Dealing with professors and expectations

Everyone has had one, currently has one or will assuredly have one in the future - the impossible-to-please college professor. Whether this individual has a vendetta out specifically for you or seems intent on making your entire class's education a miserable slog, fear not, because there are ways to deal.

Does your professor have an ego overpouring the chamber where his heart should be? Consider some of these tips for college students dealing with Dante's 8th circle of academic hell.

1. Do the work, and then some. It may infuriate you, but to win over this professor, or at least steer yourself off the bad list, you're going to need to work hard and extend yourself beyond your usual curriculum. The bonus here? You may learn something about your capabilities with math, poetry or even ceramics that you didn't know! And always show up to class on time. If you can't be seated by the time class begins, you're not trying nearly hard enough.

2. Don't expect much praise in return. While your professor might no longer have it out for you, that's not exactly the same as being in his or her good graces - especially if she or he doesn't have any good graces to begin with.

3. Do your outside research. Get to know more about your professor from past students. What does the professor look for from students? Where did the difficult reputation come from? Has anyone broken through it? Also feel free to talk to student living or campus life counselors about it - chances are they'll have heard of this professor and fielded a few concerns previously.

4. Take as many servings of humble pie as necessary. As much as you'd like to take a heroic stand against injustice, don't. Most difficult professors pride themselves on their position not their popularity, so any sort of march against them won't go very far.

5. Drop the class. If you're still lucky enough to be in the add/drop period at the beginning of a semester, feel free to drop the class. Don't embark on a ship you know is going to sink. This is especially true of students taking classes on subjects they're entirely unfamiliar with. A literature student enrolling in trigonometry with a notorious professor is essentially booking him or herself a berth on the Titanic.

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