As a young adult in college, you may sometimes wonder if your college professor likes you or not, and if so, how much, does he or she like you? But, how to tell if a professor likes you as a student, or if it is something more, and is this acceptable or is it inappropriate?
There are many possibilities which will be explored more below.
How Can you Tell if Your College Professor Likes You?
There are certain signs that a professor likes you more than usual, such as looking at you more and longer than other students, as well as paying extra attention to you in other ways. For example, they might try to find reasons to spend time with you outside of class.
Signs a Professor Is Attracted to You
If the professor is actually attracted to you, the signs are usually fairly easy to spot. They would typically be certain forms of extra attention.
Some may be as subtle as looking at you more and for longer than he or she looks at other students. The look might appear particularly curious or interested. Or he or she might be a bit more nervous around you than other students.
In addition to these behaviors, the professor might pay extra attention to you in other ways, for example calling on you more, or asking for extra time with you, such as suggesting you stay after class or even meet other times outside of class.
The professor might try to gain extra time with you by asking you to participate in extra projects with him or her, such as a research project, academic paper, or some other endeavor that would require you spending additional time with the professor outside of the classroom.
Special treatment might be another indication the professor is attracted to you. Does he or she grade you more leniently than your peers, or give you extra time on assignments or exams?
On the other hand, some professor who are attracted to a student might actually be tougher on this student, either in an attempt to hide their attraction to the student, or in a crueler scenario, as an attempt to exert control over the student.
How to Know if a Teacher is Flirting with Me
There are other ways that a teacher might reveal he or she is attracted to their student, as well. One of the most obvious of these is if the professor is actually flirting with the student.
But how do you know if your professor is flirting with you? He or she, hopefully, tries to maintain at least some semblance of professionalism, so it might be slightly tricky to determine if their behavior is flirting or not.
Some examples of possible flirting are if the professor makes extra jokes or tries to brag or show off around you. Another example might be extra compliments.
Do Professors Know When You Like Them
There are many professors who usually can realize when a student likes, or is attracted, to them. They have taught many classes with many students over the course of many years, and can easily pick up on certain patterns in behavior.
They might notice you looking at them in a particular way, or being extra eager to participate during class and stay late after class.
There are also many professors, however, who would be completely oblivious to whether or not a student of theirs was attracted to them, or liked them in a particular way.
These professors might be exceptionally focused on their work and professions and are not concerned about what their students think of them in that way.
Married Professor Attracted to Student
If your professor is married but seems attracted to you as a student, this can be a very disturbing situation.
If the professor only seems to be looking at you a bit more than other students, or seems to be nervous around you, then he or she is probably trying not to show that they are attracted to you. They probably realize the attraction is inappropriate and are not planning to act on it.
Of course, it’s best to not encourage the situation.
If, however, the professor is ever actively inappropriate on his or her part then it would be best to reach out to your ombudsman or another trusted professional for assistance. It would be not only immoral, but also highly unprofessional and unethical for a professor, especially a married one, to act on any attraction to a student.
How to Date Your Professor
Essentially, you and your professor should not date, at least not while you are a student. Even if you think you are also attracted to your professor, it is actually very inappropriate of the professor to even try to date a student.
It is generally considered an abuse of their authority and position and could get the professor in trouble professionally.
If you stay in touch or reconnect, then when you are no longer the professor’s student, if there are mutual feelings between the two of you, it would be acceptable and appropriate to date at that time.
How Do I Know if My Professor Has a Crush on Me?
Some things indicate that your professor has a crush on you, for example, gazing at you longer or more frequently than usual, and paying more attention to you in other ways. They might flirt, or attempt to find other reasons to be with you outside of class, as well.