• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
College Magazine logo

College Magazine

College Life, Dating, Career & Campus Advice

  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
    • Find Your College
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
Home » Latest Posts » Hot for Teacher
Life

Hot for Teacher

FacebookTweet
48
Maryline Dossou January 11, 2012

If you find yourself getting up earlier on Tuesdays and Thursdays more refreshed and excited to go to class, it’s usually one of two things: you really love your class or you’re looking forward to seeing a certain special someone in class who you may be admiring from afar. But what if, in the latter situation, that special someone is your professor?

Our perception of college professors as high school students was an old, stuffy, overweight man with a comb-over and dingy tweed jacket. Little did we know that professors came in shapes and sizes more appealing to our youthful tastes. But while you sit in class and fantasize that your crush could potentially turn into something more, student-teacher romances are generally frowned upon as inappropriate and unethical-and in certain universities such as Duke and Ohio Wesleyan, even banned.

Even students see the potential downside to getting involved with a professor. Beulah, a senior at University of Toronto says, “It could encourage favoritism, but if it is two consenting adults, one could argue why not? Especially if it is a professor you’re not taking a class with.”

“I have had a couple crushes on professors, but definitely have never thought to pursue it,” says Anna, a senior at University of Maryland. “I want to look back on my relationship with a good professor as an interesting teacher, not a dating mistake.”

The societal disapproval of such relationships doesn’t slow the occurrence of professor crushes, shows a study by Emily Travis and Traci Giulianoof Southwestern University. In this study, it was found that 57 percent of students reported having a crush on an instructor. Even more surprising? Of the students with teacher crushes, 75 percent claimed that their crushes were based upon the professor’s intellect rather than looks. But whether the crushes are based on intellect and looks, factors such as a professor’s humor, rapport, role model status and attentiveness are most important in solidifying the feelings. 

“It's more of an intelligence/personality thing,” says Anna. “Especially when you're surrounded by guys your own age that definitely are not on that intellectual level.”


trending

110

How Graduation is Causing Me a (Good) Existential Crisis

Gretchen Rubin, author of Life in Five Sense
96

Awaken Your Five Senses with #1 NYTs Bestselling Author Gretchen Rubin

77

Adulting with Your Mom Is Fun


Although it’s been shown that looks are not as important in a teacher crush, it certainly doesn’t hurt to have a hot professor. In fact, it may even lead to higher scores. It has been discovered through teacher evaluations that professors who are rated as attractive are also rated more effective. That means that you’ll seldom find a bad word on RateMyProfessor.com for instructors with that red chili pepper of designated hotness next to their name. Who could find that hard to believe? Try falling asleep in a class taught by a professor with movie-star good looks.

So go ahead and make yourself look a little more presentable on Tuesdays and Thursdays; your GPA may thank you for it later.

About Maryline Dossou

Senior > Magazine Journalism > Temple University

What To Do Next When You Don’t Know What To Do

Q&A with ASCEND app Creators Sydney Campos and David Richeson

How a Last-Minute Gap Semester Changed My Life

Is Online Learning Right for You?

10 Things All International Students Understand

5 Pre-Finals Rituals to Follow for Optimum Study Time

Life Lessons I Learned in Fitness Classes

A Dream Deferred

So I Moved Back Home After Graduation…

Previous Post:There’s an App for That: New Year’s Resolutions
Next Post:Oh The Hipsters You’ll Meet in College

colleges

  • College Guides
  • College Rankings
  • Campus life
  • Academics
  • Dating
  • Freshmen Year
  • Health
  • Party

majors

  • All College Majors
  • Most Popular Majors
  • Choosing a Major

intern

  • Internships Directory
  • How to Write a Resume
  • How to Write a Cover Letter
  • How to Interview
  • How to Get an Internship
  • How to Network

money

  • How to Make Money
  • How to Save Money
  • How to Get a Job
  • Credit Cards 101
  • College Loans

travel

  • Study Abroad
  • College Spring Break
  • How to Travel Cheap
  • Things to Do

shop

  • College Packing List
  • Gift Guides
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

College Magazine logo

Copyright © 2023 Powered by BizBudding