Does anyone on here use ratemyprofessor.com?

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I usually don't use this site, but since I suck at math and I have to pass this Intro to Stats course...I used it to choose a teacher that many people on there claim is an easy A and doesn't fail people as long as they do their work and show that they are trying and also attend the classes. I am beginning to question this site because one person claimed that he offers extra credit, but he told me that he does not. Another person claimed that he never takes role...but that also isn't the case for the particular class that I am in now. I am beginning to worry that the part about this guy not failing any of students could also be false? Does anyone on here use this websits to choose their professors and what have your experiences been? Is it pretty accurate most of the time? I hope so because I really need to pass this course. Can anyone help me out?

I've used that site since I was an undergrad and now in grad school. I wouldn't trust it 100%, but it's useful.

The thing is, it's really about compatibility. A teacher that's "good" for one student is not always "good" for another because people learn differently.

Also, teachers change. If too many students got As one semester, that teacher will probably be much tougher next semester.

That said, I find the site very useful for getting a sense of a teacher's personality.

For instance, I prefer teachers who are laid-back and organized, so if I see comments that he/she is "very high-energy" or "all over the place", that's probably not a good teacher for me.

If you know what type of teacher you learn best from, that's where the site tends to be accurate.

Also, the overall quality ratings are probably accurate about 2 out of 3 times; still somewhat useful.

Easiness ratings, or comments about difficulty, I would not trust at all.

I use it to compare the impression I have of a professor, especially if there's difficulty. I haven't used it to check out a prof before signing up, never occurred to me.

The thing about those websites is that you have to be wary of people who gave bad reviews just because they got a bad grade. It's a good resource but take it with a grain of salt... Generally, the easy professors have the highest ratings.

Definitely take everything on that site with a grain of salt. Some people are stupid, some are angry at the professor for reasons that won't affect you at all, some comments were written several years ago, and if you compare the number of comments to the number of students they actually taught, you'll find that only a tiny portion of students bother to comment at all.

But it can provide useful information. If there are huge numbers of reviews, all of which are glowingly positive, they are going to be pleasant people for sure, but may or may not actually be good at teaching. If there are several reviews, about half of which say they're hard and the other half say they're the worst instructor ever, you can be pretty sure they're relatively hard, but you can't really say whether they're a good teacher or not.

If everyone agrees about something (and there are several reviews), then that thing is probably true. Once you actually have personal experience with a professor, you'll know more than the site can ever tell you.

I always look at it before choosing a course, and always rate my professors after I've finished a course.

You can't trust it entirely because most of the reviews are from people who either *really* liked the teacher or *really* didn't. The professor probably just changed some of his policies (and you have to remember that people on there rate for different courses, so they might have had different policies), but the professor probably still holds true to how they actually grade stuff (taking into account if you seem to be trying, etc).