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College students are generally more concerned about hooking up with each another than with their instructors. After all, movies and TV shows commonly portray professors as stodgy old men with monotonous voices, nerdy clothes and horn-rimmed glasses. But real professors are real people, not characters鈥� and some of them have great looks and style in addition to great teaching skills.

Professor rating websites, which can come in handy while planning your course schedule, have started to include categories for looks or level of 鈥渉otness.鈥� If a teacher that鈥檚 easy on the eyes helps you develop a sudden interest in subjects that usually bore you, that鈥檚 great. But if you find yourself flirting with Dr. Hottie, the feeling is mutual, and you actually wind up dating, take a moment to realize how ugly the situation could become.

In addition to the 鈥渘ormal鈥� potential relationship outcomes that face any couple, like ugly breakups and the possibility of unwanted pregnancy or STDs, dating your professor is a whole new ballgame.

It could be against the law.

If you鈥檙e under the age of eighteen鈥攁nd a handful of college students are鈥攖he relationship could technically be against the law. It would depend on the age of consent in your area, but if you get involved sexually and someone finds out (or you change your mind about the situation and decide to turn your instructor in to the authorities) there鈥檚 a chance that Dr. Sexy could wind up being charged with statutory rape.

Dating your professor might be against school policy.

You might have the attitude that if you are legally old enough, then you鈥檙e also wise enough to make your own decisions regarding who to date and who to sleep with. That鈥檚 true, but student-faculty relationships are prohibited at many colleges and universities. And even though romances between students and professors aren鈥檛 necessarily against policy at other schools, they are still considered inappropriate and could possibly cause problems for you as well as Dr. Dreamy.

How would you feel if your 鈥渟ignificant other鈥� lost his job because of your illicit affair? Chances are, he鈥檇 have trouble landing a new one due to the reason for dismissal. Or how would you feel if the dean accused you of receiving higher grades out of favoritism and questioned your abilities as a student?

You will have to hide the relationship.

If you鈥檙e truly able to keep your affair with Dr. Sexy under lock and key, you won鈥檛 be able to gossip or complain about the relationship with friends. You won鈥檛 be able to go out together publicly, at least not near campus鈥攅specially if you鈥檙e the girlfriend and there鈥檚 also a wife in the picture. Sneaking around can feel thrilling at first, but eventually you鈥檒l probably get sick of it.

Other relationships could wind up in jeopardy.

Do you already have a boyfriend? Cheating is cheating, whether you hide a relationship with someone your own age or start to sleep with your professor because it seems so exciting. The same is true for the prof鈥攄o you want to break up a marriage or other long-term relationship? A jilted spouse or girlfriend could come after you both, seeking revenge.

Romantic relationships aren鈥檛 the only ones that could suffer. Some of your friends might think the whole thing is hot and even be envious of you, but others will think you鈥檙e insane. And what if your parents found out? There鈥檚 a good chance they wouldn鈥檛 include the incident in their annual Christmas newsletter about the family.

You could wind up being blackmailed and/or harassed.

Tired of going out with Dr. Hottie and decide to cool things down? The situation could wind up pretty awkward if he or she doesn鈥檛 feel the same. You might find yourself publicly humiliated in class if your prof decides to act like a jerk and pick on you for non-relationship reasons because he鈥檚 in a position of authority. For example, 鈥淒id you even bother to study? No one else gave such a stupid answer!鈥� You could even be told that your grades will suffer or you鈥檒l fail the class if you don鈥檛 continue the relationship.

The novelty will wear off.

When you look back at past relationships, the first few weeks or months were probably when you had the most fun together. After you started to feel settled and used to one another, that initial excitement had worn off a bit.

That will most likely happen in this case, too. After the semester ends, you might even realize that you only wanted to date your professor because it seemed forbidden or bad.

Age differences start to seem wider over time.

Best case scenario? Your love is meant to be, authority figures at the college never catch on, and your relationship lasts past your graduation. But eventually, the age gap might be enough to cause relationship problems鈥攅ven if your professor is hot. You could want children, but Dr. Dreamy might be too old for that. You might want to go out after work and on weekends while Dr. Dreamy wants to putter around the house and catch up on the evening news.

They say that love is blind, and there鈥檚 no denying that some people do meet their long-term spouses under strange circumstances. Just remind yourself that you鈥檙e going to college to get an education and earn a degree. Is your prof looking out for your best interests, too?

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Posted on 6 Feb

Melissa Rhone earned her Bachelor of Music in Education from the 911吃瓜网 of Tampa. She resides in the Tampa Bay area and enjoys writing about college, pop culture, and epilepsy awareness.