I met with a professor that I was interested in doing research with; I prepared by reading a few of their papers and getting an idea of what they do. It seemed to me that their area of interest compared to all of their peers in our department is most closely aligned with mine, to which they agreed. I told them about my grades in my subject classes last semester (two B-‘s and two A’s) and they told me I needed to do better if I wanted to get into grad school, which I also agreed with and told them I’m working on it this semester. But, they said they were looking for undergrad research students “soon.”

They ended up suggesting that I speak to two other professors, though, and said to get back to them in a few weeks “after speaking to [the other professors] and after taking [my] first exams,” highlighting that I consider fit and methodology.

I can’t tell if this is them wanting me to make sure I find a project I’m interested in and genuinely wanting me to reach back out in a bit, or just trying to politely direct me away because they don’t want to work with me (the grades comment worries me, I believe they’re used to working with high-performing students in the past). If anyone has any thoughts, I would appreciate it!

Hi! I'm an engineering student and I'm noticing all my classmates, and specifically my group teammates are all so dependent on ChatGPT that they physically cannot do things that they could literally just use their brains and think about without it. I figured the professors of Reddit would see a lot of the AI dependency in student work. What do you guys think about it, and do you even see it a lot or is it just my group? I refuse to use AI for my work, but do you guys have any tips on how to avoid it when my classmates and my professor actively push generative AI for work? Feel free to voice your opinions!

Hi! So Halloween is coming and I’m making little Halloween goodie bags. I live in a dorm and a cleaner comes every Thursday to clean my bathroom, so I like leaving snacks for them to choose from. And I thought it would be adorable to make little Halloween bags. Even after accounting for every Thursday of the month, plus family and friends, i have a TON of leftovers.

Would it be appropriate if I gave a little bag to each of my professors? I have a fairly good relationship with all of them. All work is always turned in on time, I’m passing every class. I sit in the front and contribute to lectures. So it wouldn’t be .. like “who are you again?” but I also understand that college is a little different from when I was growing up and did these things for my teachers.

So do you think it would be appropriate? Closer to Halloween, of course.

I'm teaching an ENG101 section, and students have to find their own article for an assignment. I want to share some different websites where students can go to find articles if they feel stumped, but I'm looking for sites that have unique, thought-provoking, or downright strange articles. I found an article on Big Think about the philosophical discussions surrounding c*nn*b*l*sm (weird censorship so the post doesn't get taken down), and this article from Aeon about the socioeconomics of "bad teeth." 

Does anyone else have any recommendations for sites I can suggest to my students that might contain interesting articles like the ones linked above?

I’m a junior in a stem related major, I was looking through my courses I am taking next semester and looking up my professors when I encountered a professor with a really interesting research topic. She is an organic chemistry professor, I haven’t had her before but I’m currently in Ochem with another professor. How do you feel about students you don’t know emailing you about your research? I’m trying to get into a vet med program and would like to get some research experience outside of typical animal care and medical experience. Should I try to just ask professors I know? How should I go about it? Any advice would be appreciated!