You don't need to get to know your professors. There are jerk professors around. However you will find the others to be very interesting, often eccentric people who you feel relaxed around. Because you know they are too professional and too intelligent to be ignorant or arrogant to you.

Try asking them a question and see where it leads, you can usually tell the friendly ones just by their demeanor.

"You can tell a lot about someone's personality by how they are" - Harry Hill.

dax · 09-15-2009, 06:51 PM

It's good to try to get to know a couple profs senior year so you can use them as references for work or grad school once you graduate- but I don't think you have to worry about that freshman year.

rctriplefresh5 · 09-15-2009, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faded Lines

Getting to know professors and being in a large amount of clubs on campus really just isn't my thing. I have yet to find the desire to go to a professor's office and start chatting with him. It produces anxiety, and I don't necessarily need any help...yet. I keep hearing from everyone, "Get to know your professors! Get involved! Do everything, blah blah blah!" Well, what if I don't? What if I go through my college years just getting good grades, playing intramural soccer and perhaps doing one internship? Then what? What if I never meet with my professors outside of my class?

well i may be weird but im a huge suck up to my professors. and a lot of my professors are really cool. my chem professor is awesome. he stayed alone with me 2 hours after class ended. the first half hour we worked on problems i did not understand. then for an hour we talked about intelligence, IQ, and how i felt that mathematicians were smarter than english majors. he then continued to help me for another half hour. all of my professors are pretty much just as good, but im really starting to like this guy. id suggest definately talking i go to community college though so professors are usually much nicer.

anomalous · 09-16-2009, 12:06 AM

Sucking up to professors can pay off in some cases (namely the ones with huge egos to feed). However, I managed to get through undergrad just fine, despite being able to count on one hand the number of times I went to any profs' office hours. I also wasn't very involved in clubs or activities. If you manage to get good grades on your own merit and without asking questions, it shouldn't be much of a problem at all when it comes time to get a job. If you plan to continue to grad school as I did, knowing professors might come in more handy, but it's still not a necessity.

09-15-2009, 10:40 AM	#1 (permalink)
Faded Lines Status: User Requested Ban Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: New York Gender: Male Age: 18 Posts: 1,260	Am I screwed? Getting to know professors and being in a large amount of clubs on campus really just isn't my thing. I have yet to find the desire to go to a professor's office and start chatting with him. It produces anxiety, and I don't necessarily need any help...yet. I keep hearing from everyone, "Get to know your professors! Get involved! Do everything, blah blah blah!" Well, what if I don't? What if I go through my college years just getting good grades, playing intramural soccer and perhaps doing one internship? Then what? What if I never meet with my professors outside of my class?

09-15-2009, 10:51 AM	#2 (permalink)
Amocholes Status: Super Moderator Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Hello my freaky darlings! Gender: Male Age: 49 Posts: 12,599	That's fine. Getting to know your professors doesn't mean becoming friends with them. It doesn't even mean having a coffee with them. Get to know how they think, read what they have written. You don't need to know that they're having problems at home and might be divorcing their wife. As for getting involved, doing the soccer and interning are both good. On the other hand if you come across a group that interests you, don't be afraid to try it out. __________________ In the kingdom of the blind, the one legged man is king.

09-15-2009, 03:07 PM	#3 (permalink)
steelmyhead Status: mostly harmless Join Date: May 2009 Location: California Gender: Male Posts: 635	Getting to know professors can help for recommendations for future jobs or graduate schools. You usually need three recommendations. But also finding out about what their research is about can also be interesting in itself. __________________ The trick is to experience, not anticipate.

09-15-2009, 05:40 PM	#5 (permalink)
SilentLoner Status: Otaku Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Lost in thought, though occasionally I may be located at an anime convention. Gender: Female Age: 22 Posts: 2,452	You could hang around the group of students that stay after to ask questions and act like you had one of the questions the professor answers for another student. Its better than nothing. __________________ "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.” -Plato "When a cold wind blows it chills you - chills you to the bone. But there's nothing in nature that freezes your heart like years of being alone." OTAKU UNITE! “We honor Dr. Tiller’s legacy of service to women.” Dr. George Tiller 1941 -2009 Memorial Web Page http://www.iamdrtiller.com/ http://www.remembertiller.com/

09-15-2009, 06:51 PM	#7 (permalink)
dax Status: Losing Ground Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Boston Gender: Male Posts: 2,237	It's good to try to get to know a couple profs senior year so you can use them as references for work or grad school once you graduate- but I don't think you have to worry about that freshman year. __________________ My Youtube Page I just don't fit in this place Their thoughts cast me out of here Their home has run out of space My mind's already out of here Won't you come along dear? Won't you come along?

09-15-2009, 03:58 PM	#4 (permalink)
stewbert Status: SAS Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Memphis Gender: Female Age: 25 Posts: 71	It's always a good idea to speak with your professors outside of class, so that you're not just another student. But it's not the end of the world if you don't. I didn't get to know any of my professors and I graduated just fine. In fact I've got 3 of them writing grad school recommendations for me right now. They were happy to do it even though I'm sure none of them really remember me.

09-15-2009, 05:55 PM	#6 (permalink)
britisharrow Status: 3rd SAS Battalion Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Glasgow, UK Gender: Male Age: 24 Posts: 455	You don't need to get to know your professors. There are jerk professors around. However you will find the others to be very interesting, often eccentric people who you feel relaxed around. Because you know they are too professional and too intelligent to be ignorant or arrogant to you. Try asking them a question and see where it leads, you can usually tell the friendly ones just by their demeanor. "You can tell a lot about someone's personality by how they are" - Harry Hill.

09-16-2009, 12:06 AM	#9 (permalink)
anomalous Status: SAS Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: USA Gender: Male Age: 22 Posts: 442	Sucking up to professors can pay off in some cases (namely the ones with huge egos to feed). However, I managed to get through undergrad just fine, despite being able to count on one hand the number of times I went to any profs' office hours. I also wasn't very involved in clubs or activities. If you manage to get good grades on your own merit and without asking questions, it shouldn't be much of a problem at all when it comes time to get a job. If you plan to continue to grad school as I did, knowing professors might come in more handy, but it's still not a necessity.